Extracurricular activities will be handled on a case-by-case basis. If possible, virtual meetings will be encouraged.

Students are required to remotely attend all classes, and attendance will be recorded through PowerSchool.

Access to all district buildings will be limited after Friday, November 20. Students are reminded to gather all materials they will need for fully virtual instruction by the end of the day on Friday, November 20.

We ask parents and guardians who need technical support to complete a help desk ticket at go.fcasd.edu/community-help. The district’s Community Help Desk will remain open during the school closure and the help desk system decreases response times and ensures accurate tracking of resolutions.

Grading will be done in the same manner as it has been this school year. Assessments will be administered online, including any benchmark assessments, when feasible.

Beginning on Monday, November 23, all students should log in to their Google Classrooms or Schoology platform at their typical start time. Students will have opportunities for both synchronous and asynchronous learning.

• Elementary students who previously attended in-person instruction should log in to their Google Classrooms at their typical start time and follow their “Indigo In-person” schedule. 
• Elementary students who attended virtual instruction should log in to their Google Classrooms at their typical start time and follow their “Orange Online” schedule. 
• Elementary students who participate in full-time asynchronous instruction should continue with their classes as scheduled.
• Secondary students should log in to their Schoology accounts as they typically would on a virtual day, follow their schedules, participate in planned instruction, and complete assigned work in each of their courses.

Winter athletics will be modified on a case-by-case basis. Additional details will follow in communications by the athletic department.

Meal Distribution

Free meals will be available to all children 18 and under from the community during the fully online instructional period. Children are eligible for five free breakfasts and five free lunches per week, and those will be distributed once a week.

Beginning November 25, meals can be picked up at the back of Kerr Elementary School and the side of Dorseyville Middle School. Meal pickup time is from 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at both locations every Wednesday.

• Kerr Elementary School is located at 341 Kittanning Pike in O’Hara Township.
• Dorseyville Middle School is located at 3732 Saxonburg Boulevard in Indiana Township.

Those ordering pickup meals must fill out the following Google form: http://bit.ly/FCASDPickupMeals. This form must be filled out no later than 10 p.m. the Monday prior to pickup.

The Fox Chapel Area School District identifies student mental health as a priority when planning for any instructional model. 

• Implementation of K-12 social-emotional learning programs through the Second Step (K-8) and 7 Mindsets (9-12) resources will continue during the virtual learning period.  
• School counselors and social services liaisons will be available and accessible for students to meet 1:1 or in small groups through a virtual meeting platform. 
• The district has a strong partnership with Family Behavioral Resources, a school-based mental health provider, which will continue to offer teletherapy sessions. If you or your child have any questions about how to access school-based mental health services, please contact your assigned school counselor, and the district will facilitate referral and enrollment.
• How to Contact Your School Counselor:
• Fox Chapel Area High School (412-967-2430)
  • A-C - Mr. Tim McLister - timothy_mclister@fcasd.edu
  • D-G - Mr. John Baxter - john_baxter@fcasd.edu
  • H-K - Mrs. Dana Papalia - dana_papalia@fcasd.edu
  • L-O - Mrs. Rachel Machen - rachel_machen@fcasd.edu
  • P-S - Mr. Ben O’Connor - ben_o’connor@fcasd.edu
  • T-Z - Ms. Tara DeComo - tara_decomo@fcasd.edu
• Dorseyville Middle School (412-767-5343)
  • Grade 6 - Ms. Breane DeComo - breane_decomo@fcasd.edu
  • Grade 7 - Ms. Kristin Pollick - kristin_pollick@fcasd.edu
  • Grade 8 - Ms. Rachel Jackson - rachel_jackson@fcasd.edu
• Fairview Elementary School (412-963-9315)
  • Ms. Stefanie Lipke - stefanie_lipke@fcasd.edu
• Hartwood Elementary School (412-767-5396)
  • Ms. Jacqueline Decker - jacqueline_decker@fcasd.edu
• Kerr Elementary School (412-781-4105)
  • Ms. Sue Douglas - sue_douglas@fcasd.edu
• O’Hara Elementary School (412-963-0333)
  • Ms. Emily Hoffmann - emily_hoffmann@fcasd.edu
  • Mrs. Jennifer Squelia - jennifer_squeglia@fcasd.edu

Reporting of COVID-19 Cases

Please continue using the Ruvna health screener tool to report COVID-19 symptoms and positive COVID-19 cases to the Fox Chapel Area School District. 

• Positive COVID-19 cases should also be reported to the FCASD pandemic coordinator via phone at 412-967-2469 or email daniel_didesiderio@fcasd.edu.
• Students who are mandated to quarantine by the Allegheny County Health Department or who have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive should also report their status to the FCASD pandemic coordinator via phone at 412-967-2469 or email daniel_didesiderio@fcasd.edu. A close contact is defined as someone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes starting from 2 days before illness onset (or, for asymptomatic patients, 2 days prior to specimen collection) until the time the patient is isolated.

Special Education Services

Special education teachers and gifted support teachers will work with core content teachers to modify, accommodate, and/or enrich lessons to meet the needs of the IEP/GIEP and ensure that lessons are appropriate based on the documented student need.

Self-contained classroom teachers will collaborate with IEP teams and additional outside resources to support student progress and parental support in the home learning environment.

All special education and/or gifted education teachers monitor students and provide ongoing virtual support to meet individual needs.

Special education-related services will be provided through a teletherapy platform to ensure HIPAA and FERPA compliance. Meetings will be aligned to student IEP/504 to ensure continuity of education.

Student Virtual Help Desk

The Fox Chapel Area School District technology team is excited to announce the launch of its Virtual Student Help Desk. During in-person instruction, students are able to walk up to our FCASD help desk window, so we believe the shift to virtual learning requires an innovative response to meeting the needs of our students. 

• Students can elect to use the traditional help desk ticketing system or join a Virtual Student Help Desk session during designated hours. 
• The Virtual Student Help Desk is for Fox Chapel Area students only. 
• Parents and guardians should continue to utilize the Community Help Desk system. Assistance, such as PowerSchool password resets, will be unavailable through the Virtual Student Help Desk, as its sole purpose is to serve the needs of students.
• For more information or to access FCASD Virtual Student Help Desk, click here.

As the holiday season approaches, we know many of our families will want to spend time with relatives, both locally and out of state. With cases of COVID-19 surging, Please click here for a graphic with more information on how you can stay safe as Thanksgiving break nears. We hope that you reconsider those plans, however, if they involve gathering with people outside of your household or traveling.

Simply put, traveling raises your risk of acquiring COVID-19. Effective 12:01 a.m. Friday, November 20, the Pennsylvania Department of Health is requiring that travelers entering Pennsylvania – as well as Pennsylvania residents returning from other states or abroad – have a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours prior to re-entering Pennsylvania, or quarantine for 14 days upon re-entering the state.

Please click here for a graphic with more information on how you can stay safe as Thanksgiving break nears.