Northwestern Lehigh School District Superintendent Jennifer Holman provided this updated COVID-19 letter to parents, guardians, and students March 27 on the school district website:

This letter is to inform you on the plans for instruction moving forward.

At this time, the COVID-19 school closure has been extended by Gov. Wolf with a plan of school reopening for students on April 9.

It is a possibility that this mandated closure will be extended beyond April 9 into and including spring break and beyond.

During March 23-27, teachers were in contact with students, testing connectivity, and providing enrichment lessons and activities for students.

We also continued to encourage families to use the Digital Learning Environment to keep students engaged during the current closure.

Families who do not have Wi-Fi connectivity are encouraged to email helpdesk@nwlehighsd.org or call 610-298-8661 ext. 1225 to obtain information on many free home Internet options.

The options can also be found on our DLE site.

The academic plan for continuity of learning will continue through April 8.

During the week of March 30-April 3, teachers will deliver daily lessons online.

The online lessons and materials will be review and enrichment, as well as makeup work for the third marking period.

These lessons will be posted online by 9 a.m. daily.

Student attendance or completion of work is not mandatory or graded during this week. However, attendance, participation and submission of work is strongly encouraged.

Effective April 6, the district will be offering continuity of educational services for all students.

All Northwestern Lehigh students will be continuing their education and course of study, as best as possible, beyond remediation and enrichment to include new content and learning, in addition to meeting the criteria as set forth by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

Beginning on April 6, new teaching and learning will be happening and student attendance and submission of work will be required and graded.

Attendance will be taken each day and will count as a regular school day.

The last day of the third marking period will be changed to April 3.

Report cards for the third marking period will be posted to the portal on April 17.

The fourth marking period will begin on April 6.

All instruction, activities, and assessments starting April 6 and onward will be entered into the fourth marking period.

Refer to the Digital Learning Environment which outlines student expectations, attendance, and assessments.

Establish a place for your child to work that is free from distractions and a structured schedule for completion of school work.

At no other time has the partnership between the family and school been more important. The school district is seeking to partner with parents to help students return to a sense of routine and normalcy.

We recognize this will not be easy for anyone and that many of you will be working from home or that your circumstances may be changing in a variety of ways.

There is no better time to teach children how to share, be patient, work on time management skills, and work through adversity.

As your child begins online learning on March 30, if you have any questions about the content and skills your child is learning, please contact your child’s teacher through email.

Contact your child’s principal via email with questions pertaining to your child’s unique learning situation.

If you or your child have technology questions or need technology help, do not hesitate to email helpdesk@nwlehighsd.org.