COVID-19 Update April 2020
“In response to Governor Wolf's extension of the stay-at-home order through April 30, 2020, CISPAC's administrative offices will remain closed until the stay-at-home order is lifted. Our Program Staff will continue to serve our students and schools remotely from home likewise, CISPAC's admin team is carrying out all responsibilities remotely.” Resources for StudentsWith schools in recess for the foreseeable future, families have the responsibilities on helping your student finish the year strong. Here are some tips and resources to help.1. Keep a daily routine. Students will do best if they are encouraged to get up, washed up and dressed for the day – just as they would do on a school day. Plan for 2-4 blocks of time throughout the day that will total about 3 to 4 hours altogether. Schedule shorter blocks for younger children and longer blocks for older students. Use these blocks to build other activities around throughout the day like mealtime, exercise time and game time.2. Be sure to set aside a daily reading block.3. Brush up your academic skills. It can be daunting to be confronted with a subject matter that you don’t feel you mastered while in school. Checkout some of the online courses like Khan Academy. You can search for a subject and an online tutorial to guide you.4. Reach out to your student’s teacher to receive guidance on what subjects, skills and content to focus on and help you establish goals for rounding out the year.5. Connect with others. Don’t forget to stay connected to other families to share ideas and resources. Perhaps you can organize a virtual story time where parents can take turns reading to children – those at home and online at the same time – while the non-reading parent can have a short break. Resources for FamiliesWhether you are concerned about home schooling, employment, food support or health and safety – here are some resources that can help.1. Free WIFI - Comcast is offering free WIFI for 60 days to help with your students’ online tutorials.2. If you lost your job due to COVID-19, you can file for initial unemployment benefits with the Pennsylvania government.3. Utility Support – To help those who are experiencing hardship during COVID-19, PSWA, Duquesne Light, FirstEnergy, and Pennsylvania American Water have suspended utility shutoffs.4. Housing Support – Remember if you are going through a hard time that Allegheny County has suspended all evictions due to COVID-19.5. Employment Opportunities – If you lost your job all is not lost. Many employers are hiring because of COVID-19 and others are using this time to hire for beyond the quarantine. Local employers looking to hire include: UPMC, Phillips Respironics, Giant Eagle, Amazon, Sam’s Club, and CVS are all hiring in the Allegheny county area.6. Food Support – The Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank has a number of pickup locations for meals for anyone 18 and younger.