Last week the FCC announced that over six million households have enrolled into the Emergency Broadband Benefit – the country’s largest broadband affordability program.  This continued success is in large measure because of each you — our over 32,000 outreach partners who have worked tirelessly to build EBB program awareness among your members and within your communities. 

“The response to the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program confirms what many of us knew to be true: too many families remain offline because it’s too expensive for their monthly budget,” said Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel.  “Now, thanks to the Emergency Broadband Benefit, millions of kids can better keep up with their schoolwork, parents can train for their next jobs, and patients can stay in contact with their doctors. The FCC is not stopping until we reach as many eligible families so they too can get the support they need.” 

Consumers can sign up by contacting a participating provider, enroll online at www.getemergencybroadband.org, or using a mail-in application. To learn more about mail-in applications, call (833) 511-0311.  

This week, Sept 20-24, is Lifeline Awareness Week.

Lifeline is an FCC program designed to help make communications services more affordable for low-income consumers. The program provides eligible low-income subscribers a monthly discount of up to $9.25 off their monthly service.  Eligible low-income subscribers on Tribal lands receive a monthly discount of up to $34.25.

Since 1985, the Lifeline program has provided a discount on communication services for qualifying low-income consumers to ensure that all Americans have the opportunities and security that phone service brings, including being able to connect to jobs, family, and emergency services. The Lifeline program is available to eligible low-income consumers in every state, territory, commonwealth, and on Tribal lands.

Households that qualify for Lifeline also qualify for the Emergency Broadband Benefit, they simply need to opt-in with their current Lifeline provider or contact a different participating provider and choose an eligible plan to start receiving the monthly benefit.

Qualifying households can receive both the Lifeline and Emergency Broadband Benefit at the same time. They can be applied to the same qualifying service or separately to a Lifeline service and an Emergency Broadband Benefit service with the same or different providers.

While the ongoing pandemic continues to affect our communities, please share information about Lifeline with your membership, partners, and neighbors.

• For consumer-focused Lifeline information, including links to translations into Spanish,     Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Tagalog:  https://www.fcc.gov/lifeline-consumers
• To find out if you qualify for Lifeline and apply for the program visit the Universal Service Administrative Company website:  https://www.lifelinesupport.org
• Printable Consumer Guide:  https://www.fcc.gov/sites/default/files/lifeline_support_for_affordable_communications.pdf

There are still some open slots for the 2021-22 school year!  Please call the Elementary Office at 814-260-1702 if you are interested in your child attending.

At their September 13, 2021, the Oswayo Valley School Board of Directors approved the updated ESSER Health and Safety Plan.  To view the plan, please click on the following link.

ESSER Health and Safety Plan September 2021

On September 8, the FCC announced that households with a member approved to receive benefits under the free and reduced-price school lunch program or the school breakfast program, including through the USDA Community Eligibility Provision, in the current 2021-2022 school year are also eligible for the Emergency Broadband Benefit. This expands on the original program eligibility rules that included the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years.

See the public notice here: https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-21-1119A1.pdf

For additional information, send an email to broadbandbenefit@fcc.gov.

Check out the new program OV is offering to all their students!  Swing by our pantry or grab a backpack and go with your favorite foods from the CHOP Backpack and Pantry program offered at OV. There are no costs to any of our participants!  All we need is the registration form signed and sent back to your student’s teacher.

CHOP Brochure

Backpack Registration Form

The Oswayo Valley School District has the following vacancies available:

K-12 Art Teacher available at the start of the 2021-22 school year

Applicants must possess the appropriate Pennsylvania certification.  Interested individuals should apply online at www.oswayovalley.com and include a letter of interest, resume, copy of certificate, copy of transcripts, and three letters of recommendation.

The District is also accepting applications for the following:

Substitute Employees for the following:

• Cafeteria Worker
• Custodian
• Instructional Aide
• Secretary
• Teacher

Interested individuals should apply online at www.oswayovalley.com. Positions will remain open until successful candidates have been found.

For any questions or assistance with the application process, please contact Mrs. Christi Stedman in the District Office at 814-260-1700 or by email at christi@oswayo.com.

Order of the Acting Secretary

Mask Waiver Form

Please click on the following link to view the most recent order.

Order of Face Masks in Schools

As many of you know this Order was released yesterday by the Acting Secretary of Health. The Oswayo Valley School District will be following this mandate to the best of our ability as we have done with all mandates in the past. If you or your child would like to be excluded from this mandate please contact your Doctor for a medical exemption.

This Order will apply to students, employees, and visitors within the Oswayo Valley School District buildings. There are several identified exceptions, including a medical exception. The Order takes effect on September 7, 2021 and will remain in place until terminated.

Unfortunately schools have been asked to be in the middle of a political battle and this was not our choice and remains to not be our choice. We will follow all mandates for legal reasons moving forward. Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, government entities have issued changing guidelines and mandates which have been a major source of frustration for many of us. Despite assurances throughout the summer that school districts in Pennsylvania would be able to exert local control this school year in regards to health and safety plans, yesterday’s announcement from Harrisburg has again changed the rules for us at the local school district level. As a public school in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, we are required to follow this order from DOH.

We will not require students to wear masks while outdoors, while engaged in high-intensity aerobic activities such as active participation in physical education class, sports practice, or when engaged in an activity that they cannot perform while wearing a mask such as eating, drinking, or playing an instrument.

Contact Tracing and Quarantine will be done according to the guidance given from the PA Department of Health when we submit for a confirmed case.

Jed Hamberger, Superintendent

The Oswayo Valley School District is a participating partner in the Emergency Broadband Benefit outreach program.   With the help of OV and many other school districts, the Broadband Benefit program has enrolled over 4M households! We knew from the beginning that the success of the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program would largely depend on mobilizing trusted on-the-ground advocates and community leaders.  We’ve made terrific progress, but the FCC remains committed to building on this initial momentum so we can connect as many families as possible and help those struggling to get online.

As we continue to work together to get more households enrolled, we wanted to provide you with helpful contacts for program questions, complaints, and other support.

Resources 

For questions about the status of an online or paper application, or questions about the application process including documents needed, contact the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) at:

• Email:  EBBHelp@usac.org
• Phone:  1-855-511-0311
• Online:  GetEmergencyBroadband.org

To file a complaint with the FCC about a participating provider:

• Online: consumercomplaints.fcc.gov
• Phone: 1-888-225-5322

For Emergency Broadband Benefit general program information:

• Email:  BroadbandBenefit@fcc.gov
• Online: fcc.gov/broadbandbenefit

To request a speaker for your next meeting or community gathering:

• Email: EBBSpeakers@fcc.gov
• Online: fcc.gov/broadbandbenefit

Feel free to reach out to the Oswayo Valley School District if you have any questions or concerns as well!

The Healthy Kids Program is accepting applications for the following positions.  Please click on the links to view the job descriptions and application process.

Child Care Assistant

Daycare Director

Site Supervisor

Please click on the link below to access Oswayo Valley’s Health and Safety Plan.

OV Health and Safety Plan

On June 30, 2021, Governor Tom Wolf signed into law Act 66 of 2021 which gives parents/guardians the option to request that their student(s) be permitted to repeat a grade level during the 2021-2022 academic year due to COVID-19. Parents/guardians must inform the School District by July 15, 2021 at the latest in order to make this election. School Districts must allow students to repeat a grade if a parent makes this election, even if the student satisfactorily completed the grade during the 2020-2021 academic year.

In addition, Act 66 of 2021 allows special education students who turned 21 during the 2020-2021 academic year or during Summer 2021 to continue to attend the School District during the 2021-2022 academic year. Any special education student who elects this option shall continue to receive services in accordance with their IEP under IDEA.

If you wish your child to repeat a grade level during the upcoming 2021- 2022 school year, please complete the following form and submit it to the District by July 15, 2021.  If you have any questions, please contact your child’s school.

Act 66 Student Grade Level Retainment Notification Form

Act 66 of 2021

The FCC announced that on May 12, 2021, eligible households will be able to apply for the Emergency Broadband Benefit.

In announcing the official launch date, Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel stated:

“Families in every corner of the country have been struggling to get online throughout this pandemic. For those families, we now say help is around the corner. In less than two weeks, we will have a new way for disconnected Americans to access the internet to carry out their day-to-day life, so they can reach the virtual classroom, take advantage of telehealth, and seek new employment opportunities.”

Beginning on May 12 households can apply in three ways:

1. Contact your preferred participating broadband provider directly to learn about their application process.

2. Go to org to apply online and to find participating providers near you.

3. Call 833-511-0311 for a mail-in application, and return it along with proof of eligibility to: Emergency Broadband Support Center

P.O. Box 7081

London, KY 40742

Materials that partners can use to help promote the Emergency Broadband Benefit to the communities they serve will be available soon on www.fcc.gov/emergency-broadband-benefit-outreach-toolkit.

Earlier this week the FCC hosted a webinar that provided an overview of the benefit, eligibility criteria, how to apply, and the FCC’s partner toolkit materials. If you missed the event live, a recording can be viewed online.

The Oswayo Valley School District in partnership with The Potter County Education Council is working to compile a list of videos that are produced to showcase what careers local employers offer in the North Central region of Pennsylvania. This is a valuable resource for students to start to explore career choices so that we can gear their course selection towards their career goals.

Gas Field Specialists is a local employer in the Oswayo Valley School District focusing on a broad array of career choices that all pertain to the natural gas industry. Check out their job profiles in the Gas Field Specialists Video!

Please click on the following links for contact information regarding mental health services available for youth and adults.

Potter County Mental Health Services for Youth

Potter County Mental Health Services for Adults

In the past week at OV, we received multiple phone calls and emails regarding the role of a school board member. We reached out to the Pennsylvania School Boards Association to see if we could offer a community training from a third party to educate our residents on the roles and decisions that school boards are designed for in the state of Pennsylvania. PSBA does not offer trainings for community members but shared this video with us to post for community members to have a better understanding of the roles of school board members.

Please feel free to watch the video and reach out to Mr. Jed Hamberger, Superintendent, with any questions you may have after you’ve seen the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buYnEj3IdMM

Mansfield University’s Early Start Program (ESP) allows qualified high school students to take Mansfield University Courses in online, hybrid, or face-to-face formats and earn college credits while still enrolled in high school.

If your child is interested in taking college courses while in high school, be sure to check out this great program!  Applications are currently being accepted for the Early Start Program.

Click on the links below to view additional information, apply to the Early Start Program, and view upcoming course selections.

Early Start Program Application

ESP Fall 2021 Course Offerings