Help / FAQs

• • • • The school district has created a system for submitting help tickets for your district Chromebook. You can email McGStudentHelpDesk@mcguffey.k12.pa.us or call (724) 948-3731, x.2320 with a description of your problem.

      • Remember, students must be logged in to their MSD Google Account to access Classroom, apps, etc.

• Teachers are designing lessons with this in mind. Depending on the assignment, this may take several forms. For students with a district Chromebook, some features can still be used offline.

• MSD Wifi is available in the student (lower) parking lot of the MS/HS campus Monday-Friday, 8:00am-6:00pm. District Chromebooks will connect automatically. The Guest Wifi network is available too. Please email McGStudentHelpDesk@mcguffey.k12.pa.us to receive that password for the guest network. Families using the wifi should remain in their vehicles at all times and practice social distancing. All district policies apply when using the district wifi network and on school property.

• The district has started a Traveling WiFi program. For more information, visit https://www.mcguffey.k12.pa.us/TravelingWiFiProgram.aspx

• The school district is continuing to work on the challenge of internet access for families, but as you can imagine, many districts and organizations are competing for resources right now. We did not receive a grant from the state that would have helped with this challenge. The district has formed a Broadband Internet Task Force to help partner with townships and state resources to try to work on the challenge of internet access in our district.

• Each building is handling paper packet distribution for families based on their building's and students' unique needs. Please contact your building's administrators, secretaries, or counselors if you need a packet.

• At their meeting on April 21, 2020, the Board of School Directors voted on a revised 19-20 school calendar. The date for graduation has been set for June 5, 2020. The district will continue to offer learning for families who choose to participate through June 15, 2020.

• • • • Students can use the McGuffey School District website (https://www.mcguffey.k12.pa.us/StaffDirectory.aspx ), which has a Staff Directory with email addresses, to reach out to their teachers.

      • Staff members are generally available from 11:15am - 3:30pm each school day to answer emails, set up virtual meetings, etc. Staff will do their best to return emails and calls within 24 hours.

      • Many teachers have posted their codes in their class descriptions in PowerSchool as well.

The primary purpose of this online learning plan is to emphasize enrichment and extension activities for students. Therefore, teachers will not be using traditional grades to assess student understanding during this school closure. They may provide feedback in other meaningful forms.

For information about Term 3 grades, please see the following message from the Superintendent of Schools: Update For Parents

Our online learning mode does not require attendance to be tracked in the usual manner. Parents do not need to call in or submit excuses related to a virtual absence.

How to Turn Notifications On or Off in Google Classroom

We respect each family's privacy. A student can always listen in with their camera turned off and/or a microphone muted. Teachers will record any live sessions they do, so please be aware of this if your child chooses to participate. Participation is voluntary. The teacher may also choose to have all student cameras and/or microphones turned off during a live session as well.

For a Chromebook or cord, please send an email to a principal or secretary in your building, who will then follow up with you about how to get those items. For other items like jackets, lunch boxes, etc., the school is working on a plan to do a locker clean out and will share that information with families soon.

The Middle School will be distributing student items from lockers to families on Tuesday, 4/28 and Wednesday, 4/29. See the MS page for more details.

All students continue to have access to their school counselors for support with academics, social challenges, emotional support, etc.

The Secretary to the Director of Child Accounting and Transportation, Mrs. Jodi White. Her email is whitej@mcguffey.k12.pa.us.

Community Resources page

Case managers and special education staff will be reaching out to families to explain how this works, continue to offer meetings, and be available by email. If you have a concern, you may contact them or reach out to the Director of Special Services, Mrs. Charissa Rychcik, at rychcikc@mcguffey.k12.pa.us.

Your school's guidance counselors are still monitoring and updating these plans. Please reach out to your child's counselor with any questions or concerns you may have.

You can call the main school phone number. If the call goes to voicemail, you may leave a message. Secretaries will be checking voicemail periodically throughout the day.

The Governor of Pennsylvania has closed all schools for the remainder of the school year. The state tests have all been cancelled for this year.

The school district is still discussing how to honor our seniors with these events while keeping all involved safe. The school board has set the graduation date for seniors as June 5, 2020. The district will communicate further with families about what these events will look like once the board has decided.