April 1, 2020

Dear Students and Families:

We are preparing for students to have the tools and resources needed to engaged with moving the needle forward on learning with NCTA.  To ensure that students have access to the equipment they need, we reached out to our partner high schools to make sure we’re not doubling up efforts to provide technology.  This is our understanding of the technology resources for our students from the following district/high schools:

• Anacortes:  Students issued a PC laptop
• Bellingham: Students issued a laptop
• Blaine: Working on ensuring students have access to technology
• Burlington:  Can provide Chromebooks for students that need them
• Concrete: Provides Chromebook through High School  
• La Conner:  Students issued a Macbook laptop
• Meridian: Technology equipment not available for check out.
• Mount Vernon:  Provides Chromebook through High School  
• Sedro-Woolley/State Street:  Limited availability.  

We will be open for Chromebook distribution for the following dates and times:

-Friday, April 3 from 9-11:45. 

-Tuesday, April 7 from 11-2.

Priority will be for students in schools in which they are not able to provide resources or other extenuation circumstances.  A special note to our students in Video Game Development: You will need a PC or MAC to run the software.  We are also planning on making these available for students without access. 

YOU MUST SIGN UP BEFORE COMING TO THE MOUNT VERNON CAMPUS.  Please CLICK HERE to sign up for a Chromebook.  You will be giving instructions via email on how to pick up technology after you sign up.

Free or Low-Cost Internet

• To find a free and open hotspot from Xfinity, click HERE
• To learn about this program, click HERE .
• To sign up for free/low cost internet service, click HERE .

 For questions, please reach out by email to: info@nwtech.k12.wa.us or by phone at 360 503-1005.

Stay healthy and take care!

Lynette Brower, Director 

We hope this message finds you well and you are taking good care of yourself!  With a profession do deeply reliant on the personal and direct contact with students and staff, these new working experiences are challenging.  Hopefully you're able to find meaningful connections through other channels, too.  I have found phone calls and hearing people's voices that I normally email to be helpful at keeping the human connection alive in this work. 

We are getting a lot of questions about worst-case scenarios, how will our students earn their credits and industry certifications?  At this time, we are working on the guidance that NCTA and other public schools will be returning on April 27 to a healthy learning environment.  What Peter and I are working on with our staff is chunking the next five weeks into three phases.

Phase 1, March 23 - April 3: Making connections with students and families regarding status of grades, academic progress and other enrichment opportunities. Identifying students that do not have access to online through computer needs of internet access. Some students have a pattern of slacking off a bit academically and then right before grade term marks, they put it into high gear to bring their grades up.  We have also updated the grading term-- Third Quarter will commense on April 3, 2020.  
Phase 2, April 6 - 10: Spring Holiday.  
Phase 3, April 13 - 24:  Virtual learning will take place starting on Monday, April 13.  

One of thing we heard clearly from State Superintendent Reykdal was that schools are not closed. “Schools have changed.  Learning still is expected to happen.” 

A list of NCTA instructors are below.  Please feel free to connect with our staff. 

Aerospace Manufacturing: Jason Leander jleander@nwtech.k12.wa.us
Aviation, Lou Sabitini, lsabatini@nwtech.k12.wa.us
Applied Medical Science, Rebecca Martinson, rmartinson@nwtech.k12.wa.us
Automotive Services, Rick Garcia, rgarcia@swsd101.org
Criminal Justice & Public Safety, John Green, jgreen@nwtech.k12.wa.us
Culinary Arts, Lyle Hildahl lhildahl@nwtech.k12.wa.us
Dental Technology, Kathy Hulbert khulbert@nwtech.k12.wa.us 
Fire Science & EMS, Jack Greaves (FITE Director), jgreaves@fitefire.org
Marine Services, Wes Fridell wfridell@nwtech.k12.wa.us
Money and Business, Jodi Wireman jwireman@nwtech.k12.wa.us
Construction Skilled Trades, Dan Caldwell dcaldwell@swsd101.org
Video Game Development, Linton Porteous lporteous@nwtech.k12.wa.us
Veterinary Assisting, Sharon Lane slane@nwtech.k12.wa.us
Welding, Nick Wright,  nwright@nwtech.k12.wa.us

Special Education and Student Support, Sherrie Green, sgreen@nwtech.k12.wa.us
Administators Peter Donaldson pdonaldson@nwtech.k12.wa.us and Lynette Brower lbrower@nwtech.k12.wa.us

We have been asked if we're still accepting applications and yes-- the online application is still available. There has also been a lot of questions about summer programming.  We are still planning on summer session.  We have an Enrollment Night/Open House scheduled for May 13.   

When this ends, and it will end, every game will sell out, every restaurant will have a 2 hour wait, ever kid will be glad to be back in school, everyone will love coming to work, the stock market will skyrocket, every other house will get TP’d and we will again embrace and shake hands.  That’s going to be a pretty good day.  Hang in there.

2020-2021 Enrollment

At this time, we are not planning on new programming for next year.  We have been asked to keep enrollment open throughout the year so longer term planning (i.e., High School and Beyond Planning) can take place earlier in the winter and spring. We are already getting lots of application for the fall of 2020.  We will work on placements later in the winter to ensure students and families have equitable notification and opportunity to apply.  We will not be doing a first-come-first-serve approach to placement.  ncta.smapply.io.  

2020 Summer Session

Be on the lookout in late April for 2020 Summer Session courses and the application.  

When can students enroll?
We have decided to try something new this year!  We are leaving our year-program application open.  At this time we are not planning on launching any new programs for next year.  Students can apply and select when they want to enroll (ASAP, Second Semester/Jan 28, 2020 or for the fall 2020-2021) and the sending school representative will also confirm the enrollment selection).

NCTA Open Doors  

Through a program enacted by the Washington State Legislature, we have been approved to run an Open Doors Program at NCTA.  This provides students with the opportunity to enhance personal skills in a variety of academic areas while working towards a high school diploma.

The curriculum is done in approximately 6 week module workshops so students as a learning community can dive deep into project-based inquiry and make academic gains during this time.

To qualify, students will need to:
  - be currently enrolled (or have been previously enrolled) as a NCTA Skills Center Student
  - have shown a commitment to and success in their NCTA Skills Center program
  - between the ages of 16 and not older than 21
  - be committed to earning a high school diploma
  - not be on track to graduate, not currently in school (other than NCTA) or at risk of not graduating

 For more information, see more at the NCTA Open Doors tab above

Student can apply at ncta.smapply.io
 

______________________________

And, as always, feel free to reach out at 360 848-0706 or by email at info@nwtech.k12.wa.us

The 2019-2020 (and 2020-2021) Courses being offered can be found HERE!  The application was launched on February 8.  This year, we will be using an Online Only Application.  Please Note-- While we appreciate the support from our parents, this enrollment form needs to use the students' information and responses.  Last year, we are receiving a lot of enrollment forms with the Parent/Guardian listed as the student. We are unable to match records when the student name is not in the correct field.

Have questions?  You can connected email us at info@nwtech.k12.wa.us

NONDISCRIMINATION

The Mount Vernon School District does not discriminate in employment, programs, or activities on the basis of age, race, color, national origin, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression, gender identity, honorably discharged veteran or military status, or the presence of any sensory, mental or physical disability or use of a trained guide dog or service animal by a person with a disability and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. Inquiries regarding compliance and/or grievance procedures may be directed to the District's Title IX/Civil Rights Compliance Coordinator, Bill Nutting, Assistant Superintendent, 124 E. Lawrence Street, Mount Vernon, WA 98273 (360)428-6110; Section 504/ADA Coordinator, Clint Carlton, Director of Special and Support Services,  920 S. Second Street, Mount Vernon, WA 98273, (360)428-6141. 

El Distrito Escolar de Mount Vernon no discrimina en ninguno de los programas o actividades según el sexo, la raza, el credo, la religión, el color, el origen nacional, la edad, el ser veterano o la situación militar, la orientación sexual, la expresión de género, la identidad de género, discapacidad o el uso de un perro guía capacitado o animal de servicio  y proporciona un acceso equitativo a los Boy Scouts y otros grupos de jóvenes designados. Se ha designado a los siguientes empleados para encargarse de las preguntas y quejas de supuesta discriminación: Bill Nutting, Superintendente Asistente y Coordinador del cumplimiento de los derechos civiles o Coordinador del Título IX, 124 E. Lawrence Street Mount Vernon, WA 98273, (360)428-6110 o Clint Carlton, Director de servicios especiales y de apoyo y Coordinador de la legislación para los Estadounidenses con discapacidades o la Sección 504, 920 S. Second Street Mount Vernon, WA 98273, (360)428-6141.