Novato Unified School District Superintendent Update – Parent Survey Results, 7-11 Committee, Public Health Protocol Update

Novato CA

14 March, 2021

2:01 PM

Description

Press release from the Novato Unified School District: March 12, 2021 Dear NUSD Family, "One year after we shifted our schools to remote learning due to the pandemic, we brought our last group of students back onto campus and into hybrid learning as we welcomed our eleventh and twelfth grade students back to our campuses. It was great to see our students' bright and shining faces as they returned to our campuses. We also met another key benchmark this week as every NUSD educator has had the opportunity to receive at least the first dose of their Covid vaccine. Topics included in today's update are: Parent School Schedule Survey Results Large Events at Secondary Schools 7-11 Committee update Public Health Changes to Covid Protocol for Students Testing Positive March 22 Professional Development Day School Fuel – Tour of Novato New IT Tech Support Hours Virtual Learning Academy newsletters Parent School Schedule Survey Results Thank you to all the parents who took this survey! We had over 3,100 responses. A link to the parent school schedule survey results can be found here. The data from the survey will be used to help guide important decisions moving forward through negotiations and other key decisions that will be made about increasing student learning time on campus. Negotiations are scheduled to continue with the Novato Federation of Teachers (NFT) today, March 12 and March 15. Staff will be presenting an update on increasing student learning time on campus at the Board meeting on March 16, 2021, and will make recommendations to the Board at that time. You can find the Board agenda for March 16 here. Large Events at Secondary Schools Next week our secondary principals are meeting with Marin County Public Health Officials to discuss secondary school events. Key topics will include athletics, graduations and promotions, other traditional events like homecoming, etc. We look forward to being able to share the outcomes of this conversation next week. 7-11 Committee Update The NUSD 7-11 Committee met on March 10. A recording of the meeting can be found here. In that meeting, the committee decided that they will be making a recommendation to the NUSD Board of Trustees on closing an elementary school in May. They made this decision based on the data presented in the last two meetings and the previous actions taken by NUSD. The committee has not yet explored which school will be closed. These explorations will occur in the upcoming meetings. This is a terribly hard decision. The hard work, open mindedness and commitment of the committee to doing this difficult work, while considering what is in the best interest of the entire NUSD community, is much appreciated. Public Health Changes to Covid Protocol for Students Testing Positive Starting March 15, Marin Public Health is updating their protocol for students that test positive for Covid. While schools will continue to work and consult with Public Health on positive cases, they are shifting from closing classes with positive cases to contact tracing for grades 3-12. Only those that are identified as a 'close contact' with a positive individual will be required to quarantine. With the very low number of positive Covid cases and transmission in schools in the county, Public Health is not recommending or requiring that the class 'close' or transition to remote learning. We understand that Public Health will be updating and publishing updated protocols soon. March 22 Professional Development Day March 22 is a half-day professional development day for teachers. High schools: Flexible In-Person students will be fully remote March 22 and will be in person on Wednesday (flipping Monday and Wednesday schedules). Middle schools: Flexible In-Person students will be fully remote on March 22. Cohorts A and B will attend Periods 1, 3 and 5 in the morning. Elementary schools: Flexible In-Person students will follow the conference schedule on March 22. Minimum day release for Cohort A at 11 am, teachers meet with Cohort B11:15 am – Noon. For more information about the March 22 schedule, please contact your student's teacher or principal. School Fuel – Tour of Novato School Fuel will, once again, host the Tour of Novato annual fundraiser for schools. Due to the pandemic, the Tour will look different. You can register or donate to the Tour here or get more information through this video. School Fuel is NUSD's public education foundation and is a 501(c) 3 nonprofit foundation formed in 2003 by parents and community leaders. They raise money to pay for programs for NUSD students and sponsor local events, like the Tour of Novato, that showcase NUSD students. School Fuel also develops partnerships with private and public organizations that offer programs for the local schools. The foundation's goal is to help ensure that all students have access to enriching and rigorous programs that will keep them engaged and curious while preparing them for their next level of education and their future careers. The third part of School Fuel's mission is to help parents of Novato students become more informed about our district and education issues so that they can be more effective partners in their child's education. Please support School Fuel and the Tour of Novato if you are able. New IT Tech Support Hours To better meet the needs of our community, the IT department has updated the IT tech support hours at Hill Education Center Library. Their new hours are: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 2-4 pm Wednesday 9-11 am Virtual Learning Academy Newsletters This week's VLA newsletters cover how to celebrate Women's History Month with kids, survey for Special Education, and the AIM High Summer Program for middle school students. Here are links to this week's VLA newsletters: Elementary – March 11, 2021 Middle School – March 11, 2021 Thank you for your patience and understanding as we continue to open school for in-person instruction and consider how to make our athletic program meet the needs of our student athletes. Have a great weekend." Sincerely, Kris Cosca www.nusd.org/COVID This press release was produced by the Novato Unified School District. The views expressed here are the author's own.