NUSD Superintendent Weekly Update - November 13, 2020

Novato CA

15 November, 2020

3:49 AM

Description

Press release from the Novato Unified School District: November 13, 2020 En español Dear NUSD Family, At the conclusion of this week we returned approximately 1,250 of our students back to hybrid learning. I appreciate our staff's effort and commitment to make this happen. We bring students back to campus with one eye watching the Marin County data for COVID positive cases, which continues to show low infection rates. At the same time, we're also monitoring the data beyond Marin that shows increasing cases in our region and across the country. Topics included in today's letter are: Welcome 1st and 2nd graders this week Reentry Task Force Meetings High School Bell Schedule and Calendar Mediation update District Office closed to public during Thanksgiving and Winter Breaks Welcome 1st and 2nd graders this week We welcomed back Cohort A of our 1st and 2nd graders back on Monday and Cohort B on Thursday. Again, this was an all hands-on deck return with members from different departments on hand to support this important transition. I want to offer a special thank you to everyone who supported this return. Reentry Task Force Meetings In June, we convened a Reentry Task Force of 150 members to help us formulate a response plan to COVID-19. That plan was adopted by the Board of Trustees and can be found here. The diverse members of the Reentry Task Force will meet again next week on November 16 and 19. Members will be given an update on our re-entry status, future plans for returning students to campus, and the changes to California's tier system since they last met. Their broader task will be to review the reentry document and make recommendations for adjustments given any and all changes since June. These subcommittees will meet next week and report back to the task force. It is important for us to balance diverse stakeholder perspectives, concerns, and ideas in our plan. We appreciate the spirit of collaboration and cooperation reflected by this group of leaders. High School Bell Schedule and Calendar One of the task force subcommittees will be the high school bell schedule input committee. This subcommittee will be made up of students, parents, teachers, and administrators. They will make recommendations to our management team who will finalize the bell schedules in mid-December. There were some miscommunications regarding changes to the student schedules last week. Here is a link to the student calendar. A review of this calendar should help to clear up any remaining questions students have. Mediation Update The return to school plan involves many issues that impact the working conditions of employees. We have been negotiating a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to reach common ground on those issues. Unfortunately, we've been unable to finalize the MOU and have declared an impasse that enables us to bring in an impartial neutral mediator to facilitate reaching closure on the MOU. NUSD and NFT representatives will meet with a State appointed mediator on November 19. This will be a full day session. It is our hope that we will come to a mutually acceptable agreement regarding returning students to our campuses that both parties believe is in the best interest of everyone in our educational family. District Office Closed to Public During Thanksgiving and Winter Breaks The NUSD district office will be closed to the public during Thanksgiving and Winter Breaks. Please plan any visits to the district office around these closures. As I mentioned at the start of this update, the COVID-19 surge across the country is troubling and we all need to be vigilant and take appropriate precautions to keep ourselves and everyone safe as we approach the holiday season. Again, I thank you for your patience, understanding, and support during these very uncertain times. 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.