TVUSD 2020/21 SCHOOL YEAR Update

Hi. I’m Jodi McClay, the Deputy Superintendent of TVUSD.

As promised, I wanted to provide a brief update of what our district’s plans are for the Fall. In an effort to keep you informed and hopefully able to more enjoy summer, it’s my intent to send these brief updates every few weeks throughout our break and prior to re-opening on August 12th.

First off, let me say that we appreciate your patience and flexibility as we navigate these uncharted waters. We are still receiving revisions on mandates, even on a daily basis, so THANK YOU for continuing to check the Frequently Asked Questions page on the district website (which is updated regularly), and patiently awaiting our newsletters and video updates. Please know that district administrators continue to work daily to solidify plans. Much of the information we are receiving from authorities continues to change, so we have opted to not revise our practices every day between now and August 12th and instead to share that we will follow state and public health directives and mandates that exist on August 12th.

Let me jump to a few things we can share:

A great deal of work is going into defining more specifically what each of our three models will look like: the traditional (where students come to school five days per week); blended (where elementary students attend two days learn from home with structured lessons and activities the other three days each week and secondary students come onto campus daily for 1-2 elective-type classes); and the full-time online program, where students have the flexibility to participate from home five days per week. It’s important to note that while we do our best to make the ‘traditional model look as ‘normal’ as possible, there will be new safety and health precautions in place. Each of these models has been designed to mitigate health and safety risks as best we can, with the least exposure being that of the full-time online program and increasing respectively.

As you know, both parents and staff have received preliminary surveys this past week to indicate your preferences. While we recognize that more information may be needed before both parents and teachers can ‘commit’ to a model, this preliminary information will allow us to better plan, assign staff, and establish the appropriate course offerings. Please remember that there will be an additional opportunity, after more details have been determined and articulated, to finalize your preferred model. We expect these final surveys to take place between July 20 and July 27. Also please note that the registration system is set to default to the traditional model. Therefore, if you prefer to teach in the five-day per week on-campus model (as a teacher), or as a parent, for your child to attend in the five-day per week on-campus model, you do not need to complete a survey.

A “PlayBook” is being created for each of the three models. These books contain specifics for each level and address seven different categories: Communication & Community Engagement; Health & Safety; Instruction; Resources; School Services; Social Emotional Learning; and Technology.

This past week, district administrative teams finished TVUSD's “campus walks,” where they met with each site's principal and member of the site team to plan for the safe reopening of school. The teams discussed specifics like cleaning and sanitizing protocols, classroom set-up, lunch service, PE and lockers, restrooms, expanding use of campus open areas, materials and supplies, and other health and safety topics. All of these discussions and decisions are being put into the “Playbooks,” which will ensure consistency among schools by levels. In other words, unless a school needs to differ in a protocol due to its physical layout, elementary schools will be handling each topic in the same manner, as will middle schools and high schools.

Also, this past week, 150 teachers began the arduous process of working in small teams to transition our classroom curriculum by grade level and content area to an online platform. This will ensure consistency between and among the online programs and what is occurring in our ‘brick and mortar’ programs. A huge thank you to our teachers and team facilitators for giving of your summer break to tackle these intense projects!

Likewise, this week we have two full-day sessions with both our labor associations, TVEA and CSEA, as we work through the details of each model collaboratively.

Our social-emotional team of social workers has also been busy working on frameworks that will support both families and students as they transition back from the pandemic. A six-month break in school will undoubtedly present unique academic, as well as social-emotional challenges, that everyone will need to be mindful of and have resources and strategies at their disposal to assist.

It is critical to acknowledge that all students, regardless of program, are being addressed. A Free and Appropriate Public Education for all students is a priority, so our special education team is working with individual students and families to ensure that the model selected for each student on an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) is not only doable but more importantly best for the child. Classroom walkthroughs have been happening in our special education classrooms, as well as plans for specific staff trainings, to ensure additional safety measures are in place; IEP meetings will be offered and held virtually whenever possible; and PPEs will be available to protect the health and safety of students and staff, especially when performing specialized health and nursing services.

And last, I’m excited to share that our Governing Board recently approved a large purchase of technology devices that will move us just about to what we would call a 1:1 student device ratio. This will not only ensure that all students have their own devices at school but also support learning at home.

Thank you again for your patience and flexibility. While I would have liked to have been able to address all questions and details within this video, we simply do not have all of the specifics (or time in a video) quite yet. I encourage you to check the Frequently Asked Questions page periodically; you can also pose specific questions through our Let’s Talk platform (also accessible on the district’s homepage). But know that we are working tirelessly to ensure that we achieve an appropriate balance for all our stakeholders. We are staying mindful of our purpose - to educate and follow the research on how best to ensure learning while respecting and ensuring that the health and safety needs of our students and staff are met.

Thank you for watching. I’ll update you again in a few weeks.

Stay safe and healthy…and enjoy the summer.