ALVORD UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

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July 5, 2020

CELEBRATING THE 25 MOST REMARKABLE TEENS

The highlight of this past week was the celebration of the 25 Most Remarkable Teens in the City of Riverside. The remarkable teens were honored in a special ceremony at the City Council meeting on June 30th. Six of the 25 were Alvord students. Congratulations to Jasmine Patino and Osiel Mendoza from Norte Vista High School and Luis Yannick Chavez, Mario Coria, Nathan Ray Gomez, and Tanya Magana from La Sierra High School. And a shout out to these remarkable teens' families and their schools for supporting them and helping them become such distinguished members of our school community and city.

ZACK EARP HONORED WITH CITY SPIRIT AWARD

In addition to our Remarkable Teens, former School Board member, current President of the Alvord Education Foundation, Marine Corps veteran, and all-around Class Act, Mr. Zach Earp was bestowed with the prestigious City Spirit Award, also on June 30 during a Council meeting at Riverside City Hall. The annual City Spirit Award recognizes a Riverside resident who, by extraordinary deeds and community spirit, demonstrates good citizenship and dedication to enhancing the quality of life in the City of Riverside. Congratulations Mr. Earp.

GOVERNOR NEWSOM SIGNS 2020 BUDGET ACT

On June 29, Governor Newsom signed the 2020 Budget Act. While the budget spared education of any immediate cuts or layoffs or other measures that would have added an additional challenge to reopening schools in 2020-21, the budget is balanced in large part through deferrals to school districts and other adjustments that may threaten education in the near future. If the economic outlook doesn't improve soon, California schools will likely face funding shortfalls. But for now we're safe, at least as it relates to the budget.

PARENT AND STUDENT SURVEY UPDATE

On June 30, in a Press Release, the City of RIverside reported that over the past fourteen days, there has been a 50% increase in COVID-19 cases within Riverside County and a 37% increase in the City of Riverside. California has seen a 43% increase. The County of Riverside’s most recent positivity rate was well above the 8% threshold set by the State. During that 14-day period, on our parent survey, our families were considerably less likely to choose full in-person instruction when schools reopen. The largest percentage among parents who took the survey since May 28 was 38%, choosing full distance learning. Followed by 37%, choosing a hybrid model. Only 24% chose full in-person. Things change quickly. If you have not yet taken the survey, please choose the English version or the Spanish version. Below is a table of the survey results as of today's date.

On the student survey, 531 more 6-12 students submitted a response since last week. The total number of students submitting is up to 2,250. The 2,250 represents 25% of our 6-12 students. The percentages remained largely unchanged from a week ago. There was a slight uptick on the hybrid. The student survey remains open. Take the survey here.

BELOW ARE THE PIE GRAPHS WITH THIS WEEK'S TOTAL STUDENT RESPONSES WITH LAST WEEK'S RESPONSES UNDERNEATH

As of today, 331 K-5 students responded to the survey. It's a small sample, but interestingly 10% more of our K-5 students, compared to 6-12 students, prefer all on-line distance learning. The survey is still open. I appreciate parents helping our youngest of students complete the survey. Here's the student survey in English and in Spanish. See the current results below.

REOPENING SCHOOLS SCHOOL BOARD STUDY SESSION
Like all K-12 school districts, Alvord is building contingencies into our reopening plans. If you missed my June 25 Progress Report on Reopening Alvord Schools, you can watch it below. Or choose to watch and listen to it in Spanish here. This coming Thursday, July 9, the Board of Education will conduct a Study Session to discuss the reopening plan. The Task Force will report their findings and make their recommendations. The Board is tentatively set to take action on the reopening plan the following Thursday, July 16. Learn here how to watch and listen to the Study Session via YouTube and how to submit questions prior to the meeting. The meeting will begin at 6 pm. It's a virtual meeting in Google Meet. The Study Session will build on the presentation below and focus more on specific models and how we intend to keep our students and our employees safe while delivering the high-quality education our families are accustomed to receiving.

HIGHER EDUCATION UPDATE
Other education news this past week related to first closing, and now reopening schools, included more than 300 universities across the country signing a statement reassuring students that the college admission process will value self-care and family care amid the coronavirus pandemic. Students who were at a disadvantage this past Spring will be held harmless. That's good news for our graduating Class of 2021. On a much less positive note for our college-going graduates, many universities are walking back on reopening plans as a result of COVID-19 surges. Among the most notable schools close to home is USC. The university is now anticipating that only 10% to 20% of classes will be held in-person.

SUMMER TRAINING AND HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETICS UPDATE

As I mentioned last week, due to the recent surge in coronavirus cases in Riverside County, summer programs for high school athletics and other extra-curriculum programs have been pushed back to July 13. If the coast is clear on July 13, summer programs will begin and strictly follow our guidelines here, based in the CIF Return to Physical Activity/Training Guidelines. The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) is still planning to announce the 2020-21 sports-year calendar sometime on or before July 20. Their decision will be to either open the sports calendar as planned, starting August 3, or push it back to mid-September, in which case seasons will be shortened. Summer conditioning and eventually Fall sports will depend on the trajectory of the current surge. Dr. Chad Vercio and Dr. Geoffrey Leung from the Riverside University Health System (RUHS) discuss how we all can contribute to slowing down the spread of the COVID-19 disease. Watch the 7:48 minute video below.

SUMMER ACADEMY JULY 6 - JULY 31
We are excited to offer our Summer Academy, starting tomorrow, July 6 through July 31, from 9 a.m. to noon, Monday through Thursday. This online preparation and enrichment program will be taught by our own AUSD teachers through Google Classroom, and is available to all students. No need to apply. We are offering both intervention and enrichment. Students may join the classrooms of their choice. Students will need to join the Google Classroom with their Alvord email. See more details below in the newsletter or visit the Summer Academy web page here.

In closing, I want to reiterate my weekly message of hope to our students and our families. On behalf of the Board of Education and our staff, we all understand and appreciate how important it is for children to return to school and parents to return to work. We all want to return to normal. Please join me and the Board of Education this coming Thursday for our school reopening study session. Please submit your questions for the Board via email here.

Stay healthy. Be well.

In partnership,

Allan Mucerino

We are excited to offer our Summer Academy on July 6 through July 31 from 9 a.m. to noon Monday through Thursday. This online learning opportunity will be taught by our own AUSD teachers through Google Classroom, and is available to all students, no need to apply. We are offering both intervention and enrichment opportunities. Students may join the classrooms of their choice. Students will need to join the Google Classroom with their Alvord email.

Does my student have to attend Summer Academy, everyday?
Students may attend Summer Academy classes, as desired. Attendance will not be taken and there is no credit offered for these courses.

How can my student participate in the Summer Academy program?
There is no application necessary, all students are welcome to participate in any of the courses. Google Classroom codes for each course are posted below.

K-5 ACADEMIC JULY 6 - JULY 31
Tuesday and Thursday

• Kindergarten: dc5ajj5
• Grade 1: cyeakww
• Grade 2: jv7ftfj
• Grade 3: 3obexlf
• Grade 4: uaawhga
• Grade 5: xxzutjy
• Special Education Supports
• K-2nd: dwgjva5
• 3rd – 5th: zbipyxc
  
  

K-5 ENRICHMENT JULY 6 - JULY 31
Monday and Wednesday

• Dance: w5bp315
• Language: vrwaiwq
• Music: giabvos
• Visual Arts: h2ivuqc
  
  

6-8 ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS/MATH JULY 6 - JULY 31
Monday - Thursday

• Grade 6: ELA-arrazzf
• Grade 6:MATH-pvssncl
• Grade 7: ELA-hgpkwhc
• Grade 7: MATH-i44m3lt
• Grade 8: ELA-k4e5rl3
• Grade 8:MATH-wgotoxw
  
  

9-12 ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS JULY 6 - JULY 31
Monday - Thursday

• Grade 9: ELA-sbfcbmn
• Grade 10: ELA-7mukn4k
• Grade 11/12: ELA-q44euuk
  
  

INTEGRATED MATH 1, 2, 3 - JULY 6 - JULY 31
Monday - Thursday

• Integrated Math 1: uayagza
• Integrated Math 2: amveopd
• Integrated Math 3: hfu5j4h

Email: 2Superintendent@alvordschools.org
Website: https://www.alvordschools.org
Location: 9 Kpc Parkway, Corona, CA 92879, USA
Phone: 951) 509-5000
Facebook: facebook.com/alvordunified
Twitter: @AlvordUnified