Schools
End Of Week Communication From Novato Unified School District
"Once this week comes to a close, we will have three weeks left before the school year ends."
By lbenjamin | May 21st, 2020
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Dear NUSD Community,
Once this week comes to a close, we will have three weeks left before the school year ends. Today I will provide some updates on themes from last week’s end of week communication including a graduation update, an update on reentry planning for the 2020-2021 school year, and some information on upcoming budget communications. This week we have a three-day weekend to celebrate Memorial Day which honors the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military.
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The seventeen-member high school graduation committee, composed of students, parents, teachers, a counselor, a classified employee, and myself, had a good meeting yesterday. We had a great discussion about what we wanted in a graduation ceremony, the restrictions currently in place, and options for making those things happen. We will be meeting again next Wednesday, May 27, 2020, and I anticipate we will have final decisions on graduations and promotions next week. I am thankful for this committee’s work.
Assistant Superintendent of Education Services, Dr. Amie Carter, will be leading NUSD’s planning for the return to school for the 2020-2021 school year. She is working with an 80-member Reentry Task Force that mostly consists of NUSD employees. This task force has recently received information to help them prepare for their first meeting on Thursday, May 28, 2020. This work is supported by the Rethinking Schools – Marin County Task Force which is working on reentry planning across the county. As this committee goes through its process, community members will be more involved. While we know schools will look different in the fall, we are committed to a safe return. Some of the challenges we face include:
- Timing Considerations for Schools (State Indicators, Stages of Recovery, Guidance from Marin County Health)
- Communication & Stakeholder Engagement Plans
- Facilities, Custodial & Sanitation Plans
- Illness Prevention Procedures & Protocols
- Wellness Support Plans for Students
- Acceleration Strategies for ELL, Homeless, Foster, Socioeconomically Disadvantaged
- Fiscal Considerations
- Meal Service Logistics
- Instructional Considerations
- Adaptable Scheduling for various scenarios for students’ grades PK-12
We are committed to this important work in the service of our students and our community. We will provide additional information as it becomes available.
As noted in last week’s end of week communication, short of a significant influx of Federal stimulus funding, COVID-19 will have significant, negative, and immediate impacts on our current budget. We have much budget related work ahead of us and will need to make many hard decisions in the months and weeks to come. Expect a communication from Business Services with additional budget information later today. This communication will include a survey link allowing you to submit questions for a budget focused virtual town hall that will take place next Thursday, May 28, 2020, at 3 pm.
Have a great long weekend. You have all earned it.
Sincerely,
Kris Cosca
This press release was produced by the Novato Unified School District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.
