Capistrano Unified School District Shared November Gratitude

Press release from the Capistrano Unified School District:

November 4, 2020

Dear CUSD Families,

2020 has proven to be a challenging year for all of us. I want to commend our Capistrano Unified community for the incredible strength and grace you have shown during these unprecedented times.

Our priority continues to be to maintain the high standards of teaching and learning Capistrano Unified is known for and we are putting every resource towards those efforts. With our lobbyists and PTA Legislative partners, we secured $24 million in CARES Act funding from the Federal Government, the ability to provide universal feeding for our students through the school year, and we will continue to make our voice heard to increase public school funding in Sacramento and Washington, D.C.

On September 28 we began our phased-in approach to welcoming students back onto our campuses. We are, perhaps, the largest District in the state of California to open our elementary classrooms full time for families who wish to choose this option. It was our Board’s vision and the work of our teachers, staff, and administrators that have made this successful, and we are proud to say that all of our schools are now open for safe in-person learning. Please visit our Reopening page website, where you can also view our District Positive COVID-19 Case Dashboard.

We are committed to making daily improvements, identifying opportunities that will continue to strengthen extended learning for our elementary students, increase support for secondary students who may need extra help, and continue to work to bring back high school athletics, VAPA programs, and student activities within the California Department of Public Health guidelines that we must follow. On October 26, we began surveying our elementary families. This week we will share a survey with our middle school families, and our high school families will receive a survey the week of November 9. Your feedback is greatly appreciated as it helps us understand what is going well, what needs to be improved, and identifies opportunities to continue to strengthen our instructional model. This is important work as we prepare for spring, which we believe, after talking with the state and county, will have similar health and safety guidelines in place.

I want to share with our parents and guardians how thankful I am for your patience and your partnership in supporting our 47,000 students during this very challenging time. And, to our amazing students -- you have proven that you are incredibly resilient, and will not let a pandemic get in the way of your curiosity for learning, or your ability to remain connected with each other.

As I close, I want to remind each of you to take care of yourselves. As our partners at Hoag Hospital shared during our family webinar last week, we are in a time of great unpredictability.

Many of our traditions and routines are disordered, which can create high levels of stress and anxiety. We all need to remember to spend time outdoors in the sunshine, find activities to help us relax, and make sure we are getting sufficient amounts of sleep every single day.

I am grateful for you and our Capistrano Unified community and the support and partnership you provide our teachers, staff, and administrators. Thank you!

Sincerely,

Kirsten Vital

Superintendent

This press release was produced by the Capistrano Unified School District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.