Update From Scotts Valley Unified School District Superintendent - October 23rd

Press release from the Scotts Valley Unified School District:

October 23, 2020

Dear Scotts Valley Community,

Items included in this update:

• Parent survey and next steps
• Small group support
• Technology update
• Student attendance
• Parent Workshop 10/28
• Site highlights

Thank you to the parents who responded to our recent survey, soliciting feedback from families regarding your experience with distance instruction since the start of school. As I shared with you in my last update, we are analyzing the survey data from parents, staff, and students to help us make necessary adjustments to the current instructional plan, support student needs, and plan for our next steps. We received a 58% parent response rate from this last survey, a bit over half of the responses to make plans for all students. Therefore, for those that did not respond to the survey, or did not turn in a waiver before school began, the District is assuming that you will be sending your student(s) to school when invited back. Your feedback is important and we are trying to respond to requests to the best of our ability, however, we must acknowledge that it is very challenging to address all parents and staff requests and suggestions, while also adhering to local and state requirements. Like all educators, we are doing our best and keeping our focus on students.

Sites have been reviewing their site-specific survey data and are planning to start bringing back small groups of identified students for academic and social-emotional support. Students are first being identified for return to the site based on a few initial factors which may vary across the sites. Examples include students who require specialized supports such as Special Education or English language supports, and also students who experienced the greatest learning loss since schools were closed last spring. We are also discussing the younger grades at each site possibly needing more support.

In November, all sites will be progressively inviting students to return to their respective school sites for small group support. For those families who elect to stay in full remote instruction, we are of course honoring those requests; however, it is important that you are aware that the current teacher(s) of record may have to change based on the numerous transitions that need to be made over the next year.

We want to let you know that the District’s Director of Technology went out on a leave of absence at the beginning of October and Assistant Superintendent Stewart and I, along with our small but mighty IT department of two, have been managing, redirecting, and following through on those important tasks.
We are pleased that to date, the overall student attendance rate and engagement is over 97%! Thank you to all of the parents, teachers, and staff for supporting students in their learning.

Please join us this coming Wednesday, October 28, at 7:00 PM for our next Parent training, How to Help Your Child Manage Distance Learning. The information is on our website on the Distance Learning Page, and linked here as well.

We want to share some site highlights:

SVHS:

The Haunted House is back but in a very different format. Drive Through, and family-style friendly:

Scotts Valley Haunted House Presents HALLOWEEN

An all-ages drive-through experience

Tickets Available at svhaunt.org All proceeds go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

SVMS:

The student council is working on creating weekly morning announcements, and they are excited to bring back this greatly missed part of our day.

The PTA Drive for schools ends today!

Principal Allen and Assistant Principal Menchaca have been “going into” classes on Fridays to see if students are wearing green!

College and career is next week, and November 2nd is the 7th-grade CSUMB trip.

BK:

Thanks to the efforts of the PTO, BK is proud to offer enrichment lessons for all students at the (virtual) Knoll Garden. Miss Timmer has put together a google classroom that the teachers will be sharing with students in all grade levels. Lessons include Garden Tours, Information on the Life Cycle of Plants, Soil Exploration, and Seed Dissection. Miss Colleen, the Music teacher, is creating videos for all grade levels to enjoy. Students will be learning musical vocabulary, different musical notes, and will be exploring musical patterns.

Art supplies are making their way home and we can’t wait to see what the students create. All grade levels will be working on teacher-led projects. Primary grades will be exploring Banda Mask, Byzantine Mosaic, and Joan Miro. Our intermediate grade levels (3-5) will be exploring Faith Ringgold, Pablo Picasso, and John J. Audubon. We can’t wait to view their creations!

VH:

Kindergarten students will return to a new PTA sponsored turf playfield when they arrive back on campus. The Scholastic Book Fair will begin on November 6th with a packed online store of great reading material. Life lab lessons started this week for all grade levels. Students are participating in video lessons, and planting seeds at home with the guidance of the LifeLab staff! Teachers continue to conquer new and engaging online platforms to instruct and engage the Vine Hill Bears. The school is looking forward to robust virtual Red Ribbon Week and College & Career Week!

As a reminder, next Friday, October 30th is a student day in case you have an older version of the school calendar. We “swapped” this day for a non-student day in late August due to the fires.

As Halloween is coming up, please be safe and embrace new traditions to celebrate this year!

Take good care,

Tanya Krause

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