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REOPENING LUESD SCHOOLS
October 9th, 2020
Dear Lemoore Union Elementary School Families,
I am happy to report our district has received approval of our LUESD Elementary School Waiver Application this week from the Kings County Department of Public Health (KCDPH) and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). This approval allows us to transition to an in-person traditional instructional setting for TK-6th grade in a phased in approach. We will plan to transition to in-person instruction for our TK-1 grade students on Monday, October 19. Our 2nd-6th grade students will transition back to school on November 2. As shared previously, the Elementary Waiver Application process applies only to TK-6th grade elementary schools and does not include middle school or high schools. We are hopeful that the Kings County metrics for reopening our schools will continue to maintain, in which case our Liberty Middle School and University Charter School sites could reopen for in-person instruction by the last week of October or first week of November. We will keep you informed regarding the middle school and charter school transitions as soon as information is received.
Our district will be supporting an in-person learning option and distance learning option for students for the remainder of the 2020-2021 school year. To this end, some staffing changes were necessary. Most of our students will continue with the same teacher they started the school year with. Other students will be assigned to a new teacher due to the selection of a distance learning option or because their current teacher is being reassigned to support a distance learning classroom.
Every elementary school will not have a distance learning teacher available for every grade level. It will be necessary to combine students from different schools into the same distance learning class. Each of our distance learning teachers will be assigned to a specific school. In being assigned to the distance learning class, your child may now be associated with a different school. If that is the case, an intradistrict transfer will not be necessary for distance learning purposes.
If you have requested distance learning for the remainder of the year, you will be notified in the coming days with your child’s teacher name and school. If your child’s current teacher is being reassigned to a distance learning classroom and your child will be resuming school in-person, your child will remain at the same school, but they will be assigned to a different teacher at that school.
In terms of preparing our TK-1 grade students to return to campus we must comply with all areas of our waiver application and LUESD Reopening Plan. These documents outline CDPH AND KCDPH guidelines. We encourage you to review our LUESD Reopening Plan and Elementary School Waiver Application documents. Links to these documents are provided below.
We will also be providing specific expectations that all students and families will need to follow to ensure a safe return to campus. Areas that will be covered in detail include:
Parent/Guardian Daily COVID-19 Health Screening document will need to be completed for each child on the first day back to in-person instruction. The document link is provided here: Health Screening Document and is also provided on the district’s Reopening website page.
Parents/Guardians must conduct a daily health screening each morning prior to sending students to school. Any student displaying the symptoms as noted on the health screening document will need to remain at home.
Entry and Exit on campus will be designated for specific grade levels. Each school site will share their specific locations as part of the entry/exit protocols.
Staff will conduct temperature checks upon entry to campus.
School schedules will be provided by each school site with specific start and end times.
Students will remain in grade level cohort groups. They will have their lunch, recess and physical education time with their grade level cohort. Specific details can be found on page 3 of the LUESD Reopening Plan.
Face coverings- If your child rides the bus they must, regardless of age, wear a face covering. Once entering campus and while on campus, face coverings are highly encouraged for TK-2nd grade, if they can be worn properly. A face shield is an acceptable alternative for a child in this grade level who cannot wear the face covering properly. Our 3rd-8th grade students are required to wear a face covering unless exempt. More information can be found on page 6 or the LUESD Reopening Plan.
Transportation will be provided to our families however the bus routes will be reduced in order to follow physical distancing to safely transport our students to and from school. Additional information is found on page 3 of the LUESD Reopening Plan.
Face coverings must follow the dress code and not be distracting should a student want to wear their own face covering. Otherwise cloth face coverings and face shields will be provided by the school district for our students.
Meals will be served on campus (breakfast and lunch). Meals will continue to be offered free of charge through December 2020. Specific meal expectations can be found on page 3 of the LUESD Reopening Plan. Students who remain in distance learning will continue to be provided grab and go meal service at their current school site. Once all grade levels return for in-person instruction, the meal service will be adjusted to provide grab and go meals for distance learning students at one district school location (TBA).
Classrooms will be equipped with plexiglass barriers for common group spaces, hand sanitizer dispensers are mounted at entry points, air purifiers are provided, temperature check stations provided in every room.
We will not allow any visitors on campus including parents. Parents/Guardians are not allowed to bring their child to class. If you are going to a school site office, due to the size of these areas, we will adhere to physical distancing and follow the signs as posted. In most cases, only one parent will be allowed in this area at a time. Face coverings must be worn when entering the campus office area.
Document Links:
The transition back to in-person instruction and maintaining students in the distance learning model will take the entire LUESD school and family community in order to ensure a successful and safe learning environment. I sincerely appreciate your continued understanding and patience. More information will be shared next week from your school sites. Remember to check our district and site websites, social media pages, and phone calls home via School Messenger to be sure to have the latest information and updates. We are truly excited to welcome our students returning to campus and serving the educational needs of EACH ONE of our students and families.
Sincerely,
Cheryl Hunt
Superintendent
August 3, 2020
Dear Lemoore Union Elementary School Families,
We are just a week away from launching our 2020/2021 school year and we are excited to begin this learning journey with you and your student(s). We will be opening this school year with ALL of our students in a Distance Learning Instructional model. The Distance Learning Model being implemented will NOT be the same as the Distance Learning approach we implemented last spring. Your child’s participation is NOT optional or under a “hold harmless” interpretation. Students will be provided with the same rigorous instruction and high level of expectations we provide to each one of our students during our traditional face-to-face instruction. We are committed to ensuring our students continue to receive the quality education our parents expect and our students deserve. Critical updates are noted below as we prepare for our year together:
●Students will be issued their technology device along with hard copy materials/textbooks to support instruction on August 11 & 12.
●School site Principals will provide specific parent information this week related to the school distribution plan.
●Meals will be provided in a grab and go model. Meal service will take place on Tuesday and Thursdays from 11:15am-12:45pm at each of our school sites. University Charter School and Bridges Academy students will have access at our Liberty Middle School campus for meal pick-up. Mobile meal service will be provided at Sunset Vista and Belle Haven at the times noted above. Please make sure to complete all necessary meal service lunch applications. If you have, any questions related to the meal service program, please contact the Child Nutrition Department at 559-925-6294. Meal service will begin on August 11.
Distance Learning Standards:
●Each student will be assigned a grade level teacher as well as support staff should the student receive English Language Development (ELD) services, Special Education services or Counseling support.
●Students will be engaged in daily instruction Monday through Friday. Attendance will be taken each day.
●A daily instructional schedule will be provided by your school Principal.
●Students will receive live instruction from their teacher, pre-recorded lessons from the teacher and/or online resources, and allotted time for independent work.
●Students will receive instruction based on the guaranteed and essential standards for their grade level.
●Students will be required to complete/submit assignments, and work will be graded.
●Students will receive a report card each trimester. A virtual parent conference will be implemented to ensure interactions and feedback related to student progress are in place
We are confident that together EACH ONE of us will work in partnership to support our precious students in order for them to receive the education they deserve. Critical information will be provided via your site principal and teacher in the coming days. Please make sure to refer to our district and site websites for our 2020/2021 school year critical information as well as phone call communication.We appreciate your continued support as we navigate the new school year with a focus on the health and safety of our students, staff and families.
Sincerely,
Cheryl Hunt
Superintendent
Our goal since the closure of our campuses in March has been to safely return our students back to school with in-person instruction and a traditional educational setting. This has also been a priority for our parents and families based on the current questionnaire we shared last week, asking our families to select the academic instructional model preferred for the upcoming school year. We have been monitoring this data and approximately 11% of our students have selected Distance Learning as their request for the entire 2020/2021 school year.
On Friday, July 17, 2020, Governor Newsom and the California Department of Public Health announced schools may not return to in-person instruction until their county has been removed from the state monitoring list for fourteen (14) days, which is not anticipated in Kings County based on recent trends and the way in which California is monitoring the pandemic criteria. This announcement and guidance make it clear that our plan and hopes to reopen with in-person instruction will not be possible by the beginning of the 2020/2021 school year. This means we will start the school year with our students placed in the Distance Learning Instructional Model.
We will be releasing more details to families within the next two (2) weeks. However, please be assured the Distance Learning Model being implemented will NOT be the same as the Distance Learning approach we implemented last spring. In stark contrast, Distance Learning in 2020-2021 is NOT optional or under a “hold harmless” interpretation. Students will be provided with the same rigorous instruction and high level of expectations we provide to each one of our students during our traditional face-to-face instruction. We are committed to ensuring our students continue to receive the quality education our parents expect and our students deserve. I have provided a few details to support some of the questions you may be asking at this time:
Students will be engaged in daily instruction Monday through Friday and attendance will be taken each day
Each student will be assigned a grade level teacher as well as support staff should the student receive English Language Development (ELD) services or Special Education services
Students will receive live instruction from their teacher, prerecorded lessons from the teacher and/or online resources, and allotted time for independent work
Students will receive instruction based on the guaranteed and essential standards for their grade level. This will include participation in local assessments and any required state assessments
Students will be required to complete/submit assignments, and work will be graded
Students will receive a report card each trimester. A virtual parent conference will be implemented to ensure interactions and feedback related to student progress are in place
Students will be issued a Chromebook device or iPad (UCS only) to use for instructional purposes. A device distribution plan will be sent to parents prior to the start of the school year
Students will be issued hard copy materials/textbooks to support instruction
Lunch will be available in a grab and go model at each of our sites at a specific time to be sent prior to school beginning. UCS and Bridges Academy families will have access at our Liberty Middle School campus for lunch pick up. We will also continue with our Sun Set Vista and Belle Haven mobile distribution sites.
As we continue to move forward, we encourage our families to complete the Instructional Setting Questionnaire by July 27. This data is still important to us, in order to plan accordingly for reopening when that time comes. Keep in mind, if our County stays off the monitoring list for the required period of time and we can reopen, we will continue to be in a COVID-19 environment. Some of you may opt to keep your children in distance learning and those that opt to return for in-person classes will be required to follow the safety precautions we have outlined in our LUESD 2020 Return to School Reopening Plan. The plan can be found on our website: 2020 Return to School Reopening Plan
Thank you for your understanding and patience during this challenging time. This dynamic situation is ever changing. I am confident that together EACH ONE of us will work in partnership to support our precious students in order for them to receive the education they deserve. Please make sure to refer to our district website often at www.luesd.k12.ca.us for critical information in the coming days and weeks. We will continue to provide updates as new guidance is received. We hope our families remain healthy and safe and we encourage you to follow our “Practice at Home” series on our website to prepare our students for their transition back to school as soon as this is possible.
Cheryl Hunt
Superintendent