Dear NUSD Family,
Tomorrow is May 1 and we have 28 days of school remaining. Many educators have a saying about the ‘100 Days of May’ as it seems to be one of the longest months of the year and one of the busiest. This morning, we learned that a Novato High student was injured and is in critical condition at the hospital. Our heart goes out to the family and the community.
Today’s topics include:
- Being an Inclusive District
- 7-11 Committee Update
- Virtual Learning Academy Survey
- Extension of Child Nutrition Waiver through 21-22
- Covid Testing No Longer at Novato High School
- Virtual Learning Academy Newsletters
Being an Inclusive District
Over the past two weeks two errors were made within NUSD which negatively impacted the local Asian American Pacific Islander community. These incidents are unacceptable. Both incidents pertain to the 7-11 Committee. The first occurred when our 7-11 Committee consultants combined the data for Asian American/Pacific Islander students with other student demographics that make up less than 10% of the school population. As the Asian American/Pacific Islander population is greater than 10% at Rancho, that data should have been called out independently.
The second occurred during the site-based community circles at Lu Sutton, Lynwood and Rancho. This survey asked families to inform us if they were White/Caucasian, BIPOC/Latinx, or Prefer Not to Answer. We should have had a more complete list of options. Moving forward, we will use the following categories that are used for the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) that uses the Federal Ethnicity/Race categories for families to identify race:
- Hispanic
- American Indian or Alaska Native
- Asian
- Black or African American
- Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
- White
- Two or more races
We accept responsibility for these shortcomings and will correct them moving forward to be a more inclusive district.
7-11 Committee Update
After many hours of discussion and community input, the 7-11 Committee made the very difficult decision to recommend the closure of Lu Sutton Elementary School to the Board
of Education on May 25. If approved, the closure would take place in June of 2022. NUSD is prepared to support Lu Sutton between now and May 25 and beyond should the Board approve the closure.
This was a gut-wrenching decision for the volunteer Committee. I am appreciative of the time and energy they have given to this Committee. Their final meeting has been rescheduled to May 12 at 5:30 pm. Throughout the process one thing stood out very clearly for me and that is that our community believes in their neighborhood schools with a passion and energy that makes me very proud.
Virtual Learning Academy Survey
In response to the pandemic, the Novato Unified School District launched the Virtual Learning Academy to provide a remote only option for students during the 2020-2021 school year. As this year comes to a close and NUSD prepares for a full pre-pandemic return to schools in the fall 2021, we recognize a virtual only learning environment has been beneficial for some students.
Below is a link to a survey gauging our community’s interest in creating a virtual only program. Please respond to the survey to let us know if you are likely to enroll in a virtual program.
The Survey will be open through May 10, 2021 and we will be distributing this information and link in multiple ways to reach every family.
Extension of Child Nutrition Waiver Through 2021-2022
On April 20, 2021 the USDA extended the free for under 18 meal waivers through the duration of the 2021-2022 school year! As in the 2020-2021 school year, there will be no meal charges and everyone under 18 can eat for free during the 2021-2022 school year.
In addition, starting June 11, 2021 NUSD FANS will continue to provide access to free meals to the Novato Community for anyone under 18 at the Hill Education Center, 720 Diablo Avenue, Novato from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm. FANS Department will set up tables for an easy and convenient drive-through pick up or walk-up service for meals to take home.
Covid Testing No Longer Available at Novato High School
Marin County Public Health has seen a dramatic decrease in testing at Novato High School over the past month. With the increase in vaccinations and the decrease in testing at NHS, they have decided to discontinue testing at this site.
However, Covid-19 testing by Curative is still available at the Novato Public Library on Fridays 10 am – 4 pm and throughout Marin County on various days and times. Here is the Curative Flyer with days, times and locations. More information on Covid-19 testing in Marin County can be found here.
Virtual Learning Academy Newsletters
Here are links to this week’s VLA newsletters:
Middle School – April 29, 2021
Wishing you a nice weekend.
Sincerely,
Kris Cosca