Dear NUSD Community,
One of the strange things about working in education is that there is never truly an end or a finished product. As one year winds down, another begins and we go through the cycle again. This week was a great example of this. We worked hard to bring the best conclusion possible for our seniors and promoting students, while also focusing on a safe return to school in August and how we will deal with an impending budget shortfall for the 2020-2021 school year. I will give you a brief summary of each of these areas in this letter.
Our seventeen-member high school graduation committee had another great meeting on Wednesday. It was an understandably emotional and passionate conversation. We came to consensus regarding what graduations will look like and each school is tailoring this idea to best serve their community. We have some logistical details to work out prior to sending out thorough communications about these important events. You will receive this information early next week. I am thankful for this committee’s work and their open mindedness as we navigated a difficult yet important conversation.
Late yesterday afternoon, Assistant Superintendent of Education Services, Amie Carter, facilitated a daunting Zoom meeting of the approximately 150 NUSD community members including students, parents, classified and certificated staff who make up the Reentry Task Force. This was the first conversation to introduce the community to: the challenges and guidance in place; outline the path moving forward; share initial thoughts on what reentry could look like at the elementary, middle, and high school levels; and to begin to collect the task force’s perspective on where we are. This will be a challenging process and I appreciate everyone who has leaned in to be a part of it. The perspectives of the task force members will be invaluable moving forward and I thank each of them for sharing their time with us as we focus on:
- 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 in grades PK-12
Beyond the work of the NUSD Reentry Task Force, our Education Services team is working closely with the other Marin County public school districts on this important work.
Last week you received a letter from Assistant Superintendent, Yancy Hawkins, letting you know about some of NUSD’s upcoming budget challenges. If you missed it, or want to read it again, you can find it here. Yesterday, Yancy and I held a virtual town hall to go into greater detail about the budget situation and to answer community questions. You can view the town hall here https://youtu.be/-_oIA-SecKY. One topic that arose from several community members was, “How can we advocate for more money for public schools?” I committed to sharing information with you about how you can advocate for local issues regardless of your perspective on any particular issue. At the end of this communication is a list of our local government officials to whom you can advocate.
In closing the town hall yesterday, I answered a question about how the community can help us through these challenges. I want to summarize my answer to that question here. We are going through challenging times. There are many challenges ahead of us on the COVID-19 and budget front. The most important thing we can all do to support NUSD through this, is to stay together and to stay open minded. We all have something we can give. For some it is money or time to support our parent groups be they PTAs, PTOs, booster groups, or the School Fuel Foundation. For others it is sharing expertise, time, or simply caring. I am a strong believer that the truest test of an organization or community is how they act in a time of challenge. Does it pull together or does it pull apart? I am confident that our NUSD community will pull together and that we will get through this—together.
Sincerely,
Kris Cosca
Mike McGuire
State Capitol: 1303 10th Street, Room 5061, Sacramento, CA 95814 Phone: 916-651-4002 Fax: 916-651-4902
San Rafael Office: 3501 Civic Center Drive Suite 425, San Rafael, CA 94903 Phone: 415-479-6612 Fax: 415-479-1146
Mark Levine
State Capitol: P.O. Box 942849,1303 10th Street, Room 5135, Sacramento, CA 94249-0010 Tel: (916) 319-2010 Fax: (916) 319-2110
San Rafael Office: County of Marin Civic Center Building, 3501 Civic Center Drive, Room 412, San Rafael, CA 94903 Tel: (415) 479-4920 Fax: (415) 479-2123
Governor Gavin Newsom 1303 10th Street, Suite 1173, Sacramento, CA 95814 Phone: (916) 445-2841 Fax: (916) 558-3160
Link to CA PTA asking Congress to include schools in next COVID-19 Relief Package
https://www.votervoice.net/CAPTA/campaigns/74058/respond