Phased Return to In Person Learning and Equity Task Force

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Monday, September 28, 2020 LASD Board meeting will start its open session at 7:00pm and it will be held using the Zoom webinar platform.  To register in advance for the meeting, click on this link.  The entire agenda and supporting documentation for this week's meeting can be found here.

First up, Kimberly Dickerson will provide an update of the Art Docent Program.  This is a discussion item and her presentation can be found under agenda item H.1 using the link provided above.  The Los Altos Art Docent program is now 50 years old and has changed over the years to suit the times.  In its most recent incarnation with remote learning in full effect, there are grade specific lessons adapted into the the LASD Comprehensive Learning Plans and have been designed to utilize materials found at home.  I know my creative daughter has enjoyed these lessons and the 50th anniversary sketchbook and I appreciate her enthusiasm for the art projects and her away from screen time.  

Next Up, Jeff Baier will provide the latest Report on Opening of School and the Return to In-Person Learning.  This is a discussion item.  His presentation is not attached to the agenda as of yet, but I expect it to mirror or incorporate the presentation he and his staff made at the Family Town Hall that you can view here.  As of September 22, 2020, Santa Clara County stayed in the "red" tier for 14 consecutive days.  As such, schools in Santa Clara County may physically reopen under strict guidelines prescribed by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and the Santa Clara County Public Health Department (SCCPHD).  You can find their guidelines, LASD's plans for physical reopening and frequently asked questions on LASD's Reopening webpage here and more about staying healthy in the time of COVID-19 on LASD Coronavirus webpage here.   In short, our plans for physical reopening is that it will start with our special populations this Monday, September 28, 2020.  Next, our TK, K and 1st grade students will start in the Blended Learning format (half of the class physically attended Monday and Tuesday, with the other half of the class physically attending Thursday and Friday) starting the week of October 12.  All families have the choice to switch programs (from Blended to Virtual and vice versa) with the first deadline being for the TK, K and 1st grade families on Monday, September 28, 2020.   To find out more about our physical reopening read the webpages referenced above, watch the Family Town Hall, and/or attend the board meeting. 

Then, Sandra McGonagle will present and seek approval for the 2020-21 Learning Continuity and Attendance Plan.  This is an action item and the plan is found under agenda H.3.  Sandra presented this at our last meeting.  This plan is in lieu of our Local Control and Accountability Plan and focuses on how LASD has used resources to remotely teach our students and how the district has engaged with stakeholders to improve such.  

Jeff will next present an Equity Plan Update.  In the late spring LASD updated its already robust equity board policy in light of the racial unrest in our country to ensure not only that our students and staff were being treated equitably and free from bias, but also that our curriculum was equitable and free from bias.  As such, we are creating an Equity Task Force with parents and staff from across the district and representative of the diversity of our district to review our policies and curriculum to ensure we are acting according to our equity policy.   

If Jeff thought he was done, he was sorely wrong.  He will then present Memorandums of Understanding with the Los Altos Teacher Association and and the California School Employees Association (the staff union) with modifications to our contracts with both entities necessary due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These are action items and the board is asked to approve these memorandums of understanding.  The staff MOU can be found under agenda H.6.  The teacher MOU is not yet attached.  

Last, but definitely not least, Randy Kenyon will share proposed "Summer" Facility Projects. There were no traditional facility projects done this summer because the district was singularly focused on planning for reopening the school year both in-person and remote.  This is an action item and Randy's list of project's are listed in his presentation found under agenda H.7.    

Please note, these are just the highlights of what to expect at our 9/28/2020 meeting.  You can inform yourself about the rest of the agenda at the link provided above.  As always, feel free to email me with any questions.