April 9, 2020
Dear CUSD Families,
We are in our 13th day of school closure since returning from the two-week intersession. I know there are still unanswered questions and we will be addressing all of them in the days ahead. Recapping what has been done to-date:
- We are serving an excess of 20,000 meals to our most vulnerable students three times a week.
- Childcare is being provided to children of medical professionals so they can tend to the needs of our community.
- Arrangements have been made for parents to pick up medications.
- Families have been surveyed to determine technology needs. At the secondary level, we are providing Chromebooks and hotspots to the students with the highest needs. Teachers are at various levels of comfort utilizing technology to interact with students. We are training teachers on Google Hangouts/Meets/ and Microsoft Teams for live synchronized discussions.
- Additionally, Google Classroom is more broadly used among our secondary teachers and we have initiated training with the technology leaders at each elementary school.
- We have sought parent permission for students to be online, in compliance with federal regulations that require us to set up safeguards, particularly for children 13 and under.
- Instructional packets are being produced and distributed for the most part at elementary schools. Teachers are being encouraged to contact their students by way of phone, email, and Google Meets.
- State and National testing has been suspended, postponed or adjusted: District and State Testing - School Closure Update
- Construction of our new schools, Rice Elementary to open in July and high school to open in 2021 remain on schedule.
Future steps:
- We will communicate how your child can acquire their personal items in classrooms, lockers, desks, etc. and return items that belong to the school. You can rest assured, our facilities will be sanitized, and we are taking all precautions, should you need to enter the campus.
- We are actively working on potential summer school opportunities so that we can be ready to help students review and get prepared for the 2020-21 school year.
- Grading guidelines are being distributed this week by your school principal. You will see that there are differences between elementary, junior high and high school: CUSD Grading Plan for 4th quarter home instruction due to school closure
- We know there are many questions about graduation. We are delaying a final decision on graduation and other end-of-the-year celebrations in hopes that we will have greater insight into the status of the pandemic.
I would encourage you to maintain contact with your site administrator and individual teacher(s) with questions related to instruction.
We understand there is tremendous demand on families who have limited technology in their homes and multiple family members who need access. We are moving cautiously and deliberately in order to consider our decisions from all perspectives. The stress level is high for everyone involved and, at this point, we are committed to doing everything we can to minimize the additional pressure we are applying so that you can more easily prioritize the health and safety of your family.
With prayers and positive thoughts for a speedy resolve.
Sincerely,
Camille Casteel, Ed.D
Superintendent
