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DAILY UPDATE #102 -- 8/13/2020
- THERE WILL NOT BE A DAILY UPDATE PRODUCED ON FRIDAY, AUGUST 14, DUE TO STAFF INAVAILABILITY. THE DAILY UPDATE WILL RESUME ON MONDAY, AUGUST 17.
- AASD OFFICE CLOSURE.
AASD will be sending out a Daily Update, Monday-Friday, throughout the return to instruction/ school reopening period. The Weekly Update will continue as usual on Thursdays with the typical news and information for AASD members. The AASD Office continues to remain closed. AASD staff are working remotely and can be reached via the contact information at the end of this Update.
AASD has created a Google Form for AASD Members to report issues, questions or concerns regarding work-related issues, COVID-19, return to instruction and school reopening. AASD will provide answers to issues, questions or concerns submitted as answers become available. You may also share your gratitude for another AASD member, district personnel, etc. via the same link.
The link to share issues/questions/concerns/gratitude is:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeVSsqBQSHboCdgqbnpaucUY--DHKjosG8MAmRuCxawzB4blg/viewform?usp=sf_link
Please do not share this link outside of AASD membership (classified and certificated management/supervisors). The link will be active until this crisis is over.
NOTE: All previous AASD Daily Updates and Weekly Updates are located on the AASD Website www.aasdcs.org if you need to refer back to them for information.
- Q and A:
Q -- I read in the SDEA/SDUSD agreement that teachers will have the option to teach from their classrooms if they prefer. I am wondering if this means that I (principal) will need to be on site every day? I am trying to plan childcare for my own child so knowing if/when I am required to be on site would be very helpful. Thank you.
A – (Answer provided by AASD) No, principals are not required to be onsite every day when teachers are there providing online learning. There is NO EXPECTATION from District Executive Leadership for the principal to be there. Most, if not all, duties of the principal can be accomplished remotely. AASD’s position is that the fewer people on campus, the less likely there is for an outbreak to occur.
- DISTRICT COMMUNICATIONS.
The following communication was sent to Principals on August 12:
“DISTANCE LEARNING PLAYBOOK”
- We are happy to share that we have purchased the electronic version of the This Distance Learning Playbook for each site principal. Look for an email in the next few days to access the digital materials.
- For next week’s Principals Institute, we have also confirmed Doug Fisher as a keynote speaker for Day 2.
ENABLING GMAIL FOR STUDENTS
- On June 16, 2020, the Board of Education made a motion that directed staff to provide a recommendation and approach for enabling student email.
- Please review this Enabling Gmail for Students document for information to turn on email for your school.
POWERSCHOOL IEP TRAINING FOR EDUCATION SPECIALIST AND RELATED SERVICE PROVIDERS
- Information regarding IEP Training has been sent to education specialists and related service providers.
TEMPORARY and LVR EMPLOYEES: START DATE -AUGUST 26th
- Please refer to the email from Acacia sent to all principals and vice principals.
- We recognize that you are working quickly to pull your teams together to plan for the launch of online learning. Due to the school closures and our tight timelines, we have provided sites with reopening funds to bring identified staff on calendar before their official calendar year. This, however, does not include your certificated employees who are on a temporary or leave replacement contract. These employees may not begin working before their official hire date of August 26, 2020. You may not direct or require staff to participate in any online or onsite activity prior to the date they are officially hired with the district and they may not volunteer.
VEBA AUGUST VIRTUAL SCHEDULE
- Life-Work balance is important to our work. Here is VEBA’S August Virtual Schedule. We encourage you to sign up for Yoga, Zumba, Strength training, Mindfulness Practices (for kids, youth and adults), Nutrition and more! This is open to all SDUSD staff.
Elementary Master Schedule Meeting
- We appreciate your attendance at our Elementary Master Schedule Meeting Tuesday.
- As a support to you and your teachers, we are providing our presentation which includes links to our sample schedules and screencast.
- We would like to emphasize that sample schedules are roadmaps for your teams to consider in the design of meaningful learning experience for students. Collaboration with your educators is essential.
- For additional help and assistance, please sign up for one of the Master Schedule Labs occurring this week and next week.
Master Schedule Job Aids - Secondary
- Job aids have been created to help secondary schools with a 6-period day make the required changes in PowerSchool to enable a master schedule that follows the 3-course per day framework:
- For additional help and assistance, please sign up for one of the Master Schedule Labs occurring this week and next week.
- OTHER NEWS
Physician for SDUSD on plans to reopen schools (KUSI, August 12)
https://www.kusi.com/physician-for-san-diego-unified-school-district-on-plans-to-reopen-schools/
The following letter was sent by the President of AFSA Local 1, the Administrators of New York City to the Mayor of NYC and School Chancellor:
Dear Mayor de Blasio and Chancellor Carranza,
I write on behalf of New York City’s 6,400 school leaders urging you to heed their dire warnings concerning the city’s September 10th reopening plan. We are now less than one month away from the first day of school and still without sufficient answers to many of the important safety and instructional questions we’ve raised on behalf of school leaders and those they serve. Given the lack of information and guidance available at this time, CSA believes that NYCDOE’s decision to open for in-person learning on September 10th is in disregard of the well-being of our school communities.
While the city’s messaging suggests that reopening plans have been developed collaboratively with our union, the city has failed to address many of our crucial concerns and ignored repeated appeals from school leaders to allow enough time to implement highly complicated protocols. Since last school year ended, our members have been working tirelessly to reimagine the upcoming school year and pleading for more information on the City’s incomplete reopening plans. The slow rollout of guidance has forced us to once again address an unfortunate truth: schools will not be ready to open for in-person instruction on September 10th. A more realistic, phased-in approach would instead welcome students for in-person learning toward the end of September, following a fully remote start to the year.
Additional time before the start of in-person learning would allow our system to answer basic, but vital questions. When will nurses be hired for schools currently in need? How will school communities be informed of repairs to ventilation systems? When will schools receive PPE, thermometers, signage, hand sanitizers and cleaning materials to comply with the safety protocols? What additional support will be given to communities if they have a higher positivity rate than the city standard? Will we have sufficient staff to schedule both in-person and remote teaching? Do our schools have sufficient bandwidth to support remote instruction? When will we receive proper guidance specific to our students with special needs?
These are just a small sample of questions that must be answered for school leaders to provide a safe and successful educational environment for students. To be sure, no one understands how important it is to reopen our buildings more than our members. These public servants have dedicated their entire lives to serving their communities. They know firsthand how essential in person learning is to their students’ success and growth, especially after the challenges and trauma brought about by the pandemic this spring. They experienced the frustrations and deficits of remote learning alongside teachers, parents, and most importantly, students. They also fully understand the hardships that remote learning causes working families and the fundamental needs that in-person services fulfill, particularly for underserved and vulnerable students. School leaders speak with these families every day and will continue to stand with those parents asking for schools to return to in-person learning as soon as possible.
However, the number one priority of all school leaders is to ensure the safety, health, and well- being of the staff and students in their charge. Regrettably, the city started the planning process far too late for them to have any faith or confidence that they can reopen their buildings on September 10th. Especially given that teachers do not report until September 8th, allowing frighteningly little time for the preparation and training necessary for these unprecedented circumstances.
On Aug 6th, the Chancellor’s team met with principals to discuss the submission of individual school plans to the State for the first time, asking that they complete their school’s submission within four working days. School leaders rose to that pressing challenge while also preparing to submit their programming model selection to the DOE by August 14th, which they have grappled with due to lack of information on student enrollment and teachers with accommodations to work remotely.
Once all individual school plans are submitted this week, school leadership teams must wait for approval and will have less than 15 working days to prepare for the arrival of students without much of the necessary guidance and training in place. The task before them is simply not possible to complete while simultaneously providing assurances of a safe and secure learning environment.
New York City school leaders are among the most talented and creative in the world. They stand ready and willing to take on the immense responsibilities of reopening their school buildings this fall, but I implore you to not ignore their voices at this critical time in the lives of New Yorkers— commence in-person learning only when our school leaders are confident they can reopen school buildings safely and successfully.
Sincerely,
Mark F. Cannizzaro President
- SPECIAL GRATITUDE
If an AASD member has a department or individual that deserves special recognition during this time of crisis, please use the link above for reporting issues/questions/concerns/gratitude to show your gratitude for the department or individual. AASD will publish that special thanks in our next Daily Update.
Contacts
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