Old Adobe Educator Weekly Round-Up
September 20 - September 24, 2021
MESSAGE FROM SUPERINTENDENT LOWERY
Greetings OAUSD Educators,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” I think of this quote when I think of our work as Equity Leaders and what accountability looks like between educators. My hope is that other educators will hold me accountable for what I will commit to holding them accountable for, which is collective efficacy in an effort to grow, know and be better. We must hold one another accountable for making students feel safe and supported. To honor their experiences by listening and learning with them. By requiring them to think deeper and more reflectively about their responsibility creating the life they choose.
As colleagues I am holding you accountable for your own learning. To read, research, engage with different media sources, observe with an open mind, and then ask questions. Conversations and experiences with diverse groups of people are very important and can be very impactful, but they can fall flat if you have not done your due diligence by taking responsibility for your own learning outside of those conversations and experiences. Do your homework. It shows that you are truly investing in learning and growing.
We must all also hold one another accountable for calling out injustice. Being silent is
communicating, as Dr. King reminded us. When you are faced with it, call out and name the
injustices you see and share that you do not support them. Use your voice wherever it can be heard. Hold your colleagues accountable if they exhibit or embody racist, sexist, classist, xenophobic, heterosexist, ableistic, and otherwise intolerant ideas or behavior. When anyone shows prejudice, discriminatory, or stereotypical behavior, talk to them about it. Question it. Ask for clarification. You may experience defensiveness because being called on your biases or bigotry can be hard - but necessary. Be courageous because this is about the work of creating a more equitable environment for students and a more just society.
At the end of the day, This is our work. We as Teachers and educators can be the guardians and
gatekeepers of dreams or we can stand together as sherpas and build pathways and agency for our students. We must hold each other accountable. Our students deserve it and Petaluma depends on it.
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The Educator MeetUp schedule is listed below. Thank you and I am looking forward to connecting.
Week 9/20 - 9/24 educator Meet-Ups
Wednesday 9/22
MIWOK 11am - 12pm
LOMA VISTA 12:15pm - 1:15pm
LA TERCERA 1:30pm - 2:30pm
Thursday 9/23
OLD ADOBE 8:45am - 9:45am
SONOMA MOUNTAIN 11am - 12pm
Have a great week!
Stronger Together, Better Together.
#OldAdobeStrong
COVID-19 Update
OAUSD COVID-19 DASHBOARD - UPDATED EACH FRIDAY
A dashboard has been created on our website to share information about the positive COVID-19 cases in our schools. The positive cases reported are those where the positive case may or may not have been physically on campus during the infectious period. This does NOT necessarily indicate in-school transmission.
NEW CDPH INFOGRAPHIC - SCHOOL CASE DECISION TREE
Please see this helpful infographic from the CA Department of Public Health for addressing a confirmed case of COVID as well as a COVID exposure at schools.
NEW SCDPH GUIDANCE ON QUARANTINE PROTOCOLS
Please review the September 16, 2021 update of the Scenario-Based COVID-19 Guidance from the Sonoma County Department of Public Health.
Here is a summary of the changes:
- Any "At-home Quarantined" student/staff may now discontinue quarantine if tested tested negative on/after Day 5. (The prior guidance required a negative test after day 6.)
- With regard to "Modified Quarantine" students must now quarantine from extra-curricular activities for 7-10. (The prior guidance required that students quarantine for the full 10 days.)
TESTING
Student Pooled Testing began this week at all school sites. We are participating in Pooled Testing to more easily identify symptomatic and asymptomatic COVID cases early as a means of reducing spread, keeping the community safe and keeping students in class and in school.
We are sending big kudos to our students and staff for being so incredible with all of these unusual protocols happening on our school campuses! It is truly a team effort to keep everyone safe. We had a few hiccups with staffing shortages and a couple of missing test results and we anticipate that next week will be even more informative with a lot smoother implementation even as more students and staff sign up to be tested.
Here are few important reminders:
- Students and staff exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 that are sent home to quarantine will only be cleared return to school with a negative PCR test. The antigen pooled test will not count to clearance for anyone who is Covid-19 positive.
- The first-day antigen pooled test and the second-day follow up 15-min rapid Antigen test will count towards the two tests needed for modified quarantine, which will allow students to stay remain class and in school.
- All staff are welcomed and encouraged to participate in the pooled testing.
- If the first-day pooled test is negative, no additional tests will be conducted that week.
- Schools will not test students without parent permission.
- The entire school community will receive a communication when a student or staff member has been identified as having COVID-19 and we are following public health guidelines to implement isolation and quarantine protocols. You can read more here.
Parent Consent
We are asking families to give consent for students to be tested during the 2021-2022 school year by clicking below (you will need to use your school's personalized access code listed below to complete the consent form for each individual child):
Consent Link for all OAUSD students
- La Tercera OADOBE-LATER
- Loma Vista OADOBE-LOMAV
- Old Adobe OADOBE-OLDA
- Miwok Valley OADOBE-MIWOK
- Sonoma Mountain OADOBE-SONOM
If parents wish to remove consent (after initially giving consent) they must inform the school in writing using a withdrawal form. Parents DO NOT need to to fill out a withdrawal form if they have not given prior consent.
If you have any questions, please contact your school office or the Covid-19 Safety Technician, Michael Jones, mjones@oldadobe.org.
Latest vaccine clinic information: scoe.org/vaccines
CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION
Report Cards/STAR Cut Scores: In case you missed the email about report cards, I just want to remind everyone that Report Cards are going to be off-line for a while. As Renaissance is switching to a Universal Scaled Score, the cut scores that are in the report card are off. We need to get in and fix every report card (Lisa actually does this), and each report card may need to be totally remapped. This process is time-consuming and difficult, so please bear with us as we navigate the changes. We will also be updating the STAR Score Parent Guides in Drive to reflect the correct cut scores. We will email you all as soon as they are back online!
EQUITY CORNER
10 Ways Educators Can Take Action in Pursuit of Equity
10 Ways Educators Can Take Action in Pursuit of Equity
An interview and transcript with Pedro Noguera, distinguished Professor of Education at the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies at UCLA. Dr. Noguera has been a leader in educational equity for over two decades, authoring 12 books, publishing over 200 articles, and speaking and consulting with schools and districts all over the country.
Noguera shares ten specific actions educators can take to pursue excellence through equity. Some of these are things we need to speak up about, some are shifts we need to make in our own mindsets, and others are changes we can implement in our own practices.
The Equity Coalition Meetings will be held on the 4th Wednesday of the month. Come join us! Here is the Zoom link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88233270203We want to encourage all to participate and join us. This is a shared leadership opportunity and YOU are vital to this work.
FOOD PANTRY VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Sign Up Today:-)
We can always use more volunteers to ensure that we can continue this service and provide this much needed resource.
Please sign up by clicking the button below.
HUMAN RESOURCES
STUDENT SERVICES
Please check out these free opportunities for educators’ self care and wellness!
Connected Community Coaching Opportunity LINK (no registration needed)
Our first session is next Wednesday, Sept. 22nd from 9:00am-9:50am. Together we'll learn powerful well-being tools, stress reduction techniques and brainstorm solutions to practical issues. Please see the attached flyer for more information about this monthly opportunity. Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3958507262
1-2-3 Wellness Adult Self-Care Opportunity LINK (Please REGISTER HERE )
Based on overwhelmingly positive feedback, the 1-2-3 Wellness Adult Self-Care opportunity will be offered again this year for those who weren’t able to participate last year. You and your colleagues are welcome to choose a cohort opportunity that is most convenient for you (October, December or January). Each cohort consists of three half-day Zoom workshops empowering participants to develop powerful daily self-care habits, learn research-based tools related to stress reduction, well-being & trauma-sensitive approaches and create a personalized self-care plan. Please see the attached flyer for more details and share with others.
October Cohort: 19th, 21st and 26th from 8:30am-12pm each day
December Cohort: 1st, 8th, 10th from 12pm-3:30pm each day
January Cohort: 10th, 13th, 18th from 8:30am-12 pm each day
1-2-3 Communication Workshop Opportunity
The 1-2-3 Communication opportunity will offer user-friendly tools to cultivate win/win communication outcomes founded on safety and healthy relationships. In person workshops will take place on January 28th (San Diego), February 11th(Los Angeles) and April 22nd (Bay area). More details will be forthcoming.
TEACHERS'S CORNER
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Book Recommendations, Sharing Materials, Resources and Strategies, etc
This section of the Round Up is a focus on teacher voice, input and sharing. If you have something to contribute please submit items HERE by Thursday at 9:00am.
TECHONOLOGY SERVICES
OAUSD Acceptable Use Policy here.
If you have any tech needs please reach out to itsupport@oldadobe.org
Old Adobe Union School District
Website: https://www.oldadobe.org/
Location: 845 Crinella Dr, Petaluma, CA 94954, USA
Phone: 707-765-4321
Twitter: @OAUSD_Super