CUSD UPDATE
Teacher Appreciation Week
"IT'S BETTER TO LIGHT A CANDLE THAN TO CURSE THE DARKNESS."
- Eleanor Roosevelt
Message from Superintendent Mueller
Good evening,
We want our students back. Desperately. Yesterday. All of them. As an educator and as a parent, the fact that our children are missing out on day to day interactions with our staff and with one another is heartbreaking. We also need to keep them safe and healthy. We want to get them back as soon as public health officials declare it is safe by lifting restrictions and mandated school closures.
It seems each day introduces a new vision for what public education may be in the fall. Each with obstacles due to problems related to safety, equity, logistics, or practicality. In listening closely to staff and community voices and discussions with the Governing Board, it is clear that we must focus on what we know and what is within our control; our commitment to provide the very best for our children. This is our nonnegotiable and our foundation.
We acknowledge that current public health recommendations require us to plan to begin school the fourth Thursday in August with distance learning in place. Planning for distance learning will not preclude us from opening school physically to students when we can. Assumptions of when and how we may return are, at best, speculative. We can predict that learning is going to look different in the fall. Our responsibility now is to invest resources and human capital in building structure and capacity for continued Distance Learning which will play an essential role in any scenario. We need to design a virtual instructional delivery model, using new and existing resources, that includes accountability and assessment. The pacing of instruction must align with our pre-closure system so whenever our students return, the transition will be seamless. These structures will be prescribed based on best practices and they will take time to build. Collaboration and fidelity will be key.
This is the work we must embark on now to plan for a successful 2020-21 school year.
With these new structures in place, we will be positioned to respond to a variety of scenarios including continued school closures, staggered attendance, hybrid experiences, and students and parents opting to return to school with social distancing requirements in place, or to stay home until there is a vaccine. In all forecasted scenarios, the need for a uniform Distance Learning structure is the constant.
There are still challenges and uncertainty and we must accept the current conditions. We will face adversities with resolve and with the knowledge that we are all working together for the benefit of our community. The unique circumstances provide an opportunity to explore and develop new and create ways to meet the needs of our students. I am confident that if we embrace this challenge with humility and solidarity, we will create an environment that we can be proud of.
In summary, our priority moving toward 2020-21 will be preparing robust remote learning with flexibility to return to school seamlessly when conditions change. Planning for the extremes will position us to respond to a variety of scenarios. If we learn over the summer that social distancing regulations have been lifted, we are prepared. If mandated closures are still in place, we are prepared. If 500 students can be on campus at a time, we can pivot, respond, adjust, and accommodate immediately.
Happy Mother’s Day, Coronado.
Karl Mueller
CUSD Grab-and-Go Meal Service
Grab-and-Go Meal Service at Village Elementary and Silver Strand
When: Every Monday
Location: Multi-Purpose Rooms at VES (H Street, with the line forming along Green Field on 7th Street) and Silver Strand Elementary
Distribution Time: 11:00AM - 1:00PM (while supplies last)
Our next distribution day will be Monday, 5/11 beginning at 11AM. All families with children 18 and under will be able to pick up free breakfast and lunch meals via curb-side pick-up. Each child will receive one bag that contains 5 days’ worth of meals for breakfast and lunch. Meals may consist of packaged, refrigerated, and/or frozen items (heating instructions will be provided). District and school staff will start "Grab and Go Distribution" of meal bags at 11AM, and will stop once all bags are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.
All meals will be distributed curb-side to decrease the risk of exposure. Bags will be placed into automobile trunks-they will not be handed through the vehicle window for the protection of both our staff and vehicle occupants. Only those in cars will be served meals during this pick-up window, no walk-ups or bicycles are allowed in order to maintain social distancing protocols. If you are unable to pick-up meals by car or during the scheduled distribution time, please email Charity.Campbell@coronadousd.net on or before the Friday before pick-up at noon and we will schedule an alternative window to pick-up a meal.
Meals may not be distributed to students. Students who are receiving meals are encouraged to be physically present at the time of pick-up. Additionally, adults may pick up meals for students not present by printing and submitting this form at the time of pick-up. No meals will be distributed to parents/guardians without a child present or a form submitted at time of pick up due to state regulations.
Meals are available for all children aged 18 and under. Children are not required to be students of Coronado Unified School District. Our incredible Child Nutrition Service team members and volunteers have served over 39,600 meals since this program began earlier this month. We are prepared to serve meals weekly to over 830 children (8,300 meals in total). As demands increase, we will continue to increase the number of meals we prepare in order to accommodate the needs of our entire school community. This is free for all children, regardless of meal status - please spread the word!
Caught Being Awesome!
As our educators, parents, and community come together to connect, challenge and champion our students during our district closure, we are humbled by the outpouring of compliments during these trying times. What a positive testament to our CUSD family!
- A CHS Student caught Kimberly Kuzma being awesome. "Madame Kuzma has done an incredible job during virtual learning! She facilitates Zoom class twice a week for each of her classes. She also created a private Instagram so that she can stay connected with her students that way as well. But where she really went above and beyond is that she has a tradition of giving students a fun pencil on their birthday. Well she now is mailing these pencils to her students' homes. What an awesome thing to do!! We sure do love you Madame Kuzma!! Merci Beaucoup!!"
- Erica DeGroat was caught being awesome by a staff member. "Mrs. DeGroat helped a student and her family who were having trouble accessing learning from home. She arranged to meet the student safely at both school and outside the child's home to ensure she could navigate the learning platforms. She helped get our student tech support from IT when her device wasn't working properly. Mrs. DeGroat spent hours of personalized attention on this student, and the love and commitment have been inspiring!"
- Thank you to our students, parents, staff, and community members for the outpouring of love and support for one another! We can not fit all the wonderful sentiments received in the last few days but the following staff have all been Caught Being Awesome: Holly Sibert, Kathy Couture, Mallory Hoenstein, Amy Amerling, Catie Bartczak, Devon Roberts, Susan Keller, Alice Wilson, Amanda White, Susan Keller, Sarah Hunsaker, Tim Hopper, and Karl Mueller.
Important Resources and Document Links
Adhere to Social Distancing
About CUSD
Email: information@coronadousd.net
Website: coronadousd.net/
Location: 201 6th Street, Coronado, CA, USA
Phone: (619) 522-8900
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CoronadoUSD/