Old Adobe Educator Weekly Round-Up
August 30 - September 3, 2021
MESSAGE FROM SUPERINTENDENT LOWERY
Educator Meet Ups Begin This Week!
Greetings OAUSD Educators,
This week we will begin the Superintendent - Educator Meet Ups. Here is the visitation schedule for this week:
Monday 8/30
9am - 12pm Miwok
12pm - 3pm LaTercera
Tuesday 8/31
10am - 1pm Sonoma Mountain
Wednesday 9/1
11am - 1:45 Loma Vista
Thursday 9/2
8:30am - 11:30am Old Adobe
Have a great week!
Stronger Together, Better Together.
#OldAdobeStrong
COVID-19 Update
Public Health order on Vaccination on Testing
Requires all public and private schools serving students in Tk through grade 12 to verify the COVID-19 vaccination status of all workers and to require unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated workers to undergo diagnostic screening testing.
Must comply by 9/24/21
Violation of or failure to comply with this Order is a misdemeanor and may be punishable by fine, imprisonment, or both. (California Health and Safety Code § 120275, et seq.)
CDPH Universal Masking Requirement
- Requires mandatory universal masking indoors in K-12 setting
- “Violation of mandatory public health guidance puts the health and safety of students, staff, and their families needlessly at risk, and also carries significant legal, financial, and other risks.
- Opposition to mask requirements is based on misinformation
Three Strong Local Recommendations
The Sonoma County Department of Health Services (SCDHS) and the Sonoma County Office of Education (SCOE) have issued three local recommendations to Sonoma County schools to help minimize the spread of COVID-19 on campus and enable students to have the fewest possible interruptions to in-person learning. They indicate what the county health department deems to be best practice given the current COVID-19 case rates and statistics in Sonoma County. Local health recommendations for schools are based on Sonoma County COVID-19 case rates, rates of transmission, and the most up-to-date scientific knowledge. They are meant to balance the need to keep children in the classroom, where they are best able to learn and engage with their classmates, and the need to reduce the spread of COVID-19 on campus.
1. SCDHS and SCOE now “strongly recommend” outdoor masking in most school settings, especially on playgrounds and common areas where students congregate. However, students may take socially distanced mask breaks outside if they maintain at least six feet from others. This recommendation is made based on the high incidence of COVID-19 in the community and the contagiousness of the Delta variant. Outdoor masking also minimizes the need for children to stay home from school if they are exposed to a sick student or teacher. If all parties are masked when an exposure takes place, then the exposed student may remain in school under a “modified quarantine” as long as they do not show symptoms and agree to twice-weekly COVID-19 testing. At this time OAUSD will continue with optional masking outdoors.
2. SCDHS strongly recommends that all schools conduct weekly surveillance testing for students. Unvaccinated school workers are required to be tested weekly by virtue of a previous state health order. Testing is optional for vaccinated staff but advised. Surveillance testing refers to the regular testing of students/staff whether or not they have symptoms. This type of testing helps catch cases early and can mitigate the spread on campus.
3. Currently, schools around California are waiting for California Department of Public Health guidance that will govern field trips, overnight field trips, sports, and extracurriculars. In the meantime, overnight field trips are considered a high-risk activity and highly discouraged by the County Health Officer.
Latest vaccine clinic information: scoe.org/vaccines
CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION
STAR Fall Screener: The STAR Reading, STAR Math and STAR Early Literacy Fall Screener assessments are up and running. This testing window closes on 9/3. For those of you who want to give the STAR Early Literacy assessment, there is no specific training for that product other than post-benchmark to analyze data. This training will be scheduled for later this Fall. STAR Early Literacy is given exactly like we give our other STAR assessments. This is a great time to give the assessment as a practice, so you can familiarize yourself with the platform and how to best facilitate it with your students. If you’d like to access the Early Literacy test administration manual head HERE.
F&P Products Online: The F&P platform has changed back to the original platform where all you need is to enter your product code to access the online resources. Please let me know if you have any issues with this as you set up your accounts this year.
LEGO Education Opportunity: LEGO® Education is teaming up with NASA to bring students and teachers an out-of-this-world STEAM learning series. Build to Launch is an exploration of technology, STEAM concepts and the careers behind the Artemis I mission to the Moon. Join the all new LEGO® Space Team and their NASA counterparts for a free 10-week digital learning adventure. You can access this free program HERE.
“New” Teacher Trainings: Recently, I sent out an email with a flyer that has all of the dates for new teacher trainings through February. These trainings are for teachers who are new to the district as well as teachers who have been recently hired but have not had the trainings yet. They are not for teachers who have already been trained. Please make sure to secure a substitute teacher well in advance and/or talk with your principal to see if there is a different plan for coverage.
EQUITY CORNER
Equity Coalition
Please check out the Sonoma County 2021 Spotlight which is an annual document form SCOE containing county wide data on the persistent inequities that plague our school communities.
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
EDUCATOR WELLNESS
Self Care Through Connection
As we find ourselves back together on campus, we are offered an opportunity to self care through connection. Staying socially connected is really important right now. In addition to other challenges teachers have faced during Covid, the isolation from other teachers, friends and family was a potentially significant stressor. As we have been able to reconnect with family and friends safely, we may also find it helpful to make an effort to reconnect to your teaching community. If you are a new teacher in the District, you may find it a valuable piece of your self care plan to make connections with your colleagues. This may come more naturally to some and may take more effort for others.
Here are some ideas for connecting with colleagues:
Schedule a regular check-in (lunch, a call on the way home, meeting after work)
Support each other or talk through common challenges you face
Simply sharing your frustrations with a trusted colleague may help to release some of your stress
Beyond chatting about challenges, discuss possible solutions to challenges
Don’t limit yourself to work topics – work/life balance is something many are struggling with right now
Connect as a small or large group of teachers to meet regularly
Consider meeting up with colleagues to engage in a non-work activity like art, walking or another hobby or exercise activity
Hear more about self care through connection in this VIDEO: 2020 Teachers of the Year
Read more on staying connected and self-care from California Teachers Association.
TEACHERS'S CORNER
"Band-aid Lesson to Teach Fairness
Contributed by Chelsea Crawford
This is a brilliant lesson that helps elementary kids understand access, equity, & inclusivity in such a simple way! Imagine if we all did this lesson- then our campuses would have a shared understanding and language for how to respond to “that’s not fair!”.
https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/teachers-viral-bandaid-lesson-teach-kids-fairness
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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
As we continue to provision equipment and deliver devices to sites for distribution and use, here are a couple of resources:
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