Top left to right: Maricela Rivas Herrera, Jorge Garcia, Paloma Orozco, Gerardo Sandoval, Hilda Majewski, Alfonso Arredondo, Laura Blackwell, Kristen Perry, Thomas Geu, Michelle Gutierrez, Mac Greenlee, David Henry, Christina Sandvold, Jennifer Waite, Miles Cook, Kevin Emory, Beth Hayashi, Ellen Crews, Ariana Zepeda, and Michelle Snyder.

There is much excitement around the district as teachers, staff, parents, and students prepare for graduation, promotion, and award ceremonies. Our school leaders are working hard to make sure that these celebrations are meaningful, engaging, and fun. While this has been a challenging year, Vista Unified has demonstrated strength and perseverance by being the first district in the county to offer parents a choice in their learning model during the pandemic. Our collective efforts over the past year have not only addressed the complexities of a pandemic, but we have also closed our budget deficit completely and positioned our district on a strong financial foundation. In fact, we just recently received a positive certification from the San Diego County Office of Education for our budget projection for the next three years. This progress is due, in large part, to the leadership of our five School Board Trustees: Mr. Vargas, Mrs. Morton, Ms. Alvarado, Mrs. Smithfield, and Mrs. Kelly.

Another area of strength is our continued commitment to putting students at the center of our decisions as an organization. Keeping students safe, connected, and engaged is, and will continue to be, our focus. To this end, we have recently reorganized the administrative leadership structure in the Department of Educational Excellence and Innovation. This reorganization process shifted existing administrative positions towards new roles that are more aligned to the needs of our students, families, and community. During the reorganization, we did create one additional administrative position, the Director of Multilingual Programs, so that we are better positioned to expand dual language programs across the school district and better address the needs of English learners.

One particular area of emphasis for our new administrative team right now is to strengthen our response to the mental health needs of our students and staff. We are working with a number of organizations to expand professional development for our staff. We are expanding services for families so that they can access mental health services more easily. And, we have launched a set of student equity forums to listen with empathy and respect to what students need to recover from this traumatic pandemic experience.

The vaccination effort nationally and locally has really made a difference in our community with infection rates at the lowest point in more than eight months. Thanks to the efforts of Board Members Vargas and Alvarado, along with Assemblymember Tasha Boerner Horvath and the Vista City Council, we have our very own vaccination center in the heart of our city, with satellite centers opening up on campuses on weekends across the city. The CDC just announced the ability for children ages 12 and above to be eligible for the vaccinations. The CDC anticipates having vaccination access for our youngest students soon.

Vista Unified is strong and getting stronger every month. Thank you for your continued support and belief in our collective capacity to make learning special and successful for all students in our great district. We are all in this together.

As a result of the direction given from the Governor's May revise last Friday and the status of the legislature related to distance learning, Vista Unified will not have the flexibility to offer the current Vista Virtual learning model for the 2021-22 school year. Specifically, the Governor reiterated that the statutory authorization for distance learning ends on June 30, 2021. As a result of this announcement, it is anticipated that all Vista Unified schools will return to fully in-person learning in the fall, starting on August 18, 2021. There is pending discussion in the legislature about making some revisions to the independent study regulations to promote greater access to technology, re-engagement strategies for students with low participation, and tracking of daily student participation with teachers. We are monitoring this closely and intend to revise our independent study program accordingly. We expect to publish details about the revised independent study option for TK-12 this summer for families that would like to continue having their student enrolled in a distance learning environment.

The CDC has recently expanded access to receive the COVID vaccination to children 12 years of age or older. In an effort to reassure anxious families, the American Academy of Pediatrics recently issued a statement recommending COVID-19 vaccinations for children 12 years and older, saying, "vaccines are safe and effective in protecting individuals and populations against infectious diseases" and "new vaccines are evaluated by a long-standing, rigorous, and transparent process." Vista Unified is working in collaboration with the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency to bring vaccination clinics to our three comprehensive high schools during the school day. Champions for Health, a non-profit organization in San Diego, is scheduled to provide 500 vaccinations to Vista High School. Principal Jaffe and his team will collaborate with Champions for Heath to host the event. We are working to secure future dates for Mission Vista High School and Rancho Buena Vista. As a district, we are aware that the topic of vaccinations may be sensitive for some families and community members. Please know that student COVID-19 vaccinations are optional and are not a requirement to attend school. Parent permission is required for a student to get vaccinated. Please contact your school for more information about this opportunity.

Vista Unified School District is seeking volunteers for the Citizens Bond Oversight Committee. The purpose of the committee is to help provide oversight on the implementation of the Measure LL Bond funds. We currently have openings for those willing to help, and your support will be greatly appreciated. If you are selected to the CBOC, you must live or work within the boundaries of Vista Unified School District. This volunteer appointment also requires up to a two-year term, and employees of Vista Unified are not permitted to serve as a member of the CBOC.

Applications must be submitted to:

VUSD Business Services Office

1234 Arcadia Avenue

Vista, CA 92084

APPLICATION DEADLINE: June 2, 2021 by 4:00 P.M.

Secondary sites have been making the final preparations for their bridge and enrichment programs. Middle and high schools have been sending targeted communication to families and students, and enrollment is in full swing. There are also options for incoming sixth and ninth grade students at their new campuses. If you have questions about your school site’s summer offerings or would like to enroll your student in a summer school program, please contact the main office of your individual school. At the high school level, students are also being enrolled in our remediation programs. This summer school opportunity will begin June 21st and will run for six weeks at each site, with two three-week semesters. Students can continue to be enrolled after final grades are posted in order to make up failing grades for both first and second semester. Utilizing Edgenuity as an instructional program will allow for students to begin and end courses at their own personalized pace and to remediate failing grades in various courses, earning up to 20 credits in the summer months. If you are interested in your student participating in the summer remediation program, please contact your student’s high school.

Sincerely,

Matt Doyle, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools

Vista Unified School District