On Tuesday, 4/14, MVHS will be holding another device distribution service. Students who need a Chromebook must fill out this form. Students who need to exchange malfunctioning or incompatible equipment issued by the school should contact Interim Principal Walden.

Families who fill out the form will receive a separate email and/or phone call with a specific time-frame for pick-up.

Some families have reached out indicating they need internet service. Our District has some "hotspots", which will be allocated to high-needs families across VUSD beginning next week. We have more ordered, but it will be a couple of weeks.

Meantime, Cox Communications is offering a Connect2Compete program to provide low-cost, high-speed internet. Fliers for this program are listed below:

Connect2Compete (English) Connect2Compete (Espanol)

The first week of the Vista Virtual School environment is in the books. As of today, we have more than 93% of students actively engaged in online learning, which is indicative of all of the hard work and dedication of students, parents, faculty, and staff. MVHS staff and leadership are working to connect students who have not yet engaged so that all students have access to ongoing learning opportunities. Thank you to all MVHS stakeholders--you all play a pivotal role in the education of every student.

Our focus at the beginning of the week was to ensure that students had devices and were engaging in their courses. As the week progressed, we delved deeper into learning opportunities and assignments.

There were a few hiccups along the way, but we are trying to model resilience and optimism for our students and families. As we progress, we will continue to refine and make adjustments to our practice.

For each scheduled school day, students will be expected to:

• Check school email accounts and/or Google Classrooms daily for updated information for each class.

• Complete assignments and assessments assigned by each teacher

• Submit all work in a timely manner

• Respond to communication from each teacher

• Follow the Academic Honesty Policy as outlined in the Student Handbook.

• Ensure student access to online schoolwork (fill in this form if your student still needs a device)

• Check-in with your student each day regarding their assignments and instruction in each class

• Support student learning at home

• Contact individual teachers with questions, and respond to any teacher communication home to parents

Our teachers and students are in the process of wrapping up midterms and the third quarter of our school year. Grades will be posted online via Student/Parent Portal on April 21, 2020. Below is key information about how MVHS is handling midterms and the 3rd quarter grade window:

• It is important that we issue a grade for the 3rd quarter so that our students will be at the same stage as their peers who attend schools that operate on a traditional "semester system". These students finished the “first semester” of their current coursework in December and have grades for those classes. MVHS students currently do not have those "semester grades" on their transcript for their current courses.

• Some teachers will choose to assign 3rd quarter grades based on student progress through March 13th (the last day on campus).

• Some teachers will choose to assign a midterm assessment or project to be completed as we begin distance learning. Any work assigned after 3/13/20 will be graded in accordance with language from the California Department of Education and Governor Newsom's guidance to “do no harm” during the transition to distance learning.

• Students' grades for the 3rd quarter will not be negatively impacted if they do poorly on assigned midterm assessments or assignments. Instead, those grades would resort back to where they were on 3/13 when school closures began.

• Students may improve their 3rd quarter grade if they are successful on any assigned midterm assessment(s) or assignment(s).

Our purpose in administering midterm assignments or assessments is to gauge learning. Our teachers need to know where students stand in relation to content standards and skills in order to best plan instruction moving forward. As we continue with Virtual School, the purpose will be to provide meaningful learning opportunities that will prepare students for coursework next year.

On Thursday, the VUSD Board of Trustees took action to move district grading practices to a credit/no credit model for the duration of the COVID-19 situation. Several neighboring districts (San Dieguito, Poway, etc.) have also adopted a credit/no credit grading policy for the duration of this current crisis, and colleges and universities across the nation (including the UC/CSU systems, and many ultra-competitive private institutions such as Harvard and MIT) have made public statements indicating that students who have a credit/no credit mark on their transcript will not be penalized in their respective admissions processes to their institutions. At MVHS, this grading process will take effect for the 4th-quarter. Please see the information above for the necessity to issue grades for the 3rd quarter.

District leaders and teachers will be working in the coming week to solidify what this process will look like in practice, including establishing thresholds for expected student engagement in learning opportunities and demonstration of mastery in order to earn credit in each respective subject area. Credit will not be guaranteed for students who disengage altogether. We can expect a district-wide communication to go out to all stakeholders next week.

I want to emphasize that the fact that the decision to move to a credit/no credit process was made through a lens of equity for all students in VUSD. All of our lives have been significantly disrupted by the current health situation - some much more than others. It is important that we all practice empathy, compassion, and grace on a human-level as we all navigate uncharted territory.

State Assessments: The California Department of Education has suspended each of the following statewide standardized assessments for the 2019-2020 school year:

• Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) exams for ELA and Math: 11th-grade students

• California Science Test (CAST): 11th and 12th-grade students

• English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC): All English Learners

• Physical Fitness Test (PFT): 9th-grade students

Advanced Placement (AP) Exams:

• Advanced Placement (AP) exams will be administered online at home

• Exams will be limited to 45-minutes in length

• Exams will be assessing a reduced scope of content in each subject area (prior to March)

• Students who previously registered for exams will have the option of canceling their exam(s) without penalty

Students with any questions should contact AP Coordinator, Mrs. Stearman. I know that she has already been in contact with students impacted.

Our Vision is to be the model of educational excellence through discovery, innovation, and growth.

Our Purpose is to empower students to be self-directed, creative, and critical thinkers who persevere to positively impact the interconnected world.

We Value mutual respect, collaboration, integrity, originality, and intellectual curiosity that prepare our students to become integral members of society.

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