MADERA – California Governor Gavin Newsom and the California State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tony Thurmond, shared last week in a press briefing that “schools will not re-open, but classes will continue.” This does not mean that the school year is over. Instead, it highlights the importance of the school district's continued focus on what Madera Unified as a district is calling Continuous Learning.
Governor Newsom’s “stay at home” orders, and a similar local order, remains in place, as do federal guidelines around social distancing. In consultation with Dr. Simon Paul, Madera County Health Officer and Sara Bosse, Director of Madera County Department of Public Health, stated the need for safety through social distancing dictates that Madera Unified continues to keep the school district campuses closed to students during this pandemic.
For these reasons, the Madera Unified School District Governing Board held a Special Board Meeting tonight via Zoom and has decided to extend the school district school closure through the remainder of the school year. All decisions about reopening will be made at a later date in conjunction with state and local public health officials.
According to Superintendent of MUSD Todd Lile, “Madera Unified is committed to strengthening our delivery of education through continuous learning. Therefore, as we continue our shift to continuous learning, we will do our best to meet the needs of our students and families. Focusing on our primary purpose as an organization, educating our students. In order to do this, we are in the process of coordinating resources for our students to make sure they have everything they need to have the best continuous learning experience we can provide. We recognize Parents are children’s first and greatest teachers, and we want to thank you for working together with our teachers on behalf of all our students.”
Internet and Technology Access
Recently, Madera Unified created and implemented a new custom tool to determine which students have internet access within their households. Internet service providers such as Xfinity are providing free internet access for two months to families who qualify for free and reduced lunch. A major goal of the school district is to have 100% of families on the internet. Madera Unified is also in the process of preparing the school district Chromebooks for distribution to students who need a device. Chromebooks will be distributed to students after spring break.
Student Care Check-ins
Madera Unified is also working on another program called Student Care Check-ins where staff will connect with students and parents through the phone or video conference once per week. During the check-in, staff will report if students or parents have a need that Madera Unified can potentially assist with. For example, the family may need a Chromebook to access the digital learning content for their class. Or, they would like to request for a Counselor to contact them due to the stress of the school district’s current reality. Madera Unified would like to coordinate resources with the students based on their needs. This Student Care Check-ins will be a key way for us to do this.
Graduating Seniors
The state recently provided guidance on how the school closures will impact the school district graduating seniors. Madera Unified is currently going over this guidance and will provide more information on this topic in the near future. Additionally, Madera Unified is also working on developing a plan to recognize the school district graduating seniors for their extraordinary accomplishments. Madera Unified understands that this will bring forth many questions and concerns from parents and students, which is understandable considering the circumstances.
The school district is committed to celebrating the accomplishments of the school district seniors. These seniors deserve a moment to celebrate all their years of hard work and Madera Unified will collaborate with elected student-leaders to make this possible. Madera Unified will provide more information on this topic in the near future. Madera Unified will keep you informed as plans progress and thank you for your school district patience.
If you would like to provide feedback on ways Madera Unified can celebrate the success of the school district seniors, please click on the link. The community’s point of view is important and Madera Unified looks forward to receiving and reading your school district messages.
Madera Unified wants to acknowledge how challenging these times are for everyone. Every day, Madera Unified wake up to new information about how best to live, work and cope during an evolving global pandemic crisis. The district wants to thank the community for your patience and support during this extraordinary time of uncertainty as Madera Unified navigates the school district response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation.
“We want to thank all staff who are working tirelessly to help our students remain connected to the school community. We know the adults on school campus are an important part of a student’s life and will do our best to try and maintain that connection.” Lile added.
