Mike Matthews'
Monday Message


May 3, 2021
Hello MBUSD Community,
 
Today marks the third week of our schedule with five-days-a-week in-person instruction. It continues to go extremely well. I thank you all for continuing to follow the safety protocols, as we still have COVID cases in our county, in the South Bay, and here in MBUSD. It is not time to be lax or to ignore guidelines.
 
VACCINATIONS: 
First, a word about vaccinations. Our community is doing extremely well on this front. According to the latest DPH website data, 72% of Manhattan Beach residents, 68% of Redondo residents, and 69% of Hermosa residents have received their first or second doses of the vaccine. Those are extremely high percentages, and I hope they increase especially in light of what we are learning about the recommendations for graduation ceremonies.
 
GRADUATION:
Under DPH guidelines, each Mira Costa High School graduate could bring at least four fully vaccinated spectators to one large in-person ceremony on Waller Field. While there would be accommodations made for individuals who cannot be vaccinated, including younger siblings or those with conditions that prevent inoculation, the plan only works if a super high percentage of the spectators are fully vaccinated. Alternatively, if this is not possible, Costa is also considering one ceremony with all graduates and no spectators, or several smaller graduation ceremonies, with each student having four spectators who may or may not be vaccinated. I will be discussing these options with the Board on Wednesday night at our meeting. We have 41 days until graduation and the vaccination process takes up to 35 days. If you are considering getting vaccinated, and your student is graduating, I encourage you to make appropriate plans. I looked this morning and there are plenty of vaccination appointments available.
 
We are still work on logistics for MBMS and the elementary sites, and will have more information shortly. 
 
EXPANDED LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES:
While many of our students adjusted well to distance learning, it did not work for everyone. Unfortunately, our failure rate in secondary schools, which is normally quite low, just about doubled. On top of that, we believe that many students will have “holes” in their academic learning, as it was difficult to cover all material in a virtual format. This is not just a Manhattan Beach issue, rather this is an issue across the state and the nation.
 
To address this, two of our assistant superintendents, Dr. Katherine Whittaker Stopp (Educational Services) and Dr. Irene Gonzalez-Castillo (Students Services), have developed a plan to provide support for struggling learners during the summer and beyond. They placed their proposals into an Expanded Learning Opportunities Plan, which is described below:
 
The Manhattan Beach Unified School District has created an Expanded Learning Opportunities (ELO) Grant Plan as a condition for receiving an ELO Grant. The ELO Plan provides remediation, supplemental instruction, and support to students, including those identified as needing academic, social-emotional, and other supports.
 
In developing our district plan, we spoke with a variety of stakeholder groups (e.g. teachers, administrators, parent groups). The following seven supplemental instruction and support strategies were considered and helped guide the planning process.

  1. Extending instructional learning time
  2. Accelerating progress to close learning gaps through the implementation, expansion, or enhancement of learning supports
  3. Integrated student supports to address other barriers to learning
  4. Community learning hubs that provide students with access to technology, high-speed internet, and other academic supports
  5. Supports for credit deficient students to complete graduation or grade promotion requirements and to increase or improve students’ college eligibility
  6. Additional academic services for students
  7. Training for school staff on strategies to engage students and families in addressing students’ social-emotional health and academic needs
 
The MBUSD ELO plan includes services that begin this summer and extend through the school year. For example:

  • “Ten in Eight” summer sessions to provide an “academic jump start,” as well as opportunities for exploration and remediation, in preparation for the 2021-22 school year. Each session will be an eight-day program with the goal of addressing ten essential standards whose mastery is foundational to success in the next course/area/grade level. Focus areas will include ELA, math, world languages, and the arts, will provide opportunities for the development of social skills/self-regulation, social emotional learning, and will include summer bridge opportunities for students moving from one grade span to the next.
  • Special education summer programs for speech and language and occupational therapy which will provide students with opportunities to apply and develop a variety of skills, including speech and language, social skills, problem solving, and sensory strengthening skills.
  • Health services for students throughout the school year, including Health Services Assistants to support elementary extended day programs and a nurse to support the District’s COVID Compliance Team.

We’re excited about our plans to support students to a great degree. If you are interested in learning more about the full range of services, we invite you to watch the Wednesday, May 5, 2021 Board Meeting, where the plan will be proposed and recommended for approval.

Many thanks to Drs. Stopp and Gonzalez-Castillo.  I look forward to discussing the plan in more detail at this Wednesday’s Board Meeting and to a summer that will include more MBUSD-offered student programs than we have seen in a long time.

Finally, if you haven't yet had a chance to complete the Board's survey regarding the superintendent search, please do so before Friday. Stakeholder feedback will help the Board interview candidates and select your next Superintendent.

Thanks to you all,
Mike Matthews
MBUSD Superintendent
Manhattan Beach Unified School District

325 S. Peck Avenue
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
310.318.7345