August 18, 2020
Dear Parents and Guardians,
At the August 12, 2020 Board meeting, the Board of Trustees voted to re-open the Extended Day Program (EDP) for MBUSD students from age 3 through grade 5, contingent on approval by the LA County Office of Education and the LA County Department of Public Health.
The District is working with county and state officials to check all guidelines and make sure that the EDP can indeed open to serve all students. In addition, the District is in ongoing discussions with our employee union discussing safety protocols and other contractual issues. While neither the County regulations nor the employee issues are completely resolved, we are hopeful that these can be addressed and resolved in the near future.
The Extended Day Program will look much different than it did prior to March 13, 2020 when we were running normally. This program will be a 5-day-a-week program, with hours that are approximately 7:30 am - 4:00 pm (parents will have the option of taking their child out mid-day but will be required to pay full tuition). Activities during the day for all students could include:
- Support for Distance Learning
- Utilizing available outdoor space during Distance Learning breaks
- Safe and distant activities such as yoga, outdoor games, arts, and crafts
- Hand washing and sanitizing routines
- Student choice during breaks
- Snack and lunch
- Students will remain with a small cohort of their peers and will be required to maintain appropriate social distancing at all times, keeping at least 6’ apart from each other and from their teachers
- Students and staff wear face coverings while on campus (except when eating) while on campus
- Structuring classroom breaks and restroom use to accommodate cleaning and disinfecting routines.
We know that when we open EDP, there will be additional costs due to mandated safety requirements. As I mentioned above, the hours of the program are significantly longer than they were last year. In addition, group sizes will have to be much smaller, and we will have fewer students per employee. There will be added custodial and sanitization requirements and costs. Finally, there will be additional personal protective equipment (PPE) costs for staff and students. We anticipate that the tuition for 5 day/week full-day EDP will be approximately $1500 per month.
We are not asking for a firm commitment at this time, but for planning purposes, we need to know if, according to what you know now, you will want your child(ren) enrolled in EDP when it opens. The MBUSD EDP program is an impacted program. Although we have expanded over the past few years, there is still a waitlist for enrollment. We do not know what kind of interest there will be in this program, and the Board has asked that we survey all elementary parents and the parents of 3-5 year-old preschool students to determine their interest level. Please know that if demand continues to be high, we will not be able to provide this service to all interested parents.
We know there are many more questions, and we will address those as we get nearer the opening. For our planning purposes right now, I am asking you to please fill out the brief survey below. If you have more than one child aged 3 through grade 5 this year, please fill out one survey for each child.
