In the midst of everchanging governmental mandates and guidelines regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and school reopening, and to better understand concerns about health and safety, educational options and operational logistics, the San Marino Unified School District Board of Education scheduled two special Board meetings during July to discuss school reopening plans. The first meeting was held on Monday, July 13, 2020 (see a brief summary below), and the second meeting will be held on Tuesday, July 21, 2020 at 6:30 P.M. 

 

The SMUSD community is encouraged to virtually attend the Tuesday, July 21, 2020 Special Board meeting to learn more about the District's school reopening plans. The Board will receive information about proposed hybrid and distance learning instructional programs, as well as updates on athletics and budget matters. The Board will also consider new Board Policies and take budget actions relating to the pandemic. With the caveat that circumstances are rapidly evolving and may change at any moment, the Board is expected to make some decisions regarding school reopening. Click here to view the July 21 st agenda, which includes information about virtual access to the meeting.

 

Please note that there is a change in how the Board will receive Public Comment during the July 21 Board meeting. The Board will revert to its prior practice of only accepting verbal Public Comment at the designated times during the meeting. The Board will still accept written Public Comment submissions from 11:00 A.M. through 3:30 P.M. on Tuesday, July 21, 2020 but instead of reading those Public Comment submissions out loud during the Board meeting, the Board will be provided with written submissions for their review before the Board meeting. This will allow more time for persons who wish to provide verbal Public Comment to do so during the time set aside for Public Comment during the Board meeting. 

 

July 13 Board Meeting**

 

The purpose of the July 13, 2020 Special Board meeting was to inform the Board of recent developments regarding the reopening of schools. Superintendent Dr. Jeff Wilson provided a detailed report to the Board regarding the latest work performed by the School Reopening Task Force (SRTF), a group of about 70 community members who have been working for the past six-plus weeks researching and considering various options for school reopening in the areas of instruction, health and safety, social and emotional support, family and community engagement, and operations. The SRTF includes District administrators, teachers and staff, as well as parents and other community members, such as physicians, nurses, and SMPD Chief Incontro and SMFD Chief Rueda. Click here to view the presentation.

 

Dr. Wilson reminded the Board of the guiding principles and goals of the SRTF. He also identified some changes that parents and students can expect as schools reopen, and highlighted progress made in the various subcommittees addressing instruction, health and safety, social and emotional support, family and community engagement, and operations. Many aspects of school reopening involve engagement and agreement with the District's two employees associations (San Marino Teachers Association (SMTA) and San Marino Classified School Employees Association (CSEA)), and Dr. Wilson thanked SMTA and CSEA for the positive and productive working relationship.

 

Leticia Aranda, President of the San Marino Teachers Association, assisted Dr. Wilson with the presentation regarding instruction options. She asked the Board to not physically reopen schools and to instead select a fully online instruction model. She explained that all San Gabriel Valley teachers' associations would be making a similar request to their school districts. Ms. Aranda informed the Board about the survey completed by 144 of 147 SMUSD teachers and counselors, which indicated that the majority of the teachers/counselors prefer full distance learning due to health and safety concerns. About 42 of the 144 respondents preferred some type of in-person instruction, with 33 teachers/counselors preferring a hybrid approach, which would include some in-person instruction and some distance learning within the typical week. 

 

Ms. Aranda and Mr. Jason Kurtenbach, SMHS Principal, presented the proposed San Marino Virtual Academy (distance learning only) schedules for the elementary and secondary levels. The San Marino Virtual Academies would provide a full-day robust academic experience for students, including daily interaction with the teacher and both synchronous and asynchronous instruction on an age-appropriate basis. It was confirmed that the online instruction would be significantly improved from the instruction experienced in March through May when school districts and teachers had to pivot to online instruction with very little notice and under unprecedented circumstances.

 

In the event that in-person instruction is feasible, the Board was presented with proposed Hybrid Academy schedules for the elementary, middle and high school levels. The Hybrid Academy schedules would also provide for a robust educational experience and would allow for socially distanced in-person instruction two days a week, with three days a week at home with distance learning.

 

Dr. Wilson and Ms. Linda de la Torre, Assistant Superintendent of Administrative Services, discussed the next steps, which include another survey of parents. The first survey, completed several weeks ago, showed that approximately 25% of parents wanted distance learning only, while the remainder preferred some version of in-person instruction, whether it was 100% in person or a hybrid approach. Given the surge in COVID-19 cases, it was suggested that another survey be distributed to determine parents' latest preferences regarding instructional models.

 

Ms. de la Torre discussed the District's efforts to apply for and receive funding related to the pandemic and the impact that the pandemic has had on declining enrollment and the District's budget. 

 

The Board did a first reading of proposed new Board Policy 0470(a), which was created by the California School Boards Association to address and reconcile anomalies and changed circumstances in Board Policies caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

 

The Board also heard information from Board members Chris Norgaard and Corey Barberie, who were designated by the Board to interview potential campaign strategists to assist the Board in determining next steps related to a future parcel tax and/or bond.

 

Click here to access the recording of the July 13, 2020 Special Board meeting. 

 

Thank You to the Schools Reopening Task Force!

 

Lettie Aranda Brent Bilvado Danielle Blatchley Rebecca Boet Jessica Bulgin Abby Cabrera Gil Cardenas Joe Carmona C. Joseph Chang Soomin Chao Amy Chase Annie Chen Lucas Chen Stephen Choi Jane Chon Jacki Chuang Dani Dabbs Zeina Daoud Beth Davis Jennifer de la Torre Linda de la Torre Mary Divney Elizabeth Drake Don Duranso

Alana Faure Andrea Fox Nicolette Fuerst Tamara Garcia Issaic Gates Andrew Gayl Francesca Gil June Gonzalez Julia Greer Diana Hang John Incontro Derek Jamieson Lu Jiang Kim Johns Bob Judge Nicole Kent Kellie Kido Mike Killackey Jason Kurtenbach Michiko Lee Michael Lin Marguerite Lindsay Vangie Lingat

Jeanne Lipps Robbin Rae McCulloch Yvonne Mejia Justin Mesa Lisette Moggio Jorge Munoz Kyla Nako Erik Negroe Kathryn Oliveros Angie Padilla Blake Pak Leigh Phifer Laura Pollard Mario Rueda Courtney Rushing Shelley Ryan Ana Teleguario Lee Carolle Thompson Daryl Topalian Daisy Wilson Jeff Wilson Cynthia Wong Janice Youngblood

** Please note that new information is being revealed daily and governmental mandates and guidance are rapidly evolving. As such, the information presented in this Board Update may be obsolete at the time of reading, and the community is encouraged to virtually attend the July 21 meeting for the latest information as of that date.