Mike Matthews'
Monday Morning Message

October 26, 2020
Good morning,

Here are the latest developments that impact MBUSD and our five-phase reopening plan:

  • TK-2 Hybrid Program: On Friday, I submitted applications for each of our elementary schools for a TK-2 Hybrid program. We had all of the required components, including our safety protocols, and most importantly, letters of support from Mayor Montgomery, from each of our elementary PTAs, from our classified union (CSEA), and from our certificated union (MBUTA). I am grateful to all of these organizations for their support, and I know we will be one of the few public school districts that have letters of support from both unions. I also met with LA County Department of Public Health leaders on Friday afternoon and urged them to open up and approve more than 30 school waivers a week. I will hear this week whether there are other needed elements in our application. In terms of timing, Optimistically, I think the earliest we could get approval for and start this TK-2 hybrid would be Monday, November 16.

  • Survey Results from Last Week: Last week, I surveyed all parents, asking simply whether they would send their children back to campuses for in-person learning or stay in distance learning. Here are the results of that survey:
Survey Results
  • If you would like to see more details of that survey, you can see our board presentation here. Now that our TK-2 hybrid start is a real possibility, it is time for us to ask our parents of elementary aged students to make a decision. After communicating finalized hybrid plans with elementary teachers and staff, I will be sending a separate email to our elementary parents asking for a commitment to distance learning or in-person learning for the remainder of the 2020-21 school year.

  • Why Cohorts Matter: MBUSD re-opened to students on September 16, when we began our child care program. We then added our athletic training program on September 29, and our High Need Hybrid the week of October 12. Keeping students and employees in cohorts has been an essential part of each phase of our reopening. In each phase, we have dealt with COVID issues that have required us to take actions to keep our students and employees safe. We have had students with family members let us know that they tested positive for COVID. We have had employees develop COVID-like symptoms, and in one case, test positive for COVID. And on Friday, we learned that an athlete in one of our cohorts tested positive for COVID. We followed the steps outlined in our health and safety protocols document, but there are key takeaways with our experience thus far:
  • I am always grateful to employees and families for letting us know about any COVID-related situations and for following the advice given by DPH to seek out a PCR/molecular (not a rapid/antigen) test, as these tests provide fewer false negative results. There should be no stigma associated with this process. In fact, it’s just the opposite. By letting us know quickly, and providing the most reliable data available, we are better able to take the necessary steps that protect all of us.
  • When our students and employees stay within their cohorts, we are able to restrict the impacted cohort and keep others safe.
  • In the case of a confirmed positive case within an active cohort, we have taken the following steps:
  • We have directed all members of that cohort to quarantine for two weeks. Even though they have been outdoors, worn masks, and kept six feet of distance, this is the right move (and the move required by LACDPH).
  • The cohort will not reassemble until 14 days have passed from the cohort members’ last exposure to the infected person. 
  • If any additional cohort members test positive, those members will remain in quarantine until they have been fever free for 24 hours, show improved symptoms, and are 10 days from the onset of symptoms (or 10 days from the test date, if no symptoms develop). In the latter case, the rest of the cohort will remain in quarantine for 14 days from the last exposure to any and all cohort members who test positive. 

  • Supporting our High School Students: I’ve spent a lot of time writing about the critical nature of cohorts. People keep asking me when high schools are going to start. Here’s the thing: cohorts don’t work in large high schools. Students and employees mix and mingle throughout the day. There are infinite combinations of students and teachers, so that even one case of COVID could quarantine hundreds of people. Until we can better figure out how to keep all of us safe, it’s distance learning for high school. At our board meeting last week, student board member Emma Clarke asked if we could survey high school students about what is working well, what is not, and what we can do to better address their academic and social-emotional needs. It’s a great idea and I will be working with our students to get a survey out this week.

Thank you for your efforts and support,
Mike Matthews
MBUSD Superintendent
Manhattan Beach Unified School District

325 S. Peck Avenue
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
310.318.7345