July 20, 2020            

Superintendent's Message 
on School Reopening

Dear San Marino Parents and Community Members:

On Friday, July 17, Governor Gavin Newsom ordered all school campuses to remain physically closed in counties on the state's monitoring list due to spiking COVID-19 cases. The order includes Los Angeles County public and private schools. Schools cannot physically re-open until their county has come off the state's monitoring list for 14 consecutive days.  This order means that all San Marino Unified schools, including before and after-school activities, all athletic and extracurricular practices and competitions, and all weekend events will be physically closed until LA County has met that requirement.

As you know, our District has been preparing for a return to school for months now.  Despite changing circumstances and direction from governmental agencies, over 70 educators, board members, parents, medical personnel, city officials, students and District administration and staff on the School Reopening Task Force have been working tirelessly on issues of instruction, health & safety, social-emotional wellness, family & community engagement, and operations to ensure a safe, reliable, rigorous and engaging school experience for all of our students.  Our District was preparing to reopen on August 12, 2020 for possible hybrid in-classroom/at-home instruction and/or distance learning instruction, and although we were making great progress in welcoming back our students and staff, the Governor's order will prevent us from physically re-opening our doors in August. Based on the Governor's mandate, we will now start the year using a 100% virtual model of teaching and rigorous learning.  San Marino Unified is uniquely positioned to deliver a learning experience that is engaging, challenging, and innovative.  Our curriculum and instruction will continue to prepare our students for top-tier colleges and universities and career aspirations.  

Our teachers and staff have been hard at work preparing to provide a high-quality distance learning program for our students.  The San Marino Teachers Association (SMTA) has been a great partner in helping construct regular schedules of teaching and learning where students will experience a rigorous and thorough instructional program, including live instruction on a daily basis, tests, quizzes, projects and hands-on learning and where attendance will be mandatory and accounted-for on a daily basis. Senate Bill 98 served as a guidepost for this planning with a key piece mandating daily live interaction with certificated employees and peers for purposes of instruction, progress monitoring, and maintaining school connectedness (Ed. Code, ยง 43503(b)).  This language affirmed our collective agreement that daily and consistent live connections between students and teachers is key to success in a distance learning environment, as it is in a physical learning environment. Delivering this type of education from a distance requires extensive professional development, and the District is committed to providing our teachers with the training and support to deliver on the expectation of an outstanding San Marino education.

We understand that students and families have many questions as we prepare to start the new school year. We have created a School Reopening Website ( www.smusd.us/reopen ) that will be updated as more information becomes available to help address many of your questions. We are also available via email to answer any questions or concerns you may have.  Tomorrow evening's Special Board of Education meeting will serve as an opportunity to hear about our District's preparation for opening the school year in a distance learning environment.  The meeting will begin promptly at 6:30 p.m.

This has been an incredibly challenging time for the entire San Marino community and San Gabriel Valley as a whole.  I have been in constant contact with local superintendents and the County Office of Education to ensure that we are aligning our practices and accessing the very best resources. I want to thank you for your patience and understanding as we have dealt with this unprecedented situation. We will continue to keep you updated via email, text, social media, and our website, at www.smusd.us .  We look forward to seeing you all again very soon.

Once again, thank you and stay well.

Sincerely,

Dr. Jeff Wilson, Superintendent
San Marino Unified School District