Superintendent's Update
October 23, 2020


Dear Wiseburn families and friends, 

During our last board meeting, I presented on Wiseburn’s approach to a phased return to in-person assessment and specialized services, and mentioned we would have an update for our families and community today.

To that end, we are thrilled to announce that beginning on November 2, we will launch the first phase of our plan to bring in some students with specialized learning needs for in-person assessments.

This is one step in a progression toward in-person learning where possible. As a reminder, Los Angeles County schools are currently not allowed to open for in-person learning for general education (meaning, a fully in-person instruction plan for all students) per a directive from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

By order, however, we may offer some in-person assessments and services under specific safety conditions. We are able to offer in-person assessments for our special education and English Language Learners as well as some specialized services for students in preschool and grades TK-8.


Prioritizing safety

We are grateful to the Wiseburn Faculty Association, our staff, our administration, and the Wiseburn Unified School District Board of Trustees for the combined effort to be able to offer these services safely in-person. We will require health screening protocols and other safety measures for any staff, student, or essential visitor, and our site administrators will send more specific information to our families about safe and healthy practices at each site.   

Per our district pillars, we are prioritizing safety for all stakeholders coming back to campus, and have heightened safety protocols. These include enhanced cleaning protocols and monitoring, on-site symptom monitoring, providing of protective equipment, desktop plexiglass shields, hand sanitizer stations, and more.


Phased approach timeline

We continue to work diligently towards a phased, methodical, and safe approach to reopening our schools in various ways and are recommending the following timeline for our in-person assessments and specialized services:

  • November 2: Phase 1 — In-person Special Education Individualized Education Program (IEP) Assessments (All Grade Levels: Preschool - 8th)
  • Complete special education assessments
  • Prioritize IEPs — initial, triennial, and transition
  • November 16: Phase 2 — Special Education Preschool Cohort
  • Provide specialized services for special education preschool students (ages 3 - 5)
  • Services scheduled with families
  • November 30: Phase 3 — Specialized Services TK-5 Cohort
  • Provide specialized services for special education and ELL students grades TK-5
  • Services scheduled with families
  • December 14: Phase 4 — Specialized Services 6-8 Cohort
  • Provide specialized services for special education and ELL students grades 6-8
  • Services scheduled with families


What’s next

In anticipation of implementing the above timeline, affected families and caregivers can expect more information in the weeks to come.

For Phase 1: During the week of October 26, the Director of Special Education and school site administrators will distribute the processes and schedules to caregivers and families with students that will complete IEP assessments.

For Phase 2: During the week of November 9, the Director of Special Education will communicate the processes and locations to staff and caregivers/families with special education preschool students.

For Phases 3 and 4: Beginning the week of November 23, school site administrators and special education and ELD staff will communicate the processes and schedules to caregivers and families with students that will receive specialized services for special education and ELL students grades TK-8, per each specialized service cohort.


Progress under current COVID-19 conditions

While we certainly wish Los Angeles County was not in the widespread tier of COVID-19 transmission as per the metrics of the Blueprint for a Safer Economy, we are thrilled to safely offer some in-person assessments and services under current COVID-19 conditions.

We are continually monitoring the COVID-19 data and any applicable Los Angeles County Department of Public Health directives. If you haven’t already, you may opt into the Wiseburn COVID-19 Dashboard email list to get twice monthly snapshots of the state’s most recent COVID-19 data, context about what that means for schools, and resources relevant to our Wiseburn community. Subscribe here — our first Dashboard update is going out tomorrow.

Thank you to our students, parents, caregivers, family, staff, and community for your support and patience throughout this pandemic. We’re thrilled to take this step forward and look forward to the day we can begin bringing all of our students back to campus.

With gratitude,

Blake Silvers, Ed.D., Superintendent