Mike Matthews'
Monday Message


February 22, 2021
Hello everyone,

I hope that all of you had an enjoyable mid-winter break. It was another good week for fans of ending COVID. The number of COVID cases in LA County and across the nation continue to drop. That is great news in MBUSD, as it allows us to keep moving forward with our reopening plans and safely returning students to school. Here are some upcoming changes in MBUSD:

  • Vaccinations: The County announced that school employees are eligible to receive the vaccine starting next Monday, March 1, 2021. We have advised the over 90% of our employees who want the vaccination to be on the lookout. The system is not easy to navigate, and it takes persistence. This weekend, some vaccines were made available to some school employees, and many MBUSD employees networked and pounced on the opportunity. This is the beginning of a VERY positive trend.

  • 3rd - 5th Grades: The case rate for LA County is now less than 25/100,000. That means that on Monday, March 1, grades three, four, and five will return in a four-days-a-week AM/PM schedule (see page 19 of the MBUSD Hybrid Procedural Guidelines for exact times). I want to applaud all of our TK-5 teachers and instructional assistants, as over 80% of them are or will be in the classroom, fully meeting the requests from our TK-5 parents. Our classrooms are positive places full of learning and smiles, and our teachers and staff are leading the way.

  • Secondary High Needs Hybrid: Tomorrow, we welcome back almost 100 middle school and high school students who are experiencing difficulty in distance learning. These students will be at school for the first two periods of the day four days a week and will receive in-person support as they attend their distance learning classes. 

  • 6th Grade: We are finalizing plans to bring back 6th grade students for their Humanities class by March 8, and we will be discussing those plans with the Board on Wednesday night. I’ve received a few emails asking why grade six cannot come back in full. Sixth grade is allowed to return for in-person instruction, but while we are in the Purple Tier, students cannot mix classes. So it’s one class only for now. This is one of many steps in the right direction.

  • 7th - 12th Grades: Finally, I am very hopeful that this downward trend in COVID cases will continue and we will be in the Red Tier in a few weeks, which will allow for the return of secondary students. We are targeting Monday, April 12, the day after Spring Break, as a date when we could see our secondary students back on campus. We are awaiting clarification from LACDPH regarding what the requirements will be for secondary school when we get to this tier. Currently, we have not received information about whether or when students and staff can be in multiple groups, attend multiple classes, or do any of the other things that make secondary schools different from elementary school settings. We are advocating with state and county representatives for increased clarity and communication, and we encourage parents to do the same. 

  • CDC Guidelines: I have been asked why aren’t we following the newly released CDC guidelines, which are more lenient in terms of when and how students can return to school? While the CDC is a critical advisory body, it is the California DPH and the LA County DPH that are the regulatory agencies with control over school reopenings. We will continue to follow LACDPH regulations.

Here’s what I know about this news on reopening. For many of you, this will be welcome and positive news. For many others, it is way too slow. And for some, you remain quite content with distance learning for a variety of reasons. I appreciate your support, your clarifying questions, your pushes, and all of your efforts to make the most of this year. I am proud of our employees and all of their efforts in the openings we have successfully completed, and I look forward to safely bringing back more students in these new phases. My wish for this week and the month of March is vaccines for our employees, the continued decline of case numbers in our county and around the world, and all of our dedication to following all guidelines and doing our part to stop the spread of COVID.

Thanks and stay safe,
Mike Matthews
MBUSD Superintendent
Manhattan Beach Unified School District

325 S. Peck Avenue
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
310.318.7345