Dear TUSD Families,
Whew! I imagine that the first 12 days of school may have felt like a sprint for most of you! Starting school in the midst of a pandemic is not something any of us had on our lifetime bucket lists and I am acutely aware of the rollercoaster of emotions being experienced by students, as well as parents. I hope everyone has begun to settle into their remote learning routine and are feeling more comfortable with our online platforms.
Late last week, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (DPH) provided guidance that will allow us to resume some limited on-campus and in-person operations. Small cohorts of students with Individualized Education Plans, English Learners, and students needing special education assessments will be able to come to school for some campus programs in the coming weeks. I will be sharing additional information with our Board of Education at the September 21, 2020 meeting about how we intend to bring some of these students back to campus physically.
During our Board of Education meeting this week, we also provided information on the beginning plans to allow high school student athletics to begin conditioning and skills training with their coaches. Athletic competitions continue to be on hold until at least December 2020, but we are encouraged by the possibility of providing students access to in-person training. Also, though we do not know when DPH will allow this, we hope to resume other extracurricular activities on campus in the near future.
Educating students from a distance is far from perfect. In my conversations with teachers and parents, I know that the Elementary Distance Learning Platform has had some challenges for students and teachers. Please know that we are working diligently to resolve these issues. Additional parent training has been scheduled over the next two weeks, specifically to address technical questions to help support students and parents.
Parent Training/Q&A Sessions on Google Classroom:
September 14, 15, and 24 at 6 pm
September 22 and 29 at 7 pm
Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85497784669?pwd=bjZ2SEs3Q09UVGxhVVBJSGtVOEthUT09
Teachers continue to engage in weekly discussions and professional development on the Distance Learning platform. If you continue to have questions or concerns, please reach out to your child’s teacher and communicate with them directly to find solutions that work for you.
Educating our students is a partnership, more so now than ever before. We need to depend on one another in order to ensure our students have the supports and tools they need to be successful. I appreciate all you are doing for your students and our schools!
Sincerely,
Tim Stowe
Interim Superintendent