Newark Unified Virtural Town Hall Meeting

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[0] SPEAKER_15: here for this second town hall presentation. I'm going to share my screen in a moment so that we can get started. So, buenas tardes a todos. Mi nombre es Superintendente Mark Triplett. Bienvenidos. a esta reunión virtual acerca de la abierta de las escuelas por el nuevo año escolar. Si necesita traducción, por favor, en la pantalla de la computadora, abajo hay un botón que se llama Interpretation. Puede clickear allá y luego puede escoger en español para una introducción en vivo. So good evening everybody. Again this is Mark Triplett, superintendent. I'm delighted that you're all logging back on for our second virtual town meeting about moving forward together in the fall reopening of school. So this evening we're here to discuss the reopening of school and in particular Our presentation goals are to provide updates related to the Governor Newsom's reopening school announcement that he made on the 17th. We want to, excuse me, we want to draw a correlation for all of us and NUSD families between the state expectations and our own reopening schools in Newark plan. And then third, we want to offer an outline of a timeline of next steps for families and students, and then respond to questions and critical issues regarding reopening. So those are the goals for this evening's town hall. So as most of you probably know, on July 17th, Governor Newsom made an announcement regarding reopening of schools. And in that announcement, what he said was that schools can physically reopen for in-person instruction only when the county that they're operating in has been off of their monitoring list, that's the California Department of Health monitoring list, for 14 consecutive days. In the case of Alameda County, he named that we were one of the counties that are still on the list. So Alameda County is still on the monitoring list and therefore the decision is that we will be in distance learning to start the school year. I wanted to just take a moment to look at what some of you may be familiar with. This is data from this week, and it is on the Alameda County Public Health website. And this is corona cases by zip code in the East Bay. And so you'll notice Newark Unified zip code 94560 is down there near the bridge. And this map shows that the darker zip codes are where there's a higher rate of COVID cases currently. The lighter ones are a lesser rate. And so you can see that Newark is somewhere in between, not nearly as severe as some areas, but then also not nearly as low as others. I also wanted to take a moment just to share another data set. This is also from Alameda County Public Health, and this was from this week. And this is cases by ethnicity. And as you can see on here, the Asian cases of the virus and white population cases of the virus are about equal, African American Black cases a little lower. But what I wanted to highlight here is the Latinx case rate. which is almost five times that of the other ones that I mentioned. And I bring this up because we want to make sure that we are doing all we can to ensure the safety and health of all of our families and students. And in particular, we want to be conscious of where there are particular families that are possibly at greater risk and do everything we can to ensure their safety and well-being as well. So in the governor's statement, he listed four requirements for distance learning. And I want to go over those because this is what we are going to be following. Number one is that in order to do distance learning, there needs to be access to devices and conductivity or Wi-Fi for all students. Two, that distance learning needs to have daily live interaction between teachers and students. Three, that all assignments in distance learning are to be rigorous, challenging, and equivalent to in-person instruction. And then lastly, that the lessons that are provided for English language learners and special education students need to be adapted for their needs. So we fully intend to adhere to these requirements. This is what we believe is best practice as well. And so what does this mean for Newark students and families? So what we want to explain to you is that we are committed and we are planning for weekly communication between teachers, students, and parents. And that would be in the form of some sort of template that families should expect to receive on Mondays, outlining the classes and the assignments for the week in all subject areas. Two, that there'll be more instructional time than students and families experienced in the spring, both whole class and small group. Three, that we fully intend to provide challenging, rigorous assignments equivalent to what students would see in-person instruction. Four, that unlike the spring, the students will receive grades and they'll be accountable for their work. And you can expect that there'll be consistent teacher feedback for both students and parents on how students are doing. And then lastly, We want to make sure that we are providing quality professional development and support for our in USD teachers as they go through a distance learning and continue to really want to provide what's best for kids. So with that framing and introduction, I wanted to turn it over to Mr. Dalowich, Director of Teaching and Learning, and he's going to talk more about some of the details of some of the different options and experiences that we intend to provide for students and families this fall.

[435] SPEAKER_13: Thank you, Dr. Triplett. As Dr. Triplett stated, And you'll see upcoming in schedules that we share tonight. There will be a weekly template that we are looking to support teachers in communicating with students and their families each Monday morning by 8.30am. This was a request widespread among our community to have clear communication with respect to lessons and activities. We do want to free up teachers, especially in the afternoon, to provide small group instruction or one-on-one instruction and have the flexibility in their daily schedule. The virtual academy, we know, has generated a number of questions, and we are looking forward to addressing many of those questions here tonight. Also, after this presentation, you can find answers to questions from our July 9th town hall meeting on our district website. It is a point of emphasis for us to place a student-centered approach on their social emotional wellbeing and their mental health. And you'll see that reflected, especially in our secondary schedules. And I should add supporting the mental health of our staff as well. And finally, we know that we have expertise within Newark, very skilled teachers, and we wanna start sooner rather than later in providing opportunities for teachers to support one another and to create a training of trainers model essentially building their distance learning classrooms now not waiting for August 13. This is our phases of reopening slide, which reinforces the governor's announcement from July 17th. At the state level, the governor determined that you needed to be off the California Public Health Department monitoring sheet for 14 consecutive days. As Dr. Triplett mentioned, Alameda County is not, and therefore we find ourselves over to the red where it says no. And if you look down, you can see that effective August 13th, we are indeed starting in distance learning. If we do indeed get the green light at any point in the school year from the state and the county level, ultimately it will be Dr. Triplett's recommendation and he will determine his recommendation on safety and specifically on the five categories below, cases at school and in the community, PPE, contact tracing, physical capacity, and cleaning.

[591] SPEAKER_15: And I do want to just jump in here and mention, Mr. Dolowich, that we are currently engaging with our labor partners. And you see that on the right side in terms of exactly how this will look once we do go back to in-person learning. So we'll continue to engage with them and to hash out the details of how that's going to look.

[615] SPEAKER_13: Again, there were many questions regarding the virtual academy. And the fundamental distinction that should be answered for our community is that if students start in distance learning on August 13 and they don't select the option of a virtual Academy and conditions allow at any point during the year to return to in person instruction in the hybrid model. then those in the virtual academy would not return. They would remain remote for the entirety of the first trimester or first semester and reevaluate at that point. I'll be speaking more to that point momentarily. This is one example of a distance learning schedule at the elementary level. The elementary design team is in fact meeting tomorrow to discuss parameters and details in this schedule. You can see here that there's a priority placed on live instruction. per state guidance and that we would embed differentiated small groups, an opportunity for goal setting and social emotional learning, as well as an opportunity for small group instruction with our teachers. So how does this look differently than in the spring? Well, if you look on the left Monday and go down vertically in the purple columns, you can see that half the day essentially on a Monday is protected for preparation, staff development, professional development for teachers. At the start of the day, each teacher would be sending or sharing with students and families a weekly template with lessons and activities, not only for Monday, but for the entirety of the week. Followed by that would be a whole class morning instruction opportunity. and attendance is required for each and every student. And after the break, Students would be engaging with asynchronous lessons and activities specific for Monday afternoon only. Teachers would have an option, and those options include a staff meeting, comprehensive professional development, possibility of a district meeting, site collaboration, or on certain Mondays, district calibration and collaboration. Tuesday through Friday at the elementary levels operate differently. And if you look in the yellow or orange columns, you can see that each and every Tuesday through Friday begins with whole class live instruction for a minimum of 30 minutes. Teachers have the opportunity to go beyond that. That would be live on learning with the teacher, followed by a morning instructional block. Those will be designed by grade level teams and by teachers themselves. Some could continue with whole class instruction. Others would allow for a small group live instruction while different students are on task with independent student work time, followed by a break. And there are two more instructional blocks, an instructional block before lunch and then an additional third instructional block after lunch, followed by whole class live instruction to end the day. And we're looking and we will engage in this conversation with teachers and administrators tomorrow. During the afternoon block, not only could there be an opportunity for teacher collaboration, as well as preparation, but an opportunity for student office hours to get individual help or for parents to have office hours as we've heard that request from our community as well. So students would be finishing up, whether it's with a small group instruction or individual with a teacher or conducting independent student work time at the end of the day. But we would basically have three blocks of instruction sandwiched with whole class instruction before it and after it. The junior high schedule. There are a few important characteristics to note. Again, if you look at Monday, beginning at 8am, a weekly schedule is shared with all students and families. This is consistent with respect to expectations and a common language. And that is TK through 12 for our district. And if you look down vertically on Monday, you can see that there are six periods consecutively of 30 minutes of advisory. And the advisory period allows for that opportunity for students to check in. It allows for teachers to provide some instructional guidance, but it also allows for an opportunity for community building. And some curriculums we're looking at to support teachers include characters strong and choose love. On Monday, you then have lunch and the final period at the junior high school. And then there are in effect, three hours where students are having asynchronous learning and there's opportunities, whether it's a staff meeting or again, professional development, collaboration or calibration for our teachers. If you look in the pink, Starting with the times and Tuesday, Tuesday through Friday, you can see that there are three periods a day with afternoons dedicated for intervention support, office hours, family check-ins, or tutorials. So this is the junior high schedule with Tuesday through Friday, up to 60 minutes of instruction for each period, three periods a day combined with asynchronous activities. At Newark Memorial High School, you can see that there is consistency between the junior high and high school with the design. One key distinction is that class periods are up to 80 minutes. But again, on Mondays, you can see that vertically going down in the green column that each class period does indeed have an advisory. And again, this allows us to have teacher autonomy with respect to instructional guidance and clarifications of assignments, but also addressing that mental health and social emotional well-being aspect. So vital during a pandemic, and we know we want to prioritize this for our community and for our students. Again, Tuesdays through Fridays, three periods a day, and you can see the variation. Again, class periods up to 80 minutes. And all three schedules, it should be noted for our child nutrition services, there is a protected lunch, and that lunch is 11 to 12. The reason for that is there will be meal distribution. That is one of our pledges to the community that will continue. And we want to honor that and have protected time so that if families need to pick up meals, they don't feel like they're missing out on instruction. Last points to note. and I'll jump into the virtual academy is grading is required as well as attendance. So I just wanna place that emphasis. I know I paused there, but again, attendance is required and we are returning to grades. Those would be numbers at the elementary level and letters at the secondary level. So let's dig into the virtual academy. I said before, and I'll say it again, The virtual academy differs from distance learning in that it allows students to be remote learners for the entirety of the trimester or semester. Distance learning, the difference is that it's a fluid situation where students will be able to return, again, based on the phases of reopening when the state, county, and district allow, and that teachers will remain consistent with the virtual academy at the elementary level throughout. So if we dig a little bit deeper into the Virtual Academy, what you will have the opportunity later this evening is to see on our website, this brochure, this is page two of the brochure, as well as a flyer with a link in it. and an interest form that will be uploaded for families to fill out if they are interested in joining the virtual academy. It should be noted a fundamental difference between the elementary and secondary levels. You can see the chart at the top of this brochure and you can see TK-6 There will there will be an assigned Newark Memorial Newark unified teacher for the elementary level. And so the teacher would have a cohort of students, there would be a live instruction component. There would also be small group instruction Tuesday through Friday, as well as an opportunity for reading and math lessons. and asynchronous work, which includes projects assignments and assessments. There is a fundamental distinction for the virtual Academy and we realized that there were simply too many constraints with respect to staffing five or six class periods at the secondary level. And so the difference with the Virtual Academy at the secondary level is we are currently looking at online platforms. Such examples include Edgenuity, Asalis, or Apex. These are online platforms which offer students an independent standards-based curriculum, and it's delivered not only online, but with a certified teacher. Students would still earn grades, and they would remain with the home school. But it should be noted that one fundamental difference for Newark unified compared to some other districts is that we are interested in having an advisory teacher, which would still be a Newark unified teacher to check in with grade seven through 12 and this would allow for clarification support. and guidance with respect to the virtual academy. So those are important points to note. And you can see the other information here. It is an option for those families and students that if conditions allow to return at any point during a marking period to the hybrid, if they simply felt uncomfortable, we want to make a pledge to keep those families and students with Newark Unified and provide a viable alternative So important dates and checkpoints on the same day that the governor announced the reopening plan and specifically with respect to the state monitoring list. Dr. Triplett also provided a letter and announced that Newark Unified would be effectively starting the year August 13 in distance learning. Our intention, as stated here, is to provide tonight a brochure with information, a flyer, and the interest form for families to look into the virtual academy. And then the virtual academy registration would be open. However, we would close that window July 31st, and there would be information on our website. And then we would move forward with respect to providing teachers for TK through six, And then again, grade seven through 12 would have an online learning platform and an advisor from Newark unified August 3 through the seventh. We will be having principals communicating directly with their school communities with respect to expectations logistics and you're going to hear momentarily our approach for the digital divide. and supplying Chromebooks to our families. And so that will be a part of information that families in the community can expect August 3rd through the 7th. As you know, August 13th school starts and we want to provide families weekly updates each Monday with respect to changing conditions. As again, we are in a pandemic and we are following county and state guidelines with respect to conditions for our schools. And then as stated regarding the virtual academy, November 6th marks the end of the first trimester, and that would effectively be the first time that elementary students could reassess participation in the virtual academy, not before then, since it won't be a fluid program.

[1381] SPEAKER_15: Terrific. Thank you, Mr. Dolowich. I know people, no doubt, have some questions. We are taking questions in the chat. And then as we finish this presentation, we'll go to questions and do our best to answer as many as we possibly can. And then any questions we can't answer tonight or simply there's not enough time to answer, then we will be sure to be posting responses on the website. So as Mr. Dolowich presented, that is the plan for distance learning in the fall. But while that is happening, we are going to continue to prepare for also for the moment when we do enter in-person learning and we most likely enter into a hybrid situation where some kids are in person while other kids are at home and then that rotates. That kind of schedule was presented at the last town hall but we're pivoting right now to distance learning because that is how we're actually going to start the school year. I wanted to give you a technology update as it relates to making sure that we provide access to all of our kids online so that they can participate. First of all, I want to really give a big shout out to our IT team who's been doing incredible work. They are currently inventorying and evaluating all of the devices in our system. We know that we have approximately 6,000 devices, which would be more than enough for every student to be able to be one-to-one. But there are some devices that are at the end of their lifespan, some broken devices. And so we're currently going through and doing a full evaluation and inventory of all devices. And we just got approval from the board this week to go ahead and purchase additional Chromebooks. So we should be receiving 1800 new student Chromebooks later on this fall. They won't arrive for the start of school, but we will have devices for everybody on the start of school that needs one. And then in addition, we have hotspot devices for students and families that need that. We don't have hotspots for every single family in the district. That would just be too prohibitively expensive. So families who already have Wi-Fi at home, We're asking you to please utilize the Wi-Fi that you do have, but we do want to make sure that for any family that does need Wi-Fi, that does not have Wi-Fi access at home, that we are supporting that. So our goal is that every student has access to online learning for the 2021 school year. I also wanted to share, like I said, as we are pivoting to distance learning, we are continuing to prepare for safety at the sites. And this is all based on the California Department of Public Health and the Alameda County Department of Health guidelines. So just real quick, our custodial staff, our facilities team have been working day and night Every school at this point is already outfitted with, both in the office and the cafeteria spaces, with plexiglass. Hopefully you can see it there in the photo, just one example from one of our schools. It's a little hard to see the plexiglass, which I actually think is a good thing, because that means it's present, but it's not obtrusive. So, in addition to that, we've bought disinfectant fogging machines. You may have heard of these online. These are incredible machines that are able to spray a non-toxic mist after every school day or even within the school day to provide a disinfectant of all of our spaces. We also have contactless thermometers for all our schools. And the custodians and facilities team have been rearranging classrooms so that they fit 12 students per classroom, which is the guidelines from the state and the county. And so all classrooms will only have 12 or less students in them. And then, of course, we've been in the process of purchasing significant amount of PPE, including hand sanitizer, student and adult masks, face shields, and a number of other things. So we have gotten many questions and a lot of keen interest, as I am interested myself, in the state of the athletics for the upcoming school year. And I think I can think of nobody better to explain the ins and outs of that than our own Coach Kay. So she's here with us, and she's going to talk through the Newark Memorial Athletics Program.

[1675] SPEAKER_32: Hi, everybody. Good evening. First, just want to say thank you for tuning in. for your interest and support in our return to activity, return to school, distance learning, and all of the things that we have updates for you. So thank you for being here. And just wanted to kind of update you on what is happening in the athletic department at Newark Memorial. First, this Monday the state CIF and NCS announced that they will be postponing the start of athletics to December 14th. In addition to that postponed start date, it will include only two seasons of sport. So two seasons instead of the normal three. And as you can see, fall sports will include cross-country football, volleyball, and water polo. And the spring season will be a staggered start of badminton and soccer, followed by swimming, tennis, and wrestling, and then a March 15 start date of basically everything else. And so because of that, we have taken steps to start our return to activity plan, which is summarized on the next slide that basically outlines you know, what Newark Memorial is doing to prepare for that postponed start date. And what this summary is talking about is, you know, first and foremost, that this is a fluid plan. And this is describing the period, preseason period, which would start as soon as it is safe to do so, all the way until the official start date in December. And so the second point to make about this is that this is completely optional. This is optional for student athletes. It is optional for coaches. And so it is not something that is required. Preseason workouts are not required in order to participate in a normal season. The other thing that this includes is training for our coaches and an information with specific details meeting for parents so that specific questions about the introduction to athletics can be answered and potentially a virtual walkthrough of what it might look like. Also, it's important to acknowledge that this plan has been created with our partners at Washington Hospital of Sports Medicine and their team of athletic trainers and people who support us in this process. And all of this based on health orders that are put forth by the County of Alameda. Some specific details that are included in this plan are group activity or group size limits, a screening process that happens first at home and then on campus. Also face covering requirements, information on what is appropriate for athletic face coverings, how to wash face masks. It also includes entrance and exit procedures with staggered start times. Also practice areas that meet social distancing requirements. Also cleaning procedures and of course some reporting procedures. And the specific details of this plan will be published and shared with all of our families when we believe that it is safe to do so. And so on the next slide it will show you ways that you can stay connected to Athletics 4 updates and information because I know many families have questions about, you know, when will we get to get kids back out there? And the truth is this, we don't necessarily want to be the first school to be out there. We want to be the last school out there standing and safely putting kids back back together. And so I encourage you to stay connected on our social media outlets also to expect that the next update as far as implementation of our plan will happen on September 1st. And so at that time we will have another evaluation of current conditions and check to see, but also know that we do plan to give our student-athletes, coaches, and families about a two-week heads up that we will be sharing information, the details of the plan, and hosting our meetings. And so I just want to encourage you to stay updated via the social media outlets and expect the next update to come on September 1st.

[1948] SPEAKER_15: Terrific. Thanks, Coach K. I know all of us are eager to get back on the field, but we definitely want to do it in a safe and healthy way. I'm going to turn it back over to Mr. Dalowich. Mr. Dalowich, you're on mute.

[1968] SPEAKER_13: You can move on to the next slide.

[1970] SPEAKER_15: OK.

[1973] SPEAKER_13: OK, there we did have a We did have a slide regarding upcoming dates that was in a different format. So just want to speak to some of those, but that's fine, Dr. This one. Yeah, that's what I was referring to. This is a little bit more detailed. The other one obviously outlines some dates that have passed. But I just want to reiterate again that families can find information on our district website with respect to a brochure, links to a bitly which explain in detail our virtual academy because we fielded so many questions about that, a flyer, and what as well as the interest form which is in the format of a Google survey. So once you see those, Go public on our district website, you're more than welcome if you're interested to to complete the interest form, and we will be closing that window effective July 31. I think this slide is just a little more pertinent to our community and to our staff. because there's been so many questions around that. And then just to reinforce again, that differentiated approach, elementary with Newark Unified Teachers and secondary with an online platform to be determined. And we will go public with that next week.

[2062] SPEAKER_15: Great. Thank you, Mr. Dalowich. So that really concludes our presentation. And just want to say in closing, I know everyone is really eager to get back to normal, but I also know people are really anxious about being safe, staying safe, and doing what's right for our kids and our families. And so I'm excited, to be honest with you, about how we're going to start in distance learning because we learned a lot in the spring, and we are prepared to provide really rigorous, engaging, exciting curriculum online, and also we're really prepared for the eventuality of us having to, or us pivoting back into the classroom in person. And honestly, if things do not go well with the virus, then we also are fully prepared to be pivoting back into distance learning if the county and the state require that based on changes in the health climate. So we're gearing up and preparing for any eventuality but with with both safety and rigor and engagement in mind. So with that, we're going to open it up to, I'm going to stop sharing here, and then open this up to questions. I know that we already had some questions coming in. I just want to say that We are not going to be able to answer everyone's question tonight, I apologize in advance, but there's just too many questions, but what we will do is we will do our very best to answer as many as we can tonight, and then we will try to have all of the other responses for you online. So Miss Gutierrez is going to be fielding the questions and she's looking for for themes and patterns in the questions. And then she's going to read them out to us so that we can and we can we can respond. Again, if there's some questions we might not know the answer yet to. We'll just be really honest with you and we'll and we'll have to get back to you.

[2194] SPEAKER_21: OK, we had a lot of different questions, so hopefully we can get through a lot of them. But here we go. First one. Why is there an impression of distrust of the teachers that they won't do their job or won't work the contractual hours as must therefore be? I think the question was, why do they feel that they need to? Why are they being required to report to school every day?

[2223] SPEAKER_15: OK, so I want to make sure that we're talking about the issues and questions that are relevant to what we presented. And I also definitely do not want to speak out of turn while we're currently in negotiations with our labor partners. So forgive me whoever asked us that question, but it's not appropriate for us to be talking about labor negotiations in a public forum like this.

[2252] SPEAKER_21: What if there are Wi-Fi issues in the classroom that will disrupt the class session?

[2261] SPEAKER_15: Is that the entire question? Yes. Okay, so we are doing everything to prepare our Wi-Fi and make sure that all of our equipment is really up to speed. And that's one of the reasons why we asked for permission to make an additional purchase of new Chromebooks, because we wanted to make sure that all of our Chromebooks are able to get the new software and the newest software and stay current. So we can avoid any different issues with that. But in terms of Wi-Fi, so we expect that if families do not have Wi-Fi at home, then we want to provide that. And that's actually true of staff as well. But we do ask that if somebody already does have Wi-Fi at home, that they respect the fact that there is limited hotspots. And we want to make sure we get them to people who do not currently have them.

[2326] SPEAKER_21: Okay, if there are siblings, for example, twins that are in the same grade, can they be placed in the same class to minimize the risk?

[2335] SPEAKER_15: Yeah, that's a great question. I think we'll definitely want to take those kinds of things into consideration. And that specific example makes a lot of sense to me. So we'll just really need to hear from our parents and make sure that they're lifting up any of those kinds of considerations that they want us to take into account.

[2357] SPEAKER_21: Will there be any town halls specifically for teachers and staff?

[2361] SPEAKER_15: That's a great question. I was thinking of that myself. So yeah, this is really geared to full community, but we want to make sure that we are also providing specific information to staff that's pertinent to staff and might not be as pertinent to families and students. I've been trying to be respectful of the fact that teachers are also on vacation, a much-deserved vacation, and so really haven't wanted to call them into any kind of meetings. But I think maybe what we'll do moving forward is offer up space to meet with teachers. That's not mandatory, just so that for people that do want to check in, that we're able to answer questions for them.

[2407] SPEAKER_21: If your child is enrolled in virtual academy, will they also be able to participate in high school sports?

[2413] SPEAKER_15: Great question. Yeah, I don't see why not. Coach K, is there anything you want to add to that?

[2419] SPEAKER_32: No, I agree. I don't see why not.

[2425] SPEAKER_21: Next question. When will the schedule be available for teachers and parents?

[2435] SPEAKER_15: I believe the schedule is going to be posted, I believe, immediately after this meeting or at very least by tomorrow. So we'll have that we are in the process of, you know, we're doing registration and sorry and and families are registering right now. And as we get more information about enrollment, then we'll be able to create our classes and that'll be able to firm up master schedules at each school.

[2468] SPEAKER_21: Another question regarding Chromebooks. What if one family has multiple children and need more than one Chromebook?

[2476] SPEAKER_15: I believe in the spring that because we wanted to make sure that we didn't run out of Chromebooks, that we were providing one per household. My hope is that we're going to be in a position to be able to provide Chromebooks for individual students who don't have one. So again, if a family does have a computer at home already, and there's a computer for each child already, then we're really asking please to not request one. But any family and any child that doesn't have access and doesn't have a Chromebook or a computer at home, we want to be able to provide them to them, regardless of siblings or whatever.

[2517] SPEAKER_21: We would want to try to get one for each student. Clarification. Will the Monday updates not come out until September 11th, even though school starts sooner?

[2534] SPEAKER_13: No, our intention is to provide those weekly updates on Mondays, starting with the school year.

[2543] SPEAKER_21: Will AP classes be offered via Virtual Academy?

[2548] SPEAKER_13: So the goal is to take the exact course catalog offered from Newark Junior High School, as well as our high schools, and we would provide that and ensure that our partner, whether that is Edgenuity or Apex, for example, can offer every single one of those same courses. So the answer is yes.

[2571] SPEAKER_21: Okay. What about working parents? Can they receive or even essential parents, can they receive schedules early? Is there any changes that can be done to the schedule to accommodate?

[2584] SPEAKER_13: So I know our principals usually go above and beyond to provide accommodations for families. And just as Dr. Triplett alluded, you know, with siblings in the same class, for instance, or device issues and needing more than one, our intention is to accommodate and support our families, that's our goal. With respect to schedules, we are targeting that week of August 10th, before school starts, with respect to providing schedules for our families.

[2614] SPEAKER_21: If we are enrolled in the virtual academy, but then we are cleared to return to school, but we have decided that we still don't feel safe, what are our options? In the virtual academy?

[2629] SPEAKER_15: Yeah, so we want to provide the option for families throughout the year who don't feel safe to return. That's why we have the virtual academy, because that's an option for families that really want to stay in virtual learning. And so we'll have that available for them throughout the year. We will have to reevaluate at the end of the trimester or semester, just based on the number of students enrolled. But I anticipate that it'll be available throughout the year.

[2663] SPEAKER_21: Will there be options for students to take special education classes through Virtual Academy, specifically interested in high school?

[2672] SPEAKER_13: So the Virtual Academy is open for all students, and we have an obligation to provide services for students with disabilities. So we'll continue to do so. However, that would not be provided through the online platform.

[2691] SPEAKER_21: Will you be addressing the Virtual Academy and students with IEP special needs, and how will the Virtual Academy accommodate to those needs?

[2702] SPEAKER_13: So that is going to be tailored and individualized to the IEP of that student. But the online platform does allow for accommodation, does it allow for differentiated instruction with respect to the course load, for instance, modified course load. But without more details with respect to the specific disability, it's hard to answer concretely.

[2730] SPEAKER_21: Newark Unified School District teachers be teaching the virtual academy?

[2737] SPEAKER_13: At the elementary level, our intention is to have Newark Unified teachers teaching the virtual academy. However, that's not the case at the secondary school level.

[2748] SPEAKER_15: And just to be clear about secondary, so every student in secondary will have a credentialed NUSD teacher who acts as a advisor. And that will be based on the regular class size. So if it's 31 class size in a given class normally, then that would be the ratio for the virtual academy as well.

[2780] SPEAKER_21: And this is for a seventh grader. They picked band as their first choice for elective. Will you be offering band this year?

[2788] SPEAKER_15: That's a good question. I did want to mention band and marching band. I know that's extracurricular and also I think choir. So all of those classes really depends on guidelines from the state and the county. Currently, I just got off the call with the county health earlier and currently marching band and choir is is not permitted. But I'm hoping that that changes and those guidelines change based on based on health conditions.

[2825] SPEAKER_21: OK, if my child has their own laptop at home, do they still have to use a Newark Unified School District Chromebook?

[2834] SPEAKER_15: And sorry, sorry Miss Gutierrez, I just want to finish. I apologize. No, no, and I should just finish and clarify. So, I think we definitely want to think through how band can can look in a virtual setting and distance learning, but I was I was speaking specifically about in person band currently. the county is saying that there can't be any in-person band or choir. But I think just like in the spring, we really need to think about how that can look in distance learning. I'm sorry, could you read the next one again? I was stuck on that last one.

[2870] SPEAKER_21: No problem. It's what if a student has a personal laptop at home, do they still have to use the Newark Unified School Chromebook?

[2879] SPEAKER_15: No, they don't. Like I said, if you already have a laptop computer at home, then you should use that one.

[2889] SPEAKER_21: In light of the uncertainties, will the SAT take place at the high school on October 3rd?

[2896] SPEAKER_13: I've had conversations with instructional leaders, including assistant superintendents at the county level, and they are getting the answer for us, but there has not been a determination as to how that will play out with respect to the SAT.

[2914] SPEAKER_21: In regards to, sorry, ready? In regards to lunches, will Newark be serving cold lunches or hot lunches as well?

[2926] SPEAKER_15: Oh, that's a good question. It does depend, obviously, on whether or not we're in person. What I do know is that the child nutrition is fully committed and determined to provide as much of the different meals as possible, including breakfast, lunch, and supper. But whether or not it's hot will really depend on whether or not we're in distance learning or in person. I do know that they're also looking into the possibility of even if we're in distance learning that kids that preparing meals that could then be reheated, but I don't think that they fully landed on anything there.

[2968] SPEAKER_21: This question is directed to Coach K. I have parents asking how to sign up for sports at the high school. Should we direct them to you or will signups be posted later on?

[2979] SPEAKER_32: So our registration link is currently posted on our website and on the athletics website, it takes you to our registration portal, which is through family ID. I will also post that link again directly and separately for families who need it. And I will also ask Principal Rangel to include that in any school wide distribution that comes out.

[3005] SPEAKER_21: If teachers need technology support on any of the software or technology platforms, how will they get that support or training?

[3015] SPEAKER_15: Mr. Delovitz, do you wanna start with that one?

[3018] SPEAKER_13: Well, we have an outstanding IT department. I wanna welcome our new network manager, Mr. Rose, and also Mr. Mellons, they've been working tirelessly. So I know supporting teachers with technology is gonna be a huge component for the upcoming year. And I think they're prepared to tackle questions and support teachers.

[3040] SPEAKER_15: Do you wanna speak to any trainings that we also wanna provide At the beginning of the year regarding use of online platforms.

[3049] SPEAKER_13: Yeah. So, with respect to online platforms. We do have a plan that we want to share with our staff and our teachers, so that they feel supported from using basic tools to setting up their remote classroom. And then we know that some are. advanced and they want to really experiment with different platforms and so we want to support that as well. That'll be a part of before the school year begins and then even as a part of August 10th for our professional development day and beyond.

[3088] SPEAKER_21: Another one for Coach K is will parent volunteers be accessible in order to assist with athletic seasons and support social distancing, screening, etc.

[3104] SPEAKER_32: Yeah, so any, I'm not sure if that question refers to the actual past the start date or if the prior to and pre-season conditioning, but anybody who is a part of the process will be subject to screening, the at-home screening, the temperature checks, and all of those. Same procedures for every person involved.

[3128] SPEAKER_21: This is regarding the 2021 senior class. Any information regarding their events, specifically senior portraits, since they happen usually at the beginning of the school year?

[3142] SPEAKER_15: That's a good question. I don't have the answer to that. We'd have to check with Principal Rangel. So we'll find that out and then get back to you on the website.

[3153] SPEAKER_21: This is asking for some clarification regarding the governor's message. Masks or face shields are encouraged for younger children, grade second and under, and masks but not face shields are required for older students.

[3169] SPEAKER_13: That's correct. Face shields are permissible as well.

[3174] SPEAKER_15: And so we have purchased a significant amount of face shields, not enough for every single student and every teacher, but a significant amount. And we're definitely prioritizing students with special needs and then also the teachers of younger age students and the younger age students themselves.

[3197] SPEAKER_21: This is regarding the virtual academy. If an elementary school student is registered at their home school, could they possibly get a teacher from a different school that is not their home school?

[3212] SPEAKER_15: Yeah, that is a possibility. Just want to be real about that. The students will be able to stay enrolled. They won't lose their place in their homeschool. But just based on the way that the way it might play out in terms of how many students are interested and families are interested in the virtual academy, it is possible that the teacher may be from a different school. Did you want to add anything to that, Mr. Dulwich?

[3241] SPEAKER_13: I think just echoing that it's very likely, you know, if we look at collecting the data, and obviously we're going to have pockets of students from specific elementary schools, that it's very likely that they'll have a combined cohort of students from more than one school with a teacher that's not from their home school.

[3263] SPEAKER_21: There was a question if all this information will be translated in Spanish for our Spanish-speaking community.

[3272] SPEAKER_15: Yes, I believe we had the first presentation translated, this first deck, and we'll do the same with this one.

[3281] SPEAKER_21: This is specifically for Puente program. If we decide to do virtual academy, will they still be taught specifically by Ms. Bulwark, who is in the Puente program, and specifically related to the Puente English class?

[3300] SPEAKER_13: Good question. Did you wanna jump in Dr. Triplett?

[3303] SPEAKER_15: Nope, nope, I did not.

[3305] SPEAKER_13: So unfortunately with the virtual academy at the secondary level, so they would receive their classes through an online platform. And that platform would have a certified teacher that is not from Newark Memorial High School. So therefore they would not be assigned Ms. Bulwark or Mr. Landon. They would have a Newark unified teacher as an advisor that would provide a weekly check in, but they would be taking their courses, both with live instruction and conducting the projects and assignments through the online platform, which would be separate from the teachers at Newark Memorial High School.

[3352] SPEAKER_21: Okay. Will the district need volunteers to assist Spanish-speaking parents with technical assistance related to distance learning?

[3361] SPEAKER_15: We would always love volunteers. So yes, if someone is willing and interested to participate in that way, we welcome that kind of help.

[3374] SPEAKER_21: This says, will the students be using platforms such as Google Classroom, Seesaw, or ClassDojo?

[3382] SPEAKER_15: Yes, so that's correct.

[3388] SPEAKER_21: Some people ask, sorry, question is how can we reserve a Chromebook?

[3394] SPEAKER_15: So you will be hearing from your school regarding regarding Chromebook distribution.

[3403] SPEAKER_21: Is there any information regarding how if Well, this is a little. Will there be any information regarding individual cases of positive covid?

[3419] SPEAKER_15: Yes, so there's a complete protocol that is in effect from the county for any time there is a case. And we'll be following that protocol and we'll be happy to share that out probably on the website, like how that works. Of course, the confidentiality of the individual is paramount. But it will definitely be a whole protocol of how we ensure that we're minimizing risk when a case is discovered.

[3458] SPEAKER_21: Maybe this will be later to come, but there are people already asking if they want to volunteer, if we can provide information so they can volunteer.

[3465] SPEAKER_15: Fantastic. Yeah, why don't we, why don't we promise to put something up on the website about volunteering? And Ms. Gutierrez, I see we are almost out of time. So why don't we do the last question? Serve us up.

[3479] SPEAKER_21: There's a lot about childcare.

[3482] SPEAKER_15: Okay, that is, okay, good. So, the honest answer to that is we don't yet, we don't have information yet, but we're definitely working on it and well aware of the concerns and the interest in childcare. We're talking with both some of our Nonprofit partners as well as our city partners through the recreation department and really want to make sure that we're coming up with a plan that provides as many child care seats or spaces as as possible. So we should expect more information about that within the next week. Mr. Delaware, did you want to close this up with anything I did.

[3530] SPEAKER_13: I didn't feel good about my response for professional development for the staff out there I, I want to send out communication tomorrow district wide. And I want to detail next week an opportunity to build your own certificate with respect to EdTech sessions. Again, to that questions point, building the skills, building up your remote classroom that we've already provided that for some that would be review, but it allow you to build your own professional certificate that we're working on EdTech with. And then the following week, August 3rd through the 7th, we are looking at Bringing on teacher leaders when I talked about, you know, trainer trainers model, we're looking at having teachers that are really comfortable and competent with setting up the remote classroom. support grade level and department colleagues. That would be August 3rd through the 7th. And we would offer workshop opportunities so that classrooms can get built before the week of August 10th. And then we have what we hope is very meaningful professional development lined up for August 10th and beyond. So I just wanted to address that for the staff out there. I don't think I did a good enough job with the first question. So I want to revisit it.

[3606] SPEAKER_15: Thank you, Mr. Dulwich. Well, that concludes the presentation and the question and answer session. And again, I am sure that there are many folks who may feel like we did not get to their questions. What we're going to do is capture all the questions. You will see the responses to last town hall's questions online this evening. You will see this presentation posted to the website by tomorrow. The other things I want to commit to is the virtual academy information should be up either this evening or tomorrow morning and that will include a place where you can sign up. The deadline to sign up again I believe is July 31st, is that right Mr. Dulowicz? So if you are interested in the Virtual Academy, please be sure to sign up because we really need to know how many students are interested and at what grade level in order for us to really plan accordingly. And then you should also expect more information next week about child care and the different options for child care. So I just want to close by appreciating Coach K, Mr. Dalewich, Ms. Gutierrez, and all of the teams that have been working on all of this stuff. The term unprecedented has been used lots, but that's truly where we're at. We are figuring this out as we go, but I am really confident that with the team we have, that we are learning from the experiences from the spring, and we are really gearing up to create an outstanding year, whether we're in person, distance, or whatever. It's going to be a really great year with our students and families and staff. So with that, thank you very much. Have a great night, and we'll see you next time.

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