Town Hall Meeting

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[4] SPEAKER_18: Good evening, welcome. Good evening, everybody. Can you hear me?

[47] Mark Triplett: Good evening, everyone. We are waiting just a minute. Apologies for the delay. We're experiencing a little bit of technical difficulties, but we should be ready in a second.

[68] SPEAKER_18: I think you're good now.

[73] Mark Triplett: Thank you. Yay. All right. We'll just take one more minute and then we will get started. Welcome, everybody. We're glad you're here. All right, why don't we go ahead and get started? I think what I'll do is, team, why don't I start the deck and then, oh, here comes Ms. Gutierrez. All right, I think we're all set. Ms. Gutierrez, do you want me to show the deck or do you want to?

[129] SPEAKER_21: I can help you.

[130] Mark Triplett: Okay, great. All right, so welcome everybody. Thank you for joining us this evening. I'm Mark Triplett, superintendent. Wanted to say congratulations to all of our students and staff for finishing off the school year. What a wild crazy year, but we are so delighted that everyone finished strong and safe and And so we're really happy for that. This evening, we're holding this town hall to discuss with you what's coming up for the upcoming school year, the 2021-22 school year. And I know many people have questions around, well, how are things going to look? Will it be the same? What's going to be different? And so while we don't have all of the answers right now, we do have some. And so we wanted to make sure that we create an opportunity to share with you some of the information that we currently have, and then also just a little bit of a timeline in terms of when you can expect to hear more information from us as we get information from the state. So I want to appreciate tonight I'm here with our ASL interpreter, Ms. Stephanie and Ms. Ilma is translating in Spanish. And then we also have Ms. Gutierrez, Mr. Dalewich, Ms. Pierce-Davis, and Ms. Ingham-Watters are all here to support this evening. So why don't we get started? So what we're going to do tonight, the agenda is we just did our welcome. We're going to talk a little bit about the anticipated instructional programs for 2021-22. And then we'll include in that our two specific options for families and for students. So we wanted to dive a little bit into those different options, and in particular, give you an overview of the independent study option. And then we'll talk through what are some next steps and then answer any questions that folks have for the remaining of the time. So with that, I'm going to turn it over to Miss Pierce-Davis, who is going to talk to us about, take us back a little bit and review with us the virtual learning journey that we've been on and also where we're at at this point.

[294] SPEAKER_24: All right, first, we're going to take a look at a timeline. It actually starts July 2020, but we know it started even before that with AB86 and SB98 came out in July of 2020. And that really was to create and sort of codify what distance learning looked like. And as everyone knows, it's what we've been doing for much of the year is distance learning. And then we reopened for in-person towards the end of this year. Around May, we started to see new trailer bill language come out. And so that's when Governor Newsom releases his May revision of budget proposals, but he also started proposing language for the K-12 Omnibus Trailer Bill, which really was about independent study. And it sort of indicated to a lot of districts the direction that we were looking at for next year. So between May 18th and really mid-June, what we have been noticing is real advocacy on the part of constituents around what next year should look like. Should it be in person? Should there be an independent study option? Should there be hybrid models and so on? And during this period, it started to become more and more clear that the direction that they were going. As of mid June on or around June 15 or so, the state budget will be finalized. And so will legislation sort of codifying what we should expect for next year and what we should start preparing for that's coming directly from the state. So again, what we're starting to notice on the next slide is that really there will be two options sort of offered next year. There'll be in-person instruction, or there will be independent study programs. But the independent study is going to look a little different. This is also an opportunity for people to really advocate on behalf of independent study as an alternative education program. So it will look a little bit different. It'll sound a little bit different. We're going to talk about that this evening. That being said, what we really are seeing is kind of a distancing away from distance learning, if you will. So those terms, distance learning, hybrid, concurrent instruction, we just aren't seeing as much of and most likely will not be offering next year. Again, we'll know more when new guidance comes out in June. but we wanted to give families a heads up and some information, as much information as we had so that we could start to wrap our heads around what next year will look like. So with that being said, we're gonna get started with in-person, Mr. Dologe.

[456] SPEAKER_05: Thank you, Ms. Pierce-Davis. So tackling in-person instruction, what will school look like in the fall of 2021? What we know for in-person instruction is that it will include five days per week It will also include a return to regular full-day bell schedules, both at the elementary and the secondary levels. And at the elementary level, it will include recess, just as elementary schools had recess and breaks pre-COVID, as well as lunch. And at the secondary levels, lunch will be offered as well. And of course, Instrumental for next year will be afterschool extracurricular activities, both academic to support students and really dive in with deeper intervention, as well as extracurricular activities with clubs and athletics. When we discuss what may look different for in-person instruction, we do anticipate that new guidelines by the state and by Alameda County Public Health Department are forthcoming for the fall. And so it should be mentioned that they could include safety protocols that relate to such items as desk shields, mask mandates, social distancing. However, at this point, we do not yet have the updated guidelines. Again, those are forthcoming from the state and the county, but it's very possible that there will be revised COVID safety protocols. So for instance, masks if they are required by the state, appropriate social distancing, and maybe desk shields. Again, we do not know definitively at this time. And then of course, as many are aware, children, students 12 years and older are able now to receive the vaccine. And so vaccine availability is also a possibility next year, depending on age, and again, predicated on state and county guidelines.

[586] SPEAKER_24: Now, in terms of independent study, sort of an overview of the current regulations is that it is sort of an alternative to classroom instruction, but it's not an alternative curriculum. There tends to be sort of two types of programs. They are available to students K-12 currently as well. They are mostly voluntary. So districts cannot require that students enroll in independent study. And then specifically students with special needs oftentimes are discouraged from independent study unless their IEP specifically allows for full participation. And so in the next few slides, you will start to see some of the changes that are that we're noticing from the new omnibus trailer bill. that has been released. So some of the major changes are that it can be offered to just about any student who feels like their health would be put at risk from in-person instruction. So that really does put the ability of the parent or guardian to make that decision that is best for their students. And that's a big change. There are also new requirements for independent study policies that are very similar to what we saw on distance learning, but slightly different. And then there's new requirements for documenting daily participation and weekly engagement. And so I'm gonna talk a little bit more about that on the next slide as well. So again, health is specified as a reason for participating in independent study, but that is really upon the determination of the parent or guardian. Additional conditions will be a part of independent study policies. These are things like they should be as rigorous as in person and so on. The actual written agreement, there's some changes, and there's also some, again, changes for documenting participation. Now we're going to go into each of these a little deeper. So if you can't read the small print on the slide, no worries. We're going to take our turn kind of going through each one of these in a little bit more depth.

[713] Mark Triplett: All right. Thank you, Miss Pierce-Davis. So diving into a little bit around the independent study option. So if a family is wondering if this would be the best option for them, we want to share what we know at this point in terms of how that will look. So first, I want to articulate that the, the independent study will have academic content aligned to grade level standards, provided at the level and quality of and intellectual challenge equivalent to what's being what's being done in person. So the same, the same level of rigor. And in addition. There will be procedures for all students who are struggling with attendance in independent study. There will be procedures and a process for reengaging those students in independent study and processes for making sure that students are continuing to participate and engage in independent study. So, in addition, and other things that you can expect if your family is deciding that this option is the best for you and your child. Students can and families can expect daily live interaction with an NUSD credential teacher. and synchronous instruction in classes for all students at least once per week. Not necessarily every day will there be live synchronous instruction, but at least once per week, possibly more throughout the year. But there will be daily live interaction for students with an NUSD credential teacher. And then in terms of if students and families feel like they want to, or could you go back Back one, Ms. Gutierrez, please. If students and families feel that they want to, at any point, transition back to in-person instruction, there'll be certain times of the year where that's possible. So it won't be possible to just do it at any moment, just because of the logistics behind that. But most likely, those transition periods will be at the semester point. It really depends on what the state dictates there. Um, and in addition, I'm just making sure that, oh, I think this next slide is, um, it's Mr. Dulwich. Is this, um, is this your slide?

[874] SPEAKER_05: Um, I am the next slide.

[876] Mark Triplett: Okay, well let me jump in here then. I lost track of which one was mine and which one's yours. So in addition, in terms of what can be expected in the independent study program, so there will be a written independent study agreement that the district presents to any family who is interested in the program and enrolling their students in this program. And that will include how communication with the student's parent or guardian will occur regarding the student's academic progress throughout the year. And then in addition, NUSD, we are committed to providing connectivity and devices. In other words, a Chromebook for any student who's in independent study that will be in the virtual setting, as well as any sort of I'm blanking on the device, the hotspots. In addition to any hotspots that are needed by students who are in independent study. So those things the district will provide. And I believe now the next section is Mr. Dolowich.

[940] SPEAKER_05: Thank you, Dr. Triplett. So just like Dr. Triplett outlined, there's an independent study agreement. And as a part of that independent study agreement, It will detail both academic as well as other additional supports that will be provided to address students who may not be performing at grade level. It could be students, for instance, with additional needs, with exceptional needs or disabilities, students such as English language learners, students that are either homeless or foster youth. So there's a number of different supports that can be provided to provide additional academic support. And of course, next year, throughout, there'll be an option for a virtual or digital signature. Thank you. With respect to independent study and participation specifically, there will be documentation of daily participation for each student. And so this includes various activities, both online activities, submitting regular assignments, could be completion of assessments, or contact between staff and their respective independent study students. And so these forms of daily participation are a part, and they could be either synchronous, which includes that daily live interaction piece between the staff member and student, or asynchronous, which could be the students completing assignments or projects on their own and then submitting them for credit. Next slide, please. Thank you. And so participation details do require a weekly engagement record that will be completed for each student that's a part of independent study. Again, that can document either synchronous, which would be the daily live interaction that occurs, or asynchronous when students complete assignments or projects and submit them for academic credit. And then daily participation and tracking of assignments is a requirement with independent study and teachers will use a digital form for reporting daily participation, as well as their weekly engagement log.

[1095] SPEAKER_24: So again, just sort of to summarize what all has been said, it's a lot. And it's also, we also know that there's probably a ton of questions around what this will look like, which will be forthcoming again, once we get further guidance in mid-June. But the two options really are for next year, just so we can start wrapping our heads around this. Standard enrollment for in-person instruction or independent study program option, which will be done through Crossroads and will be expanded to include kindergarten through 12th grade. Now, we also want to be clear that students cannot be enrolled in two schools at once. So if they choose the independent study option, and this is true of, I would like to say all, but just in case I'll say most districts in Alameda County, because you cannot enroll a student in two schools at once, that is just not allowable according to our state and county guidelines. students will be able to choose independent study and then return back to in-person at their school that they left. However, that will be pending space availability. So we want to make sure that that's clear for families and that they know that as well. So those are sort of two options that we're developing out at this time. And then again, we want to open up a few more options for students that are in special education. provided that we can work with them to include it within their IEPs. So those two options will really be what we're looking at next year. So next steps. This is what we are kind of gearing up for and getting ready for. So new student state guidance will be released again mid-June. We are looking very closely at that guidance. We are going to be sending out most likely within the week, a family instructional sort of interest survey. So it will help us better prepare. This won't be a binding agreement, but we kind of want to get a sense for where families are at, whether or not they're leaning towards choosing in-person or leaning towards the independent study option. Again, that will help with our planning purposes, but it won't be a binding survey. quite yet. Eventually we will get there. And then we anticipate holding another July Town Hall once we get more information to be able to continue to flush this out again. This was an opportunity for us to really give you information that we have and try to start to wrap our minds around a shift in education for next year.

[1253] Mark Triplett: All right. Thank you, Miss Pierce-Davis. So that was the presentation. We wanted to make sure that we optimize time for questions. And so at this point, if there are any questions that we can answer, we want to encourage you to put them in the Q&A. And then we'll be happy to answer any questions that we can and any that we don't have the answer to, we will commit to to finding out. And again, like Miss Pierce-Davis said, we will be holding an additional town hall in probably in July once we hear more information from the state that we can then convey to you. So we're going to have Ms. Gutierrez field the questions in the Q&A chat. And I apologize for those watching on YouTube. Unfortunately, YouTube doesn't accept questions for Zoom. And so if you're on Zoom, you're able to ask questions. But YouTube, unfortunately, is not. Ms. Gutierrez?

[1320] SPEAKER_21: OK, we're going to start with the first question, which is related to sports. This one is specific to the junior high. Will track and other sports be offered at the junior high?

[1330] Mark Triplett: Excellent, yeah. So we've been fortunate with our fantastic athletic program that actually at the high school has been going on throughout the year under very strict protocols and I've had a lot of success there. So provided that we don't see another significant increase in COVID cases, then we anticipate that we'll be able to now utilize what we learned in the high school and be able to open up the sports in the junior high for the upcoming school year.

[1368] SPEAKER_21: Thank you, Dr. Triplett. And this should be an easy one. When does school start?

[1375] Mark Triplett: Good question. I'm trying to remember the exact date. Mr. Dolowich, do you have the exact date? Is it the 12th? August 12th. Hey, I got it right. Thanks, Mr. Dolowich.

[1387] SPEAKER_21: And then we have questions regarding field trips. Will field trips be allowed in the entire K-12 schools?

[1395] SPEAKER_24: So again, we'll follow all of our state and county guidelines. That's what we've been doing the whole time. And so they give specific instructions for things like, you know, our most recent graduation that we held at Newark Memorial for small events, for small groups, age requirements, all of those things. And so we've been following that guidance as we go along, we'll continue to do that next year. And it really just depends on numbers and where we are. I think, did you already say, Dr. Triplett, that we are officially Did I did you already say we're officially in the yellow tier?

[1433] Mark Triplett: Oh, you know what? I think I forgot to mention at the beginning. Yes. So we we did receive notice today that tomorrow and most likely you've probably heard this on the news as well, that starting tomorrow, Alameda County will be in the yellow tier, which is it was really great news because it means that cases are continue to be on the decline and and that we are continuing as a county to to move towards towards toward back to normal. So that's a really good sign. And and I think that will have an impact on on the guidelines for for next year.

[1469] SPEAKER_24: And that really brings us to the next question, which is around social distance requirements. Again, we expect to see those change. But again, we will follow guidelines as they come to us. So just like every other district will continue to follow those guidelines. If the social distancing at that point is still three feet, we will maintain three feet. If it has shifted, we'll follow whatever guidelines we've been given by the county.

[1497] SPEAKER_21: Thank you. And I think that actually goes to, oh, sorry, that, that was the first question. That was a question regarding the classroom, right? Okay. The next one will be, are there, is there a timeframe or a timeline regarding choosing independent study program?

[1512] Mark Triplett: That's a great question. So we don't yet have a timeline. We are going to be putting out a interest form that's non-binding, but an interest form at the end of this week to gauge interest in the independent study program. But I actually anticipate that most likely there'll be an opportunity right up to very close to the start of school. for families to opt into the independent study if they so choose. The default will be in-person learning. So we'll be operating on the assumption that families want to be returning to in-person unless we hear otherwise around students who are interested in the independent study. I think there was another question that maybe it looks like it already got moved regarding Was it like something about class size or something?

[1572] SPEAKER_21: Classrooms, I believe it was. Just to give an example of what the classroom environment would look like, taking into consideration distance between social distance.

[1583] Mark Triplett: Okay, so that's the one Miss Pierce-Davis already answered. Great.

[1587] SPEAKER_21: There's a question regarding the pickup and drop off and staggered schedules. what that would look like for the following school year, especially considering the students under 12 years old.

[1605] Mark Triplett: So we have not worked out any staggered schedule at this point for drop off and pick up. It really will depend on the guidelines from the state. As you know, that we did have a staggered schedule of pick up and drop off this spring, and it worked quite well. I'm very impressed with how all the schools really created the systems that were quite effective. So if that's still a requirement, that's what we will do. But it really just depends on what we see and hear from the state.

[1645] SPEAKER_21: I think that's triplet. And question is, what is a protocol to follow in case there are positive COVID cases once we go back to in-person?

[1659] Mark Triplett: Yes, so we've been very appreciative of all of the staff at all of our schools this spring, did an amazing job of following the protocols as well as the families who did the daily check-in every day and daily health survey online. Fortunately, because everyone did such a good job at following the protocols, we were able to keep kids safe. And so we will continue to do that and continue to follow those protocols. What we do is there's a process that we engage in with the County Department of Health. We have a COVID liaison. So when there is a possible exposure or when there is a case, then our COVID liaison does some contact tracing in partnership with the county public health makes a determination, and then communicates with the school with staff and families. And then we act appropriately. In some cases, it has meant that we've had to shift a particular class back to distance learning. And then some cases, it's actually determined through the contact tracing that it is not a situation that requires that. So we follow the guidelines. And like I said, it's gone very well this spring. Very appreciative of all the staff.

[1751] SPEAKER_21: Thank you, Dr. Triplett. There's a question regarding the Think Together and afterschool programs. When will, if you have a timeframe in regards, in regarding to enrollment and if the programs will continue?

[1763] Mark Triplett: The, I'm sorry, which program?

[1766] SPEAKER_21: Afterschool programs such as Think Together.

[1769] Mark Triplett: Oh, thank you. Yeah, we anticipate that we will have all afterschool programs operating as normal for the upcoming school year. And our partners are prepared to do so.

[1782] SPEAKER_21: Thank you, Dr. Triplett. There's a question regarding students who transfer in to Newark in the middle of the school year. If that happens, will they have the option to have, will they be eligible for independent study?

[1796] Mark Triplett: Yeah, I would anticipate that any student who is within our system does have that option. So if somebody transfers in at a certain point in the year, then I would think that they would have that option just like everybody else.

[1810] SPEAKER_21: There's a question regarding the protocol for teacher and staff COVID testing throughout the year.

[1819] Mark Triplett: A protocol for, sorry, I was looking at a different question up at the top there.

[1822] SPEAKER_21: I apologize. Yeah, whether there's going to be testing throughout the year for teachers and staff.

[1829] Mark Triplett: Oh, thank you. We are prepared to do testing. It'll really depend on what's the requirement from the state. We did have a testing option in the spring, and moving forward in the fall, what we're understanding is that the state is going to be offering what they call antigen testing for both students and staff. I do not believe it's going to be a requirement, but I believe it's going to be an option. So as we get more information about that, we will definitely share it. But I would expect that there will still be the opportunity for people to test for COVID if they see that necessary.

[1871] SPEAKER_21: There's a question regarding the DLI program. and if that will be starting next year.

[1881] Mark Triplett: Great. So the program, for those of you who don't know, is a dual language immersion program that we are starting at Schilling Elementary for the fall. And yes, we are going full steam ahead with that program. Very excited. We've had a lot of interest, and we're fully staffed for that program.

[1901] SPEAKER_21: Thank you. There's another question regarding AC transit. And if they would direct, if they were resume their direct routes to the junior high and the high school campuses.

[1915] Mark Triplett: Great. Yeah, we are always in communication with AC Transit. They're an amazing partner, very communicative. And so I would anticipate that they will have their routes, return to their routes, although I don't want to speak for them. So we'll go back and loop back to them and get more information. And I know that they're very good about communicating that out. And we always share that on our website as well. So I would expect so, but we'll loop back to them and confirm.

[1946] SPEAKER_21: Thank you, Dr. Triplett. Sorry, it moved. I apologize. For special education students who have IEP, what is the options and how do the programs look for students in special education?

[1968] Mark Triplett: Great. Ms. Pierce, do you want to jump in and take that question?

[1974] SPEAKER_24: Sure, I didn't see the question, but I think I heard the end of it around what will independent study option look like for students with IEPs? Am I correct there? Or in special education? Yeah. Yeah, that's correct. So absolutely. So each plan will be slightly different per the IEP. And so each student with an IEP, we'd have to actually continue with the individualized education plan for that student in order to determine what that would look like. But these are a lot of questions that many of the districts in the county are having. So are I, I do want parents and families to know that we absolutely have sort of a focused eye on our special education students and as more guidance comes out we'll be able to be clearer about that. But that is one of the big shifts of independent studies that's coming out of this sort of advocacy window is that in general we really discourage students with IEPs to do an independent study programs But that no longer will be the case provided we can come up with the accommodations that are needed to support our students in full.

[2045] SPEAKER_21: Thank you. And then there's a question regarding eligibility for the independent study program, whether a medical provider needs to provide some kind of form or are parent health concerns sufficient?

[2064] SPEAKER_24: So part of the written agreement generally will include why the student is requesting independent study. But unlike years in the past, if a parent or guardian deems that it is needed for their student to have independent study for health reasons, we will not be requiring any other documentation. So it really is up to the parent or guardian to make that determination. And no other documentation would be needed.

[2090] SPEAKER_21: And the question is, if you anticipate a quarantine period for those who traveled during the summer?

[2099] SPEAKER_24: That is an excellent question. I have been seeing that one at the top. I will do my best to get, I have a feeling it will depend, to be honest, on where we are in terms of numbers around that time. But that is an excellent question. But I do not have the answer at this time. I'm sorry.

[2118] SPEAKER_21: There's a question regarding the school bell schedule. Do we have an established bell schedule for high school and secondary and elementary schools?

[2135] Mark Triplett: Do you want me to answer that, Ms. Pierce? Um yeah so we are um we do not have the um bell schedules um uh ready to publish yet because we want to make sure that we are um partnering with our labour partners and so we are in discussions with them currently and um and we hope to have have those out as soon as possible.

[2159] SPEAKER_21: There's a question regarding um grade uh um if whether, well, while in independent study, will students be able to advance grade levels as if eligible for the, if eligible for passing the challenging tests?

[2179] Mark Triplett: I'm not sure I totally understand the question, but I think the way I'm understanding it is if a student is doing independent study, would they be able to move on to the next grade at the end of the school year? If that's the question, the answer is yes. They would need to obviously fulfill all the requirements of that grade level in order to be able to move on to the following grade level.

[2204] SPEAKER_21: And I think I can provide clarification is if the student is advanced in that grade level and they wanted to challenge the grade and test up, if that's something that would be available with an independent study program.

[2218] Mark Triplett: Not to my knowledge, we don't have students taking tests that then have them jump grades. The content in each grade is really important to complete, and so Typically, we don't do that.

[2240] SPEAKER_21: This one is a very specific question. It's regarding the syllabus. One second so I can understand it correctly. The question is surrounding the content of classrooms if there is a platform or a way possibly the website for teachers to post let's say a syllabus or content of that is being studied during that during that day in order to allow students to be caught up with the day-to-day work.

[2280] Mark Triplett: In reference to the independent study, there'll be an opportunity, yes, for students to see the work, the required work, get a syllabus, and they'll have a daily check-in with a teacher. So an independent study, yeah, they will have that. With regards to in-person learning, that really is, communicated through the teacher. So I know teachers put up their materials online in Google Classroom and in other spaces. And so that's an opportunity for students in person to be having access to the materials.

[2324] SPEAKER_21: Thank you, Dr. Triplett. There is a question if swimming will be permitted at the high school.

[2331] Mark Triplett: Yeah, yeah, there's currently swimming and swim team is current has been has been practicing this spring. I think there maybe was even some swim meets. And so we would anticipate that that would be the case for the upcoming school year as well.

[2349] SPEAKER_21: Thank you, Dr. Duplett. There's a question regarding vaccinated students and unvaccinated students. And if there's different protocols for either or.

[2359] Mark Triplett: So if it's like in a single classroom, some students being vaccinated and some not, we actually by law are not able to force students nor staff to say whether or not they've been vaccinated. That's a violation of their HIPAA rights. So we can ask students or staff, but they don't have to communicate that because that's their own personal medical information. So in terms of any difference in protocols in a given classroom, no the protocols will be the same in classrooms and that's to really ensure that everybody is safe and we'll follow the protocols based on what the state and the county are articulating.

[2404] SPEAKER_21: There's a question regarding comparing the independent study and in-person. Will the rigor be the same or comparable?

[2412] Mark Triplett: Yes, that's exactly the design of the independent study and in-person is that it's the same material, same content, and same level of rigor.

[2424] SPEAKER_21: Thank you. There's a question regarding ROP. Will that program return to prior years prior to COVID? And if so, also where can parents and families obtain more information regarding ROP program?

[2440] Mark Triplett: Yeah, so we work closely with Mission Valley ROP. They're fantastic partners. And so of course, as things develop, we'll be coordinating with them. I know that they had programs this spring. And so I would anticipate that they will have programs in the fall as well. I think that more information can be found on their websites. And then maybe, Mr. Dolowich, maybe you can answer, is there other places where students and families can get access to some of the offerings of the Mission Valley ROP?

[2479] SPEAKER_05: Well, in addition, like you said, Mission Valley ROP, I would recommend Ms. Ron Held, site principal, as well as her administrative team, Mr. Rodriguez, who oversees the master schedule. So if you want a specific question around the time of day that your child attends ROP or transportation, site administration, I think would be the best bet. Thank you.

[2502] SPEAKER_21: Thank you. There's a question whether if the student begins in-person learning, would they be able to then, if they choose to move to the independent study, would they be able to transition mid-year?

[2517] Mark Triplett: Thank you. Yeah, I would expect, yes, that there'll be certain transition points. What we can't, unfortunately, have is people just switching back and forth throughout the semester. But there'll be points where students can transition. And I will say, I think it's more likely that there will be more opportunities for students who are in person and need to shift to independent study, that that will be more fluid or more easy than students who are in independent study and then want to switch back, they will most likely have to switch back at the semester point.

[2558] SPEAKER_21: There's a question regarding lessons moving forward for the next school year. If they will continue to be primarily on Chromebooks or would they differ?

[2571] Mark Triplett: In-person lessons, I would anticipate that they will go back to prior to COVID, although I will say that I think there's been some learning during COVID and during distance learning around how to utilize technology in the classroom and so I would expect that teachers are most likely going to be continuing to to be utilizing the good parts of technology, while also returning to all of the wonderful aspects of of in person non computer learning as well. So it won't be, I don't anticipate that it's going to all be on the computer like it was during distance learning. I don't think that would be beneficial. But I would imagine that teachers will still be utilizing technology with students.

[2626] SPEAKER_24: And then just want to jump on the back end of that one because the students, then the students that are in independent study most likely will be on their Chromebooks a fair amount of the time. And yes, the district will, in much the way we did for distance learning, the district will provide Chromebooks and hotspots as needed.

[2646] SPEAKER_21: There's questions. a few different ones regarding the sports availability at the different schools in secondary. So will all sports return at both junior high and the high school?

[2662] Mark Triplett: That's our goal, although I don't want to speak for the athletics department and some of it will depend on the guidelines from the state and county. But I think our hope is that we'll be able to have all of the sports both at the junior high and the high school back up and running.

[2682] SPEAKER_21: And there's a concern regarding the, if you can explain a little bit more about the requirement or the unavailability to be able to asking information regarding the COVID vaccination?

[2697] SPEAKER_24: It's a great question. It's something that as we've gone through some of the protocols around COVID, we imagine over time this will change. But right now, Um, we, we simply have to follow the guidelines, which is you cannot ask, um, for these records yet. Um, I say yet, because as you know, we do ask for other vaccination records. Um, but, um, currently, uh, we cannot ask that students are vaccinated before coming back to school or any of those kinds of things. That is not, that's not allowable at this time. Um, if, and when it does become allowable, um, then, then we'll have that conversation and we will, uh, we'll update the guidance.

[2737] SPEAKER_21: And then there's another question regarding afterschool programs. Will all afterschool programs at both elementary and secondary all return?

[2748] SPEAKER_05: Just to jump in there, the goal is yes, but with the variation that they will be updated based on lessons learned from COVID and the pandemic. And so specifically, we're looking at different ways to engage students to address unfinished learning. with respect to core content areas, literacy and mathematics, as well as enrichment activities with clubs, especially at the high school level, as it pertains to possibilities with computer science, coding, and other related matters. So we'd like to update those and definitely that be a part of our extended instructional program.

[2789] SPEAKER_21: And then there's a question if the parents choose to volunteer the vaccination information, the COVID vaccination information of their student, if that is permissible.

[2799] Mark Triplett: Yes, families and students have the freedom to share whether or not they've been vaccinated, but it's not something that we can require of anyone.

[2814] SPEAKER_21: I've currently answered all the questions at this point. They keep on coming by, so one second. Again, going back to extracurricular activities, do we envision choir and band to come back for junior high and high school?

[2835] Mark Triplett: Yeah, we anticipate that choir and band will take place this year at the high school and the junior high school.

[2848] SPEAKER_21: And the question is, if a child who was in in-person learning show signs or symptoms of getting sick, what options are available? Does that mean that what protocols should be followed in regards to allowing them to continue their studies yet provide a safe environment?

[2874] Mark Triplett: Yeah, so if a child is, is sick, and then we follow the protocols that we already have in place, which have been really effective this spring. And so we'll go through the protocol of contact tracing, determining if there has been an exposure and the like. And if that is the case, then of course, the student would need to quarantine. And so we'll follow all the processes there. But we want to make sure that students in that situation continue to be able to learn at home while they're in quarantine.

[2921] SPEAKER_21: That's currently all the questions for now.

[2929] Mark Triplett: All right, I think there's some questions about, is this meeting being recorded and is it available? So this meeting is being recorded. It's on YouTube and can be accessed there, I believe, at any time. Ms. Gutierrez, does it require to be, is there a pause after the meeting's finished before the recording itself can be viewed on YouTube?

[2951] SPEAKER_21: That's correct. So currently the meeting is being televised live on YouTube. So whoever's watching it is watching us simultaneously. However, once this meeting ends, it takes probably about 10 minutes just for the process to be saved to the YouTube and then it'll be available for the public as well.

[2972] Mark Triplett: Great, thanks. It looks like there's a question about volunteering and will volunteering be allowed and in the schools. We love family participation in our schools, it is so wonderful and it's been really hard on everybody to, to have to restrict that during So our hope, our goal is that families will be allowed to return to participating and volunteering in the schools, but we will just have to wait and see what the state requirements and guidelines are about that. As soon as that is possible, we will communicate that out because that is such an important part of our school community.

[3015] SPEAKER_21: And there's actually another question regarding the current health check-in process, if that will continue once the next school year.

[3024] Mark Triplett: That's a good question. I would not be surprised if that is no longer a requirement moving into the next school year. It actually, it was an added layer that we had put on in the spring, but when we reopened, It at that point, it was also not a requirement from the state and the county. But we just wanted to make sure that we we did that added layer that to really support people feeling safe and maintaining good communication. So we'll have to see moving into the fall. But I would I would think that it's probably not going to be required. And so then we just need to think about if the benefit of continuing that process is really supporting students' safety and learning, even if it's not required by the state. Ms. Gutierrez, it looks like we're out of questions.

[3084] SPEAKER_21: That's correct.

[3087] Mark Triplett: Well, that's wonderful that we really appreciate everybody and everybody's questions. I think we are just about at time. So that's really good timing. Just to reiterate, well, number one, thank you for coming this evening. Thank you for participating. Thank you for all the questions. We will have another town hall, like I said, probably in early June, sorry, early July. And we will continue to communicate information out as we get it from from the state and the county. And then please look for the interest form survey that we're going to be sending out later this week. We really would, it's not, not mandatory. And, and it's, it's, but it would really help us to determine what will be the need in the independent study program. Because that way, then we can really start to think about staffing that, that program appropriately. So the more information that you share with us, the better we can really appropriately staff the program. Mr. Dolowich, Ms. Pierce-Davis, any last statements?

[3163] SPEAKER_05: No, thank you everyone for joining. We do hope you enjoy your summer and we will continue to be communicating throughout it.

[3173] SPEAKER_24: Have a great evening, everyone.

[3175] Mark Triplett: All right. Thanks, everybody.

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