Dear WCCUSD Families,
Hello. I hope you are staying as healthy as you possibly can these days. The last month has been intense and filled with uncertainty. I hope that you were able to use Spring Break as an opportunity to rest and acclimate to the idea of students learning from home for the rest of this school year.
As you know, we will launch Phase 2 of Distance Learning tomorrow. This is our opportunity to ensure that students continue to access engaging, empowering and challenging instruction even while they are physically separated from their school communities. While the health epidemic was sudden, we now believe we know enough to create a structure for all of our students that is focused around simplicity and consistency. It is our intent to create a set of high expectations for all of our students while balancing the current real life struggles taking place throughout our community. We will focus on mastery and deeper learning experiences, incorporate personalized learning, and offer a variety of opportunities to engage students.
While instruction is required beginning tomorrow, the current situation demands flexibility and patience as we continue to find the best ways to engage students. We understand that many students will have a variety of factors that influence their ability to engage with distance learning. Educators will provide as much support as possible while ensuring that students continue to learn. This distance learning plan is designed to be flexible, allow students multiple ways to engage in learning and provide the support necessary for them to succeed.
Family/Parent Support for Distance Learning
Now, more than ever, this will take a partnership between home and school to provide the best possible educational environment under difficult conditions. While we expect our schools and teachers to be in touch with all of our students, families can best assist their children by contacting your child’s teacher(s) weekly and supporting students to complete the assigned work.
There are other actions you can take to support your child’s engagement in remote learning during the school closures.
- Create a routine with a set a regular time and place for doing assigned work
- Remove distractions where possible
- Engage in what your child is learning
- Allow time for breaks and outside time where possible
- Be patient as your child adjusts to this new reality
If at any time, you feel that your student needs more support or is in a situation that prevents her or him from engaging in the assigned work, please contact your child’s teacher or principal so that we can assist you. All students and families are facing different situations. Some are struggling to access the internet while others have sick relatives, others are working on the front lines every day and others have lost jobs. Patience and support are the operative words for these final 7-8 weeks of school.
Over this final stretch of school, you will begin to hear more from your schools and a little less from the district as we aim to reestablish the school as the center of support and communication for our students and families.
Because Distance Learning can include multiple delivery methods, students may need resources like printed materials and writing implements or Chromebooks and wifi access. Contact your child’s teacher or principal if you need help accessing the necessary resources for your child. In order to help you navigate our Distance Learning plan, we created Parent Guides (English, Spanish) to give you tips and outline the expectations for students at the various grade levels.
Your first point of contact for assistance should be your child’s teacher or principal. If you need additional support, the District’s eLearning website is active and being populated with new resources regularly. Support for distance learning materials and resources can be accessed by email at elearning@wccusd.net.
If you have questions about the technology to support your student’s distance learning, email parent@wccusd.net or call (510) 243-3901.
Additionally, our team will continue to focus energy on those students traditionally furthest from opportunity and we want our community to know that we will do everything in our power to make sure further achievement gaps are not perpetuated during this time. In fact, we might even see this as an opportunity to learn how this uncomfortable time can possibly close opportunity gaps if we keep our minds open to new and different ways of “doing school” and not simply rushing to recreate a similar system of winners and losers just this time online.
As a parent going through this myself, this is not easy but I know together we can do it and we can rise to the occasion. Our health is our primary concern right now. Knowing that, I believe together we can find a new rhythm, new routines and habits to live and learn together with one another in our houses and on our screens. Please reach out if you have a concern, know someone who needs help or have a thought about how we could improve our support for our students. I am looking forward to this next phase of our distance learning and thank you for your continued patience and understanding.
In Partnership,
Matthew Duffy
Superintendent