Castro Valley Unified School District held an emergency board meeting today and suspended in-person instruction through March 31. This action was prompted by the threat of a potential outbreak of COVID-19 in our community.

Following presentation of recommendations by Superintendent Parvin Ahmadi, discussion by the Board, and many public comments, the four memebrs of the Board in attendance (Trustee Jo Loss was not in attendance and Board President Lavender Whitaker called into the meeting) voted unanimously to suspend in-person instruction immediately and implement distance learning to last through the end of the month.

The following are notes I took at the emergency meeting. Hopefully these notes will answer some of the questions you may have in light of this announcement.

The essential takeaway is that we are going to have to buckle up, and come together as a community to support our students and our teachers, as providing distance learning for the entire school district is new and uncharted. There may be some bumps as these new methods are rolled out, but rest assured that the schools will be doing everything in their power to ensure that our kids still get high quality instructional time.

Notes from CVUSD Board of Trustees, Emergency Meeting
3/13/2020, 5:30 pm

• Unanimous vote to declare district wide state of emergency, as proposed by Superintendent Parvin Ahmadi.
• The declaration of a district emergency was necessary to permit discussion of suspension of in school instruction
• Ahmadi then presented a recommendation that the board vote to suspend in person instruction.
• Ahmadi shared that she has been in daily communication with Alameda County Department of Public Health, superintendents of all other local districts, and noted that the CDC has not specifically recommended that schools close because CDC doesn’t consider schools to be “groups of over 200 people” (which is why up until now CVUSD has only been recommending following the CDC recommendations with regards to cancelling events and practicing good hygiene and social distancing).
• Ahmadi explained that if suspension is adopted, staff would still be supporting all students in their homes.
• Ahmadi then explained that she had already reached out to all district administrators to begin making plans for distance learning for all students, and that the district technical director is already working at options for distance learning, with all students at home and staff and administrators still at school.
• Under this suspension, every student who does not already have access to a computer and the internet at home would immediately be provided with a computer and wifi access.
  • Ahmadi also noted that this is already the district’s policy – that CVUSD has been doing this for three years already, but she has asked all principals to follow up with families who should currently have tech provided to make sure they still have what they need, and to identify any additional students who have a need)
• The recommendation is that in school instruction be suspended from March 16 through March 31. This amounts to two weeks and two days. The students would return to the classroom on April 1, provided the suspension does not need to be extended.
• Specific instruction to families of how distance learning is to be carried out will come from Principals and classroom Teachers, but it is imagined that there will be online contact between each student and their teacher/s at least once per day.
• Monday March 16 – no students will be allowed on campus. Teachers and staff will be present and will use that time to develop plans for distance learning.
• Tuesday March 17 – if necessary students may come to campus to pick up materials (books, etc), and the return home
• Special education services: IEPs and 504s will be accommodated. The Special Education department is already trying to determine what additional support families may need, depending on the services that those students currently receive. The plan right now is that the district will work with each teacher to implement accommodations in home setting.
• Meals: Students who qualify for free/reduced cost meals will still be able to receive them. Breakfasts can be picked up from 8:00 and 9:00 and lunches can be picked up from 11:30 – 12:30. These “grab and go” meals will be available at:
  • Castro Valley Elementary
  • Marshall
  • Creekside
  • Castro Valley High School
• School counselors will still be available to support students through telehealth. The district Wellness office will remain open, as well. The district’s Resource Room which provides essential home supplies for families in transition/housing instability will also remain open.
• Distance learning will likely look different with each teacher. Teachers will be able to use a range of resources. Younger students may require packets as opposed to online based tasks. The goal is that the education kids receive during this suspension be as similar as possible to in classroom work. This is not independent study. Teachers are being asked to collaborate in grade level teams to develop consistent lessons. Materials are expected to be available online, and each teacher will decide how classwork is to be assigned, taught, and turned in.
• The schools and district offices will remain open during this. All personnel will be available to help facilitate the logistics of school work.
• Spring break will remain on the calendar as scheduled.
• It was becoming apparent that the district was going to need to take action to participate in social distancing on this level because all the Bay Area districts are intertwined — many teachers and staff live in Oakland, for example, and those schools have already closed. Castro Valley, Hayward, and San Lorenzo USDs work together. With as many unknowns as there are regarding COVID19, it is apparent from examining the data from other regions that numbers are likely to start skyrocketing if we don’t take action as a community to commit to social distancing.
• It is not expected that this will require the school year to be extended at all. Why? Because the schools are not being closed – in person instruction is suspended and shifting to distance learning. Thus, no instructional days will be lost. Ahmadi did not know yet whether this would have any impact on state testing or on college entrance exams (SAT, etc.).