May 1, 2020

Dear Centralia Families,

At this time, it is necessary to inform our community that Centralia Elementary School District (CESD) schools will remain physically dismissed and open virtually, with continued distance learning for the duration of this school year.   We had been hopeful for students to return May 11, 2020. It is evident that this is not the time to end stay-at-home practices for our students. With May 21, 2020 being the scheduled end of school, our energies remain focused on concluding the year with the maximum amount of learning happening in your homes through our distance learning programs. Keep at it and stay engaged!   Please know that we are also in the midst of the strategic planning necessary to open the 2020/21 school year, ready to support our students and families in whatever form that may be, with the high standards that you have come to expect from CESD.    

I would like to take this time to answer some questions about end of the year procedures for our CESD schools.  Please review this document for details about end of year procedures for students. 

__________________________

GRADES/REPORT CARDS

In this unprecedented year, virtually all California Schools are closed, and the issue of report cards has been deliberated at all levels. At the high school level, this conversation is critical since grades have implications for graduation credit, grade point average, college admission and so much more. 

At the elementary level, our report card system is different. Our grading is used as a feedback tool to assist parents in knowing where their children’s mastery of foundational standards lay.  Teachers typically use a grading reporting system that relies on in-person assessments (tests & quizzes), performance tasks, and completion of assignments from directed, teacher-delivered lessons in our award-winning brick and mortar schools.   

After listening closely to the feedback from our representative teachers, administrators and in compliance with state guidance, I wish to share that our grading system for Trimester 3 is being modified.  Though we will use the same report card as in the past, we will not be updating any standards-based grades on the report card and will instead provide teacher feedback in the comments section to each of our students.   This feedback will let our parents know of their student’s level of participation in distance learning.  I acknowledge that while the 3’s and 4’s on the report card would be nice to see; the habits of hard work, persistence, dedication and perseverance that have been demonstrated by all is beneficial in the short and long term during this unique time in our history.  

Report cards will be emailed to parents through teacher communication channels on May 21, 2020. If you have not received your report card by the end of the day on May 21, please contact your school office.     

CHROMEBOOK DEVICE COLLECTION

We presently have more than 2,000 CESD Chromebook devices in use in our community.    I appreciate our community’s support in collecting them back so that we can make all necessary updates to them for use at the start of the new school year.  They will be collected in the following manner: 

Grade 6:  Principals will be providing a schedule for Chromebook device collection for all sixth graders. Thank you for helping us to return all devices.  You can expect this collection time to be during the week of May 18.  

Grades TK-5:   Students who borrowed a district Chromebook in these grades will have two options:

Option 1:  Families who are ready to return their devices may return them during the week of May 18, as indicated by an upcoming principal notification.  

Option 2:  We have had feedback from teachers and families requesting extra time with the Chromebooks in order to take advantage of June as extended learning time.  I am happy to announce that all TK-5 families who wish to borrow the Chromebooks longer will be able to return them on July 7 & 8, 2020.  A brief survey will be sent out to all families, so we can identify who would like to utilize this extended Chromebook time. 

SUMMER LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES

Realizing that many of our students may need to continue learning during the month of June, CESD is pleased to offer the following educational options for our children. 

1. Extended School Year for Eligible Students in Special Education

Students whose IEPs call for participation in Extended School Year (ESY) will be provided information regarding the distance learning opportunity offered for eligible students during the regularly scheduled time of ESY, June 1 - June 26, 2020.  Our office of Special Education will be in contact with these families with registration information. 

2. Voluntary Summer Learning – The Study Island Learning Challenge

As a way of motivating our students to continue to learn independently, CESD is pleased to offer a summer Study Island Learning Challenge to all students in the district!      

Study Island Learning Challenge Dates:  June 1 - June 30, 2020

Challenge:  We encourage students to continue to practice developing their proficiency level on state standards learned throughout the school year.  We encourage our students to make a goal of earning Study Island blue ribbons for the standards in their grade level. This serves as a great review and preparation for the new school year. More information about this program will be provided to our families on the Centralia Distance Learning web page and through your school principals/teachers. 

RETRIEVAL OF STUDENT MEDICATION & PERSONAL BELONGINGS

Prior to May 21, your school principal will be providing information about how families can gather their student’s personal medication still stored in school offices and any personal belongings left in the classrooms.  

SCHOOL MEALS

I am proud to share that CESD will continue to offer our pick up meal program, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at San Marino School, Danbrook School and the Walter Knott campus from 10 am to 12 noon during May and June.  This meal service is open to all children under the age of 18, regardless of district of attendance.  We recognize that there is a need for access to food in our community and we are happy to provide this valuable resource.

For more information, please see visit www.cesd.us/summerfood/ for up-to-date details.

6TH GRADE PROMOTION

CESD prides itself in the high-quality education programs for our students and the great promotion send-off that is made available to each 6th grade student in our schools.  Regrettably, our tradition of an in-person promotion assembly will not be possible this year.   Our school teams are working to conclude our year in a celebratory manner, in which we can say congratulations and farewell to our incredible 6th grade scholars, while complying with current physical distancing safety protocols.  More information will be coming to you from your school principal.  

2020/2021 SCHOOL YEAR

As you may be aware, Governor Newsom has made comments about considering a possible earlier start to the school year, mentioning late July or early August.   While we are already an “early start” district (our first day of school 2020/21 is scheduled for August 12, 2020), CESD intends to continue to work with state and local agencies/health experts to determine the next steps.   At this time, our anticipated first day of school has not changed.   We will keep you updated about any changes or modifications as time progresses. 

__________________________

Any time I am faced with critical decisions, I am reminded of the importance and strength of mindset.   We do not always control what happens to us, or the circumstances in which we are thrust; however we are in control of our perspective and our reaction to it.  It is as the adage says, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.”

As your Superintendent and as a parent, I assure you that none of us thought that this year would end in this way. Is there something to celebrate in all of this?   Absolutely! 

I celebrate our families who have been extremely resilient, understanding and supportive during this time. Thank you for letting us be in your home and partnering with us in such an incredible way!  

I celebrate our teachers who are working so hard, day in and day out, to create incredible lessons. They are also reaching out to our students so that the loss of learning is minimized and that connections with one another is maximized. I truly believe that the level of support provided by our teachers and staff is unparalleled, and truly reflective of the high quality practices that are a hallmark of CESD. 

I celebrate our incredible support and operations staff who continue providing the necessary services to keep education moving forward.  From paying the electrical bills to serving meals, making calls, deploying devices, keeping our campuses clean and so much more; our support and operations staff keep our district gears moving! 

I celebrate our district and school administrators who are carrying on, transferring guidance into practice and helping to guide and lead. Our principals are amazing!   

I celebrate our Board of Education whose leadership and work of advocacy is so valued at this time.   We must continue to speak on behalf of the needs of our children now, and always! 

And most important, I celebrate our students.  Our students are the future leaders of our great nation.  As dissonant as this experience is to this generation, I wonder how many of them will be buoyed by it to become scientists, engineers, inventors, medical professionals and leaders who will defend us wisely from future pandemics?  To our students, I say to you, in the words of Dr. Seuss, “You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, smarter than you think and loved more than you’ll ever know.”  You make us all so proud!

In good health,

Norma E. Martinez, Superintendent 
Centralia Elementary School District 

Website: www.cesd.us 
Twitter: @CentraliaSup 
Facebook@CESD.us 
Instagram: @CentraliaSchoolDistrict 

April 6, 2020

Dear Centralia Staff and Community:   

As I write this update, please know that my heart is filled with a longing to return to “normal”, not just for our families but for our students and our staff. This unprecedented time of COVID-19 has proven to be the most significant challenge of our time, impacting each of us in unimaginable ways. By observing social distancing, many are enduring the isolation that comes with these stay-at-home practices, along with the anxiety of dealing with possible job and financial instability, and concerns for personal health or the health of loved ones.

It is with immense gratitude and appreciation that I tip my hat to each of our employees and families who have demonstrated love, courage, care and support for one another through these trying times.  The compassion and care shown in our Centralia community give me hope that together, we will overcome this challenge. 

This past week, Governor Gavin Newsom and State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tony Thurmond indicated that schools would probably be closed for the remainder of the school year, as a result of increasing COVID-19 cases in California. In anticipation of such a recommendation, I authorized Centralia schools to dismiss students until May 11, 2020.  As of this update, school districts across Orange County are still contemplating whether to announce a school dismissal for the remainder of the year or to make this decision in the coming weeks. While the extended dismissal seems to be inevitable, we are focusing our attention on formally beginning our extended learning time, which we are referring to as our distance learning plan. Understandably, this school dismissal is creating a profound sense of loss for our students, families, teachers, staff, and community; however, part of what we do as educators and parents is prepare our children to develop resiliency, hope, optimism, healthy habits, and determination. That is part of our focus as we move forward with this new way of learning.

As we prepare for this first week of distance learning, we will continue to make every effort to ensure that students have the necessary tools to stay connected with their teachers as we launch this new way of teaching and learning.  This past week, our focus was on student access and teacher readiness.  We also distributed close to 2000 Chromebook devices to our TK-6th grade students. Our teachers had time to plan and prepare for distance learning.  Our teachers and staff began the work of earnestly connecting with our children and testing out the communication tools in use.   What that looks like may appear different for each child, grade level, and classroom as teachers continue to work hard to connect with and engage their students in continued learning.  Connectivity and having access to a device is critical and we will continue to support our families. For families who are still without connectivity or a device, please contact your child’s principal. We need to have our students be ready to learn online as soon as possible. 

Our food services department has resumed the service of providing meals to our community.  We have made some modifications to our meal service to comply with recommendations in order to keep our employees and our community as safe as possible during this time of social distancing.  Our food services staff will continue to prepare and provide drive through take and go free meals for all children under the age of 18, Mondays, Wednesdays, & Fridays from 10:00 - 12:00 at Danbrook, Walter Knott and San Marino Schools.  Please join me in giving a huge shout-out to our food services staff for their dedicated service.  

I thank our staff for your openness to a new way of teaching and I thank our families for your patience as we work together to create meaningful learning opportunities for our students in your homes.  But I want to be clear, this is not business as usual.   In our schools, our teachers are the lead learner, teaching with mastery and control over their schedule in their classrooms.  We recognize that our teachers are about to provide instructional opportunities in your home.  With over 4100 students in our district, we are bound to have significant differences in each of our students’ homes and our teachers want to support our families through this process.  Please help us to support you by staying in proactive and positive communication with our staff. 

My heart goes out to each and every one of you as we all try to find balance in our new reality. Although we are physically apart, we are in this together as Team Centralia.  We look forward to continuing to teach, engage and support our students through distance learning. Please take care of each other and stay healthy.

Yours sincerely, 
Norma E. Martinez
Superintendent 
Centralia Elementary School District 

Website: www.cesd.us 
Twitter: @CentraliaSup 
Facebook@CESD.us 
Instagram: @CentraliaSchoolDistrict 

LETTER TO FAMILIES ABOUT DISTANCE LEARNING
FROM EDUCATIONAL SERVICES

Dear CESD Families,

The CESD staff knows that this temporarily school dismissal has a tremendous impact on our students and steps will need to be implemented to support the continuity of learning for our students. 

 You may be asking, “How does this school dismissal affect my child’s learning?” For most of our grade levels, by this time of year, most of the essential standards have been taught and we are preparing for the administration of the SBAC state testing.  You are aware that SBAC state testing has been waived this year, making this preparation unnecessary.  For our primary grades, this time is valuable in that we see our children’s developing independence and academic growth.  

 Though school has been dismissed for your child, we want to continue to support our students’ review and learning through an extended learning opportunity, something that we will refer to as distance learning.   The State of California defines distance learning as anytime a student and teacher are not in the same location during the learning period. Distance learning can take on many forms, including the use of paper packets, online instruction, television and other external resources (CDE, 2020).   

We are well aware that the high quality instructional program that our families have come to expect from CESD is one that takes place in our classrooms, with a dynamic teacher at the helm, support staff as needed, and energetic interactions between our students and staff.  This is what makes our district a highly competitive and innovative learning system.  Like you, we look forward to the days when we can return to our “brick and mortar” schools, our routines and our dynamic instruction.    Our efforts to engage in this extended, distance learning mode is to help prevent the loss of learning and to help our young scholars stay engaged and motivated during this challenging time. 

For our students in Special Education, we recognize the importance of providing instructional opportunities that address their unique needs.   Please know that our special education staff is exploring options to connect with our students and families during this school dismissal time.  We will do what we can to provide supports to our students during this closure, to the degree that we can, with the limitations that we have.  Please look for further information from your child’s case manager. 

We sincerely appreciate your patience, understanding, and continued support for all of our students as we navigate this change.

As we prepare for a full transition, please be reminded that families can access learning using the following online resources during the week of March 30-April 3.

• Use this OCDE resource to engage your child/children in learning during the transition to Distance Learning. 
• Use our regular CESD online resources available HERE.

Distance Learning Rollout

We are very proud and grateful for our staff who have taken on the tremendous task of transitioning to distance learning within a very short timeframe in order to continue to educate and support our students.  Please view the details in timeline below.

Timeline

CESD will work with staff and families to focus its energies in this way: 

March 30-April 1:  Ensure that all homes are prepared for distance learning.   During this time, our priority will be to ensure that all homes have access to a device and internet connectivity.  (see below for access to a technology tool survey). 

April 2- April 3:  CESD will roll out a soft implementation of Distance Learning.  Teachers will be connecting with their class through Zoom in small group and whole group delivery.  Be sure that your email is up to date on our database.   Your child’s teacher will be in contact with you on the details of their daily schedule, how to log on, and how to access resources.  If you do not yet have an email account, we recommend that you get one to facilitate conversation between the parent and home. 

April 6 - May 8:  Students will engage in Distance Learning.  We again thank you for your patience as our plan evolves according to the needs of our students and adjustments are made to help families in the transition.  Our teachers will be providing their students a weekly schedule of the distance learning opportunities, including face to face zoom meetings. 

The purpose of Distance Learning is to provide continuity of learning to all of our students, Preschool-6th grade.  Teachers and administrators have been working hard developing lessons and using Distance Learning platforms.  Teachers will now be able to communicate, teach, connect and provide feedback to students online.  For families who may have difficulties accessing Distance Learning online, alternative plans will be available. 

TIPS to assist your child in a successful experience during Distance Learning Instruction, please be sure to do the following:

• • Ways to take care of your Chromebook
    • Keep it on a flat surface
    • Be sure not to pile things on top of your Chromebook
    • Keep the keyboard clear
    • Keep food and drinks away from your device
    • Make sure your hands are clean before using your Chromebook
    • Close the Chromebook if you need to move it
    • Don’t carry your Chromebook by the screen
    • Keep it charged
    • Tell your teacher if it breaks
    • Stay on teacher-approved websites
• Ensure your child has their device ready and is logged in daily. We want our classes to begin with a morning meeting between the teacher and the class. Look for that message from your child’s teacher. 
• You may assist your child in logging on and support them by allowing students to do the work independently. Students should be able to independently extend their learning with the direction of the teacher.
• If you and your child need support in joining a Zoom meeting with your child’s teacher, please click on this link: Zoom Tutorial
• If your child needs support in logging onto Clever (to access online programs such as ST Math, Accelerated Reader, etc.), please click on this link: Clever

Our priority is to provide devices for those students that currently do not have any technology devices at home.  For students that do not have a device or internet access to participate in Distance Learning, you will be able to check out a device and obtain information to gain internet access.  To gather information on your child’s access to a device, CESD is requesting your participation in a tech survey.  To access the tech survey, please click HERE.  Please take this survey by Friday, March 27, 2020 so we can take an accurate inventory and prepare the devices for distribution.  Again, due to the high volume of need in the community, we appreciate the candidness of families who already have a device at home and don’t need one. This will help us get a device in the hands of children with this need.

CESD staff will be disseminating devices at your child’s school on Tuesday, March 31-Wednesday, April 01, 2020.  If you filled out the tech survey, you will receive an email by Monday, March 30 with details on your pick-up date and time, including instructions on how to pick up the device from school.   In order to abide by social distancing guidelines, the device checkouts will be a drive-thru format. You will drive your car into the main parking lot and a staff member will check out a device to you and provide you with information on how to obtain internet access.  You will need to bring your child’s Student ID # to check out the device.  Please read the Chromebook Device Loan form by clicking the links below prior to arriving to pick up a device. 

ENGLISH- Student Device
SPANISH – Student Device
KOREAN – Student Device

Tech Support for Students

If your child is experiencing any technology issues, please submit a Help Ticket for their District-issued device using this email address studenthelp@cesd.us.  This email address will be operational as of April 1st and will also be posted on the District and school websites.

Special Education

Our Special Education and Related Service personnel will be supporting distance learning for students who are on Individual Education Plans (IEPs), as feasible within a distance learning model, starting the week of April 6, 2020. For students with IEPs, special education case managers will communicate with students (as appropriate), parents and guardians the plans for providing instructional support consistent with distance learning. Special education and related service areas will be addressed through planned activities, consultation, and digital support as feasible. This will look different for each grade level and for each student.  Please contact your child’s special education teacher or school site administrator with questions as they arise. You can expect to hear from your child’s teachers and related service providers the week of March 30-April 4, 2020.

March 20, 2020 

Dear Centralia Families, 

As you are aware, the Centralia School District held a special meeting on Friday, March 13, 2020 to address our efforts to help “flatten the curve” regarding the spread of COVID-19.  In that meeting, our Board of Education declared a State of Emergency and stated that schools would be closed to students from March 16-20, 2020. The week of March 23-27 was already part of our regularly scheduled spring break, with all schools and the District office normally closed during this week.  With March 30 quickly approaching, our district had to take into consideration our present status, both as a district and community to determine when to reopen schools. 

Please be assured that our District team has been monitoring the rapidly evolving guidance coming from federal, state and local agencies including the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the White House, the State of California Governor’s office, the State Superintendent’s Office, the California Health Care Agency, the Orange County Department of Education and the Orange County Health Care Agency (OCHCA). We remain in close communication with all Orange County superintendents, and together we are discussing how to best address this health crisis for the communities we serve. 

Since the emergency Board of Education meeting, held on March 13, 2020, much has changed:

• We continue to monitor the OCHCA website for the latest number of COVID-19 cases in the county.  We know that this number is increasing, and all news sources indicate that the current availability of COVID-19 testing will impact the case count.     
• California Governor Gavin Newsom has held several press conferences this week.  On Tuesday 3/17/2020, he advised parents and students not to expect schools to be back in session in the next few weeks, and possibly not reopen until after the summer break (ABC7, 3/17/2020 California Gov. Gavin Newsom warns parents to be prepared for schools not to open until after summer break).   On the morning of 3/19/20, he stated that he anticipated “at least 25.5 million people in California will be infected over an eight-week period” (LA Times, 3/20/2020 Gov. Newsom orders all Californians to stay home as coronavirus cases top 1,000), and on the evening of 3/19/20, he announced a statewide “stay at home order” for all of California, with exceptions to many essential businesses (Executive order N-33-20).  
• We are listening to our District staff and local parent community and we know that part of the stress for you is the ambivalence of knowing how long to plan and prepare.   

Acting on the information that we currently have and in order to protect the health of our students, staff and community, the Centralia Board of Education has granted me the authority to dismiss students from school from March 30, 2020 to May 8, 2020, with an expected return to school date of May 11, 2020.  

If the COVID-19 outbreak situation stabilizes sooner, we are prepared to retract the May 11, 2020 date and welcome back our students and staff to our brick and mortar schools. If Governor Newsom or another official agency extends our dismissal beyond this time, we will review those recommendations, take appropriate action and keep you informed. 

The Board of Education and I are fully aware of the challenge this places on our students, staff and families. Please know that the decision has made thoughtfully and with great intent.  By sharing this extended dismissal date of May 11, our District staff can engage in thoughtful long-term planning to adjust to distance learning and families can create stronger at-home contingencies to support their children at home, emotionally, physically and educationally.  Safety for all is the main driver. 

I am aware that many of our families have children in the Anaheim Union High School District (AUHSD) and that they have issued a different school dismissal date.  I support their decision, as every District in California is making unique decisions considering the timeline of dismissal based on their community needs.

I know that you will have many questions. My next update will share the upcoming plans to transition to distance learning, including making sure that all students have access to a device from home and internet connectivity.  We will communicate information on how we can continue to serve you in a virtual school/District office world.

I want to share with our families how incredibly blessed with are to have such dedicated staff in our District.  Everyone is impacted by this dismissal.  Everyone is jumping on board to learn, to collaborate and to think critically and creatively.  Our District-wide commitment and success to adjust to this temporary reality rests on us all.  I can assure you that our staff is being diligent and thoughtful.

I appreciate your patience, trust and understanding as we all navigate the issues surrounding this health crisis and its impact on our everyday life. Stay healthy, stay positive and know that we are looking forward to a return to school.   

Please continue to monitor our website www.cesd.us, stay connected with our School Messenger calls and emails, and our social media platforms. Thank you again.   

Yours sincerely, 
Norma E. Martinez
Superintendent 
Centralia Elementary School District 

Website: www.cesd.us 
Twitter: @CentraliaSup 
Facebook@CESD.us 
Instagram: @CentraliaSchoolDistrict 

CENTRALIA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DISTRICT CLOSES SCHOOLS FOR ONE WEEK
(MARCH 16 - 20, 2020) AND WILL REMAIN CLOSED DURING
THE REGULARLY SCHEDULED SPRING BREAK (MARCH 23 -27, 2020)

March 13, 2020

Dear Centralia School District Families, 

The health and safety of our students and staff is our highest importance. With that in mind, an emergency meeting of the Board of Education was convened this afternoon, March 13, 2020. The Board provided direction authorizing me to take all appropriate action to respond to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Out of an abundance of caution, in an effort to limit the spread of COVID-19, and with guidance from local, state, and federal public health experts, students will be dismissed from school beginning Monday, March 16 through Friday, March 20.  In addition, schools will remain closed during the regularly scheduled spring break, scheduled for March 23 - 27.  To date, there are NO confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Centralia Elementary School District or any other districts in Orange County. We will be providing additional communication should it become necessary to extend student dismissal beyond spring break. This is not an easy decision and not one that was taken lightly. The closing of any school has real consequences beyond the loss of instructional time.

Federal, state, and local health agencies advise that students should stay home and minimize social contact as much as possible to keep caregivers and adult family members safe. While children have not been shown to be at high-risk for serious illness from COVID-19, these steps are critically important in supporting public health as children can transmit the virus to those most vulnerable.  

Our District is taking the following steps to provide support to our families:   

INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT 

Centralia Elementary School District is in the process of providing options to our students to continue learning while school is closed. 

• Teachers will continue preparation for a move to Distance Learning.
• Families can use this OCDE resource to engage your child/children in learning during the transition.
• Families can use our regular CESD technology resources available HERE

ACCESS TO MEALS 

The district will be providing school meals so that students have access to breakfast and lunch during the week that school is closed, March 16 -19.  Meals will be provided at the following locations to all children present under the age of 18, rain or shine:   

•  Walter Knott Education Center 

7300 La Palma Avenue, Buena Park
Breakfast 8:00-8:30 AM, Lunch 12:00-12:30 PM 

•  Danbrook Elementary School  - GRAB AND GO

320 Danbrook Street, Anaheim 
Breakfast 8:00-8:30 AM, Lunch 11:00-12:30 PM  

•  San Marino School  - GRAB AND GO

6215 San Rolando Way, Buena Park 
Breakfast 8:00-8:30 AM, Lunch 11:00-12:30 PM 

CHILD CARE OPTIONS  

At this time, childcare options are being made available to our families currently enrolled in our before and after school childcare programs.  A separate message is going out to our child care and Club CASA families regarding their options.

NEIGHBORHOOD RESOURCE CENTER (NRC)  

The NRC will remain open from Monday, March 16-20.  The NRC continues to provide information of importance such as local food banks, community supports, etc.  

•  Neighborhood Resource Center

320 Danbrook Street, Anaheim 
714-228-3235, Hours of Service:   8:00-4:00 PM  

SCHOOL OFFICES 

While school offices will be closed to the public for walk-in services, they will be open for phone and email service from 8:00AM to 3:45PM.  Please access our website for the school office phone numbers.     

We will continue to send updates to families through School Messenger on any developments that may impact student attendance at school. This information will also be posted under News and Announcements on the district website, www.cesd.us.

On behalf of the Board of Education and our entire district staff, I thank each of you for your patience and trust as we all work together through this unprecedented public health crisis.

Sincerely,

Superintendent