CDA Community,

We will use this platform to house all of my communications since March 10, 2020, when the Covid-19 / coronavirus health crisis started to affect our day-to-day operations. Make sure to check the district’s website for more up-to-date information. If you are not receiving their communications by phone or email, please email me so that we can check your contact information in our student data system.

Stay well and together we will get through this crisis. Thanks.

Andrew Jenkins, Principal
[email protected]

Email Sent on May 2, 2020

Dear CDA Community,

I hope that this finds everyone well. As we enter the last 6 weeks of school, we need to celebrate all of the ways our community has worked together to support our students. We are so fortunate to have so many generous, creative folks in our midst. Thanks for everyone’s combined efforts to make the very best of our remote learning experience. Below are the latest updates.

Jogathon: May 11-15

Even though we were unable to celebrate fitness together through our annual Jogathon, our Booster Club is launching a virtual celebration through Flipgrid. We are encouraging all students and staff to document ways they are staying fit at home and in their neighborhoods. Some families have been creating banners and posters to celebrate the event in their communities and have attracted interested neighbors to donate to our Booster Club, which as a fundraising body funds so many of the programs and staff at our school. We want to encourage families to take part in the event, and while Jogathon has always been attached to pledges that students’ communities, families, and friends of families make toward their fitness, the emphasis here is to celebrate our fitness. Instructions for participation are below. Feel free to reach out to our co-chairs, Kara Rossi ([email protected]) and Coach Stacey ([email protected]). Thanks.

  1. Pick your challenge and train for your mile (or 8-12 minutes of movement) for the next week.
  2. Register on Pledgestar if you’d like to try to raise some money for CDA (but it’s not essential, this is about fitness and fun!!)
  3. Complete your challenge any day May 11-15, making sure to film it, and upload into the flipgridpage (code: cdajat) so all your buddies can see what you did.

Teacher Appreciation Week: May 4-8

Please take the opportunity this week to recognize our amazing staff of teachers, teachers’ assistants, and instructional aides. Not having the ability to honor them on campus should not prevent us from taking the time to reach out to them to show our appreciation for the myriad of ways they make a difference in the lives of our students. Our teachers continue to go above and beyond to ensure our students have the very best in educational experiences.

LAUSD Kids Learn Workbooks

In an effort to support our students so they have what they need to be ready for the next grade, the district is mailing to the address that schools have on file a workbook that students can use for application of skills and ideas expected for their grade. In our Coffee and Tea with the Principal meetings, the next of which are linked below, we have shared that a reliable resource for what to expect for each grade is the California Department of Education’s website, where parents can find an overview of the standards and frameworks, the latter of which provide guidelines on how students should be engaging with the learning for their grade. I encourage you to reference these websites if you want to ensure your child is meeting the expectations of the grade.

Unfortunately, not all instructional materials are always aligned to what research and the frameworks say is best for students. When this happens, our teachers are able to pick and choose what best suits the needs of their students. Because we are not a program driven school, but one that drives its instruction using a variety of resources and our students’ thinking, we know when and how to use a resource that is provided. There are pages in the workbooks that were sent, particularly in mathematics, that you will want to avoid, as they will be setting your children up for using standard algorithms for multidigit addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division before it’s expected. In our Coffee and Tea, we reviewed when those algorithms are expected, and an overview is below.

  1. Grade 4: By the end of grade 4, students should understand and be able to use the standard algorithm for multidigit addition and subtraction with whole numbers.
  2. Grade 5: By the end of grade 5, students should understand and be able to use the standard algorithm for multidigit multiplication with whole numbers. They will also find common denominators for adding and subtracting fractions.
  3. Grade 6: By the end of grade 6, students should understand and be able to use the standard algorithm for long division and the algorithms for all operations for decimals and fractions.
  4. Grades 1-5: Prior to using the standard algorithms, students should use place value strategies and properties of operations to add, subtract, multiply, and divide whole numbers. They should also use models to show how to multiply and divide fractions.

Please encourage your children to solve problems in ways that make sense to them, and our 4th and 5th grade teachers will make sure that their students understand how to use the standard algorithms when they return next school year. We know how much you have on your plates. We just want to work together to ensure success for our students. This week I will be sending home checklists that you can use to determine how your child is progressing. As I said in a previous address, most if not all of the standards had been covered by our teachers by the time we transitioned to remote learning. We will make sure that our students are on track when we return. Thanks.

Upcoming Events

Please see below events and meetings that are upcoming. We are still waiting on guidance on how to enroll new students for the 2020-2021 school year. Updates are on our enrollment page, and you can always email me. We hope to see everyone back for the new school year, but if you are not returning and have not let us know, please email me.

Thanks so much for all that you do, and have a great rest of your weekend. Take care.

May 4: Coffee and Tea with the Principal (8:00 AM; Topic – Strategies for Working with Writers);Local District West Town Hall (6:00 PM)
May 5: Morning Assembly (8:00 AM)
May 6: Morning Assembly (8:00 AM); Coffee and Tea with  the Principal (3:45 PM; Topic – Strategies for Working with Writers)
May 11-15: Jogathon

Email Sent on April 29, 2020

Hi Everyone,

There is also information below about a town hall being hosted today at 4:00 PM by Board Member Nick Melvoin and a cooking class that he is hosting on Friday. Our local district superintendent, Dr. Cheryl Hildreth, is also hosting a town hall on Monday, May 4th, at 6:00 PM. Both town halls are on our website calendar. Thanks.

Board Member Nick Melvoin

This week, Nick will be participating in a town hall as a panelist with Assembly member Jesse Gabriel – COVID 19 – How do we move forward from here? I’ve attached the flyer. If possible, we would greatly appreciate it if you could share with your communities. On Friday, Nick will also be hosting a live cooking class to make the famous LAUSD coffee cake.

Local District West Town Hall

Please join Superintendent Hildreth for the Virtual Town Hall Meeting on Monday, May 4 at 6 p.m.

RSVP link: https://tinyurl.com/LDWestPacificAndWestLATownHall

Email Sent on April 27, 2020

Dear CDA Community,

Happy Monday!

When I emailed you this past Friday, I meant to ask families in transitional kindergarten (TK) through fourth grade to please email me as soon as they’re able to let me know if they will not be returning next school year. We are anticipating a growth position in our transitional kindergarten through third grade band of classes, and I need to confirm if in fact some of our families are not returning so we can make some projections to see if we should in fact open up the classroom at the start of school. We hope everyone is returning!

Finally, I hope you were able to see the superintendent’s update this morning or you can view it on the LAUSD website.

Have a great week! I can’t believe that we only have 33 days left of school. What an adventure this year has been! We appreciate you. Thanks.

Email Sent on April 24, 2020

Dear Families,

Thanks for your continued engagement. It was great to see so many of you this past week at our various parent meetings. I will keep this brief, as I know you are receiving a lot of communication.

Coffee and Tea with the Principal

Over the past two weeks, we discussed the role of algorithms in mathematics and balanced literacy with a focus on reading. Important takeaways from our discussion are below. I have attached PDF’s of the PowerPoints. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me with questions. I am moving these meetings to bi-weekly out of respect for all of our schedules. Our next meetings will be Monday, May 4, at 8:00 AM and Wednesday, May 6, at 3:45 PM. Links were emailed. I will send them out again next week.

  1. Standard algorithms for regrouping are next expected to be taught or understood until grade 4 (multi-digit addition/subtraction), grade 5 (multi-digit multiplication), and grade 6 (long division, decimals, and fractions). It’s important that students develop their own strategies and invented algorithms for these operations before these benchmarks. If we introduce the standard algorithms too early, it will prevent them from developing the deep understanding that we want them to have throughout their careers as mathematicians. Our best approach is to ask questions and encourage perseverance.
  2. Children who read for at least 60 minutes every day, in whatever form that may come, will be at our above grade level in reading by grade 3. Reading comes in many forms, and reading to your child is essential. Again, asking questions to gain an understanding of what strategies your children are using will help you understand what they are learning and using and will help you think about what they still need to learn. When we encourage them to do the heavy lifting, they will grow as readers in leaps and bounds.

Morning Assembly

We will continue to hold weekly morning assemblies on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 08:00 AM. The meeting invites were emailed. Please encourage your children to bring something to share. We want to celebrate their learning.

Virtual Jogathon

We are moving our Jogathon to a virtual event during the week of May 11, 2020. The emphasis here is to share and celebrate all of the ways that our students are keeping fit during the stay at home and remote learning period. Our Booster Club will be sharing in their update how we can come together to celebrate fitness.

Superintendent’s Address

If you have an opportunity to view the superintendent’s address each week at 11:00 AM on KLCS or on their website, please take the time. I have found the information shared helpful and encouraging.

End of Year Procedures

  1. Enrollment for next year will be live soon. You can check our website for updates.
  2. We are forming a committee for fifth grade culmination, so stay tuned fifth grade families for updates on how we plan to celebrate our fifth graders.
  3. Students will be receiving report cards at the end of the year. If you have concerns about your child’s progress, please reach out to his/her teacher. A student’s grade in any subject cannot be lower than it was when we transitioned to remote learning.
  4. We will be announcing our staff for next year in our May/June newsletter. Three of our teachers are retiring (Ms. Block, Ms. Aver, and Ms. Flaxman) and Ms. Alberi is moving back to Virginia. We will miss them dearly, but we are excited for the opportunities these changes bring for them.
  5. Our yearbook will be published soon and will be an opportunity to celebrate all of our accomplishments and events. Please email the committee ([email protected]) if you need to order one.

That’s it for now. Please take time to enjoy some outdoor air and show appreciation to all of those who have made a difference during this time. I just want to end with how much I have appreciated these past 6 weeks your support and words of encouragement. They have made any obstacle or challenge surmountable knowing that I have your faith and confidence.

Stay well. Thanks.

Email Sent in April 17, 2020

Dear CDA Community,

I am so proud of what we have accomplished these past four weeks of distance learning. We continue to hear from families how much they appreciate all of the opportunities their children have to engage with their teachers and classmates. We also have benefitted from input and feedback in emails and via Zoom meetings. Our goal is to work together to make this new way of learning manageable for everyone.

Based on participation in our morning assembly this week, I am going to hold assembly twice a week, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, invitations below. Students can email a piece of work that we might be able to share or can have ready to share something special they have gained from their remote learning in the current or former week. We will do our best to hear everyone’s voice. I will also continue to share updates with the community. The district has developed enrollment procedures for new families this current school year and updates for next school year’s enrollment will be housed on that site as well. You can also find updates on our website.

We will also continue with our Coffee and Tea with the Principal, Mondays at 08:00 AM and Wednesdays at 3:30 PM, invites were emailed. The focus next week will be literacy. A suggestion came up in one of our meetings to have these posted in a central location, so I will begin the process of linking them in a Google doc or on calendar. For now the invites are below. Board Member Melvoin is planning on joining us for part of our meeting on Monday. He is hosting his own meeting on Wednesday, April 22nd, flyer attached.

We are also excited to host our April Booster Club meeting via Zoom on Wednesday, April 22, 2020 at 07:00 PM. Invite also emailed. Please join us as we plan for the year’s end and next school year.

Finally, I so admire how we have remained so positive through this health crisis and how you are staying strong for our students. It shows from the many smiles I see on their faces during their class Zoom meetings and at assembly. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me, though, if your situation is not manageable or if you are experiencing hardship as a result of the crisis. We are a community, and we stand together in support of one another.

I hope that you are able to take the time you need this weekend to rest and enjoy your family. We miss you. Take care and stay well.

Email Sent on April 13, 2020

Dear CDA Community.

Thanks to our families who were able to join us for our weekly Coffee and Tea with the Principal, which we will use moving forward even more than we did before to support you as you work with your child(ren) at home. These meetings will be held twice each week at 08:00 AM on Mondays and 03:30 PM on Wednesdays. The information will be identical. The invite was emailed for our Wednesday meeting and for our morning assemblies this week, Tuesday through Thursday, at 08:00 AM. Please join us once for our assembly.

Superintendent Beutner spoke this morning about our current state and announced that we will remain in a remote learning situation through June 12th. Students will still receive report cards at the end of the school year, but they will not be held harmless by work not completed during remote learning. We understand that everyone’s situation is different and can change daily. We just expect that you do your best to keep your child connected to their remote learning Google classroom. In our grade level meetings, our teachers remarked that in most, if not all cases, they had covered what is expected for their grade levels. There are many other details still to be defined, and as we receive guidance on enrollment for next school year and culmination in particular, we will share them with you. I know that everyone from the Superintendent’s office to our own is working to ensure that we provide the best possible conditions for our students as we close out the school year during these uncertain times. The safety and mental health of our community is paramount.

To that end, the mental health and well-being of our community, we recognize that this public health crisis has brought many challenges for families, and that students and parents are feeling a range of emotions right now, including anxiety and stress. We want you to know that Los Angeles Unified has opened a hotline that students, families, and staff can call for mental health consultations and support. Mental health professionals are available Monday through Friday, from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM, to provide support in English, Spanish, and other languages. Our teachers can also call to get help for their students. To speak with a mental health professional, call 213-241-3840. You can also email questions to [email protected]. We are also here as a support if you need anything. Please feel free to email me as well if you feel there is anything we can do to support you in whatever way we can. We are here for you.

Thanks as always for your partnership and faith in our work. Stay well.

Email Sent on April 8, 2020

Dear CDA Community,

I hope all is well and that you are making adjustments to our stay at home restrictions. I know that this break has given me time to reflect and certainly catch up on reading. I am currently toggling between four books right now: Just Mercy, A Novel Approach, Reassessing Ability Grouping: Improving Practice for Equity and Attainment, and Autumn. When I am not reading, I am trying to tackle home projects, taking long walks with my family, Baxter in tow, watching a show, or cooking. Each day, I try to do at least one school project, today my email to you.

I have been receiving some encouraging resources and doing my best to share them with you. One of our teachers also discovered this overview of fun things that students might do, time permitting. Our school closure page also has resources that may be of interest. I hope you are able to find time to gather as a family and enjoy each other’s company. Please know that we are here if you need anything.

On Monday Superintendent Beutner spoke, and if you missed it, it is still being streamed here. He is set to speak again on Monday, April 13th. If you are not receiving emails from him or the district, please let me know. There have not been any announcements around an extension to the school closure.

We are set to have our Coffee and Tea with the Principal on Monday, April 13th, and our morning assemblies, Tuesday through Thursday, April 14th – 16th. All of these meetings will be held at 08:00 AM and meeting invites will come out the day before each. Our Booster Club is also considering holding their meeting through videoconference on Wednesday, April 15th, at 10:00 AM. More information on that to follow.

I know there has been news around security issues with Zoom. Please know that we are keeping abreast of what is best for our community and will work with the direction and guidance of our district. In the meantime, all of the meetings moving forward conducted through Zoom will have security measures in place. If there are any changes, we will let you know. We are exploring options in the event there are.

My goal is on Friday to send you our March/April newsletter with updates to our work both on campus before the closure and off campus after the closure. We are doing our best to make sure you receive the information you need to stay abreast of what is best for your child(ren). Change is inevitable, and together as our community we will grow from it. One of our learning partners shared this article with me, which really helped me gain some perspective around the shifts we have made in our work.

Stay well. Thanks.

Email Sent on April 1, 2020

Dear CDA Community,

As we wind down the week, I wanted to send out a few updates. Thanks for your continued support and engagement.

School Closure

While our school closure has been extended through April 30, 2020, yesterday State Superintendent Tony Thurmond announced that they are recommending that schools remain closed through the end of this school year. I want to remind everyone that our superintendent will update us on how this recommendation affects us. Please make sure that you answer robocalls or listen to their voicemails and check your emails. Right now there have been no changes to our return date of May 1, 2020. If there are changes and it is extended through June 12, 2020 or some other date, please know there will be recommendations and guidelines around how to handle everything from grading to culmination for 5th graders. I know that the everchanging news around the health crisis can be unsettling, but our best mode of defense is to stay calm and be reassured that there will be an end in sight. We are here, as always, if you need anything.

Morning Assembly and Coffee and Tea with the Principal

My apologies for the confusion around the Zoom meeting invite this morning. The invite for tomorrow was emailed. Moving forward, I am going to see if I can reach everyone at assembly over three days. Because we are having Coffee and Tea with the Principal (parents only) on Monday, April 13th, at 08:00 AM, our morning assembly when we return from Spring Break will be Tuesday through Thursday, April 14 – 16, 2020, at 08:00 AM. I will send out an invite for both, Coffee and Tea toward the end of the break and morning assembly when we return.

School Closure Resources and Tips

We have been curating resources that you can access during times when your child(ren) may need some extra engagement. I am also attaching a document that one of our teachers drafted to support parents as they create opportunities for their children to focus. Please know that we normally expect 20 minutes of focus, so make sure you create a schedule that allows for body and mind breaks. Also, our students are accustomed to discussion and interaction, so think about times and ways that your child(ren) can interact with others around ideas they are exploring in their remote lessons. Additionally, links to all of our Google classrooms are on this page. You will need login credentials to access them.

Finally, the library can be a lifeline for information and entertainment for families. Please see below a message from Danielle Dyer, children’s librarian at the Venice Public Library.

The Los Angeles Public Library wants to make sure your students have access to the library during this unusual time. Every K-12 LAUSD student should have a Student Success Card which gives students access to our online resources including Tutor.com, eBooks, eAudiobooks, comics, streaming music, movies, etc. If you are having trouble logging in or need to retrieve your information, our administrators have created a page to help you. 

https://www.lapl.org/webform/student-success-

Spring Break

Starting Friday, April 3rd, through Friday, April 10th, school will not be in session. We will be taking a break from remote learning and will resume instruction on Monday, April 13th. Please remember, though, that 30-60 minutes of eyes-on-print reading a day will ensure your child will be at grade or above from third grade and beyond. Take this time to explore all of the online virtual reading your child can do or shop for some texts online. Also, we want to thank all of our area restaurants who have supported us over the years, and we hope that for those that are offering take-out, our families could continue to support them.

Thanks and have a restful Spring Break.

Email Sent on March 27, 2020

Hi Everyone,

Week 2 is done, almost. I know that because of our flexible schedules, many of us work at different hours. Again, I want to reiterate that if there is anything we can do to be of support, please reach out to me or your child’s teacher. Our goal is make this process as easy as possible.

We will be schoolwide Google classroom on Monday, and our website will have links to each teacher’s classroom, but you will need your child’s email and password to access the classroom, which you can get from your child’s teacher. I added more resources that you can use to supplement the learning, so please avail yourselves of those if you feel the need or desire.

I will send out the link for our morning assembly on Monday, 08:00 AM, this Sunday. I am still trying to increase my maximum number of participants, which I feel is possible, so once that is accomplished, I will send out the invite. Kindergarten families have asked if they can join, so that’s fine. The only thing I ask is that each family sign in once, so if there are multiple members in the household, that would mean one sign in.  That will enable as many community members to join as possible.

I think that’s it for now. Thanks so much for your continued engagement. I am proud of what we have been able to accomplish, and I know it came with lots of hard work and patience. Get some rest, find a spot to lie still and look at the sky, talk a long walk, dance and move your body, read a compelling book, eat a great meal, drink your favorite beverage, and have hope. We will get there, together. Thanks.

Email Sent on March 25, 2020

Dear CDA Community,

This email comes because there were some additional updates that I needed to share with you. As a reminder, I will be emailing only on Mondays, but if there are updates that I feel you need to have before the next Monday, I will email them on Wednesdays or Fridays. Below are some updates that I felt you needed before this Monday, March 30th.

Friday and Minimum Days

This Friday, March 27th, and next Monday through Thursday, March 30th – April 2nd, have been designated as minimum days (8:05 AM – 12:35 PM) by the district so that teachers have time to learn more about the online platforms available for at-home, distance learning. As you know, our teachers were given very little time to prepare for this transition, and it has been a learn-as-you-go situation these past 12 days. We are all very proud of what we have been able to accomplish, and your thoughtful feedback to us has proven that we have been able to accomplish what we may have thought at the outset unimaginable. Please expect lighter days of work for those 5 days, and if you are able, have your children catch up on work, pursue a passion, play games, move their bodies, and engage in fun, home projects. I would imagine there a few closets out there that could use some reorganizing or perhaps you have a budding chef in your house!

In addition, this Friday is not only a minimum day, it is also a day when teachers have been asked to engage in professional learning all day, so any and all assignments will be ones in which students are expected to engage independently. Teachers will not be scheduling Zoom calls or responding to student work on this day, March 27th. As part of their professional learning, though, they can hold parent meetings, as this is considered professional growth for all of us. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Spring Break and Support

School will not be “in session” on Friday, April 3rd, and April 6th through 10th for Spring Break. While this does not look to be what we would call the most ideal vacation, teachers are not expected to assign and monitor work during this time. Please take this time to have a staycation.

I want to be sensitive to the fact that some of our families may be experiencing the consequences of the economic downturn that the health crisis is causing. Please know that all of you are in our thoughts as we navigate these turbulent waters. I am here as needed if you need any support during this time. Attached is a resource and below is a number you can call if you feel you need support beyond what our school may be able to provide.

COVID-19 Hotline for Families: (213) 443-1300

Morning Assembly by Zoom: March 30, 2020

I am going to try to hold a morning assembly for students, grades 1-5, on Monday, March 30th. I have Zoom Pro, and I think with the added benefits that have been offered, I could host up to 500 participants. I have so enjoyed connecting with our students and families through our teachers’ Zoom sessions, but I thought it would be nice to build in some of our own weekly calls to maintain our strong ties. Please look for an invite on Friday that you can use to join me on Monday, 08:00 AM. All participants will be muted upon entry, but I will see if hearing from participants may be something I can manage. Also, it would help me if when you sign in, you name the participant as your child or children. For instance, if there is more than one child in the household, you could name them as “Juan and Sophia Garcia”. That will help me as I speak to everyone. The call/assembly will last no longer than 30 minutes.

Coffee and Tea with the Principal: April 13, 2020

To keep our community together and vital, I am also going to hold our monthly Coffee and Tea via Zoom on Monday, April 13th. I need to check with our teachers to see what time works best, but based on current schedules, I think we can expect to meet for 45 minutes at 08:00 AM. Again I will send out the invite prior to the call.

Grab and Go Food Centers

Please don’t forget that our district still has operational Grab and Go Centers where families can pick up two meals for each family member from 07:00 AM until 10:00 AM. The two sites closest to our school are Palms Middle School and Marina Del Rey Middle School.

Conclusion

I feel like there is something that I may be missing, but we have another email on Friday when I will send out the Zoom invite, so I will add any additional updates then. I will also be sending out a robocall later today. If you are not receiving robocalls or these emails, please email me directly.

Finally, I wanted to share a really special tweet that a parent of ours sent me and really touched me. It embodies so many of the sentiments you have shared with me these past 12 days. We are so lucky to have you as our partners. Please know how much we know you appreciate us and that the feeling is very mutual. We miss our students and families and look forward to the day when we can all be back together physically.

Have a great rest of the week. Stay well and strong.

Email Sent on March 23, 2020

Dear CDA Community,

Happy Monday! I hope that everyone was able to enjoy some time to relax this past weekend. I feel so encouraged by all of the ways we have managed this health crisis as a community. Thank you so much for all of your feedback, both positive and constructive. It helps as we adjust to this new way of learning and communicating.

Our teachers and I have been meeting virtually to shore up our learning plans now that we know we will be out of school longer than 2 weeks (see below). Please make sure to read the emails from your children’s teachers so that all of our students have access to online learning and communication. If there is anything that we can do to make this new way of learning easier for you, please email your teachers and/or me. We are here to support you through this process.

I have updated our website with online platforms that you can use as a supplement to the work that is being assigned. (See also two attachments.)  I recently discovered that some districts gave their teachers an entire week to plan for their student’s remote learning. Our teachers only had 24 hours and have been adding to these plans on the weekends, during their assigned work time, and in the evenings. Based on stories I have been hearing from other schools and parents, I feel that the plans we have in place are substantial. That does not mean that we are not open to suggestions and feedback. We are partners in this work. I just need us all to have some perspective. I know as we always do, we will grow in and refine this work in immeasurable ways as we go.

Please make sure to tune in if you are able to the Superintendent’s address either on KLCS or on their website. I am taping the broadcast, as I will be meeting with our fifth grade team at 11:00 AM.

Thanks for all that you do. I am going to aim to communicate at least once weekly, but given that there may have been information I may have missed, I will email Mondays, and then Wednesdays and Fridays as needed.

Stay well. Thanks.

Email Sent on March 18, 2020

Dear CDA Community,

I wanted to let you know that we have begun to research more robust options for our entire school community to engage in virtual learning if in fact the district decides to act on the governor’s recommendation for longer school closures. Please know that the plans we have in place currently were just meant to be two-week plans, and they were created in less than 24 hours. We appreciate all of the positive and constructive feedback we have received along the way. Right now, what’s most important to me is that you are receiving the communications that your teachers are sending. Please email them if you have not already to let them know that you have received this communication and their most recent one. We need to ensure that we stay connected so that our students maximize the learning opportunities our team is creating for them.

If there are any needs that you have moving forward, please feel free to email me or your teacher. If your teacher cannot meet your needs, s/he will reach out to me.

Finally, we wanted to remind you that Los Angeles Unified is providing meals for families at 60 Grab and Go Food Centers located around the district. The centers are open 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. Monday to Friday, and staff are providing two meals for each person to take home. Our closest centers are at Palms and Marina del Rey Middle Schools. We also want to encourage you to view the educational programming the district is offering on the following television channels: PBS SoCal, KCET, and KLCS. There are age-appropriate shows and lessons which can be a supplement to any student’s learning plan. The shows may also provide an opportunity for you to share in the learning with your children. Locations of the 60 centers and online educational resources can be found on the district’s website.

I hope that you and your family are well and that you remain safe. Thank you.

Email Sent on March 17, 2020

Dear Families,

The message went out below by phone, but there was error in the last sentence. With apologies, if you have any questions during this closure period, please contact Local District West at 310-914-2100, not Local District East. Thanks.

Also, I have asked the teachers to ensure that everyone is receiving our emails. Please let them know if you have not already that you are receiving their emails. Thanks.

This is Principal Jenkins with an important message for parents, guardians and school staff. As you may have become aware, the Districts’ Family Resource Centers will now be Grab and Go Sites,  providing meal distribution. Starting tomorrow, between 7:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m., families can stop by one of our sites and pick up two meals daily. District staff, in collaboration with the Red Cross, will be on site to support the distribution of the meals. All of our families are welcome to stop by and pick up 2 meals per child, as needed, during the District-wide closure.  Local District West Grab and Go Centers are : Audubon MS, Bernstein HS, Bret Harte MS, Cochran MS, Dorsey HS, Fairfax HS, Marina del Rey MS, Muir MS, Palms MS, University HS, and Washington HS.

I hope everyone is well. We miss you. Thanks.

Email Sent on March 15, 2020

Dear CDA Community,

I know that everyone is probably busy preparing for our district’s shutdown and other restrictions. I encourage you to stay up-to-date with the news, as developments occur daily. We have linked all of our resources on our website, thanks to our teachers and Kaz, a parent volunteer who supports our site. We will continue to link resources as we come across them.

I have reached out to some families whose children were not in school on Friday to let them know that their teachers left materials for them. I will only be at school tomorrow from 07:00 AM until 10:00 AM to give these out. It would be good to know if you are stopping by, so please email me. Ms. Ricks will be there with me. Only our custodial staff will be onsite during the closure. The rest of us will be working remotely for now. Please make sure to reach out to your child’s teacher to support your remote learning plans. We want to make sure our students stay engaged in learning during the closure.

One of our teachers shared with her families that she recently heard of companies such as Charter/Spectrum that are offering free internet to households of students (K-college level), who do not already have a Spectrum Broadband subscription, for the next 60 days. (844) 488-8395 is the number to call to see if you are eligible.

I know there are some businesses offering fee meals. I have attached a flyer from Sharky’s, and also one of our teachers shared with her families that The Dream Center, located at 2301 Bellevue Ave, Los Angeles 90026, is offering free meals for LAUSD students.  You can show up between the hours of 7:30 am and 6:30 pm starting Monday, March 16. Finally, LAUSD will be opening 40 resource centers on Wednesday. You should expect communication from our superintendent about that resource.

I will continue to email you as necessary with any essential updates. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions.

Email Sent on March 13, 2020

Dear CDA Community,

You should have received the communication from our superintendent below. I wanted to share some quick updates. There will be more updates to follow.

  1. School and aftercare will run as usual today. Our office closes at 4:00 PM, and aftercare ends at 6:00 PM. Our teachers will be communicating to our students the news of the two-week closure.
  2. Your classroom teachers will be emailing by end of day today their two week continuity of learning plans. For those families who requested them, hard copies will come home today. I am also working with our webmaster to post them on our website. I will let you know when that happens.
  3. If you need a hard copy and had not requested one, you can pick one up after 12:35 PM today through 4:00 PM. I will be here on Monday, so you can also pick one up on Monday starting at 7:00 AM through 4:00 PM.
  4. Devices will be going home today with those students whose families requested them. We ask that you have the at-home device agreement in place (attached), which you can either email to your classroom teacher or drop by our main office. The devices need to be well cared for and returned when we resume instruction.
  5. If you have not requested hard copies or devices and need one or both, you can do that today through your teacher or with me starting on Monday.
  6. Our teachers will not be on site during the closure, but they will be available by email and will be working with their families to stay connected to their students.
  7. All absences today will be marked as excused, principal discretion.

I know this has been a difficult time for all of us, but I could not have asked for a more professional response from our team at school and a more supportive, calm response from you, our families. It is times like these that we are reminded of the strength we have built together as a community. Feel free to continue to reach out to me with questions. I have been doing my best to respond quickly to them so you have the information that you need.

We look forward to seeing everyone back on Monday, March 30, 2020, unless there have been other developments. Stay healthy and keep up to date on recommendations to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. Thanks.

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