Letter from the Superintendent
June 26, 2020
Dear Parents and Guardians,
I hope this letter finds you and your family safe and healthy. On March 13th Washington Unified, along with most school districts in the state of CA and across the nation, was forced into the unfortunate circumstance to close our schools. Since that point in time, we have been working diligently to find the best possible educational solutions for our students. While we all hope that we can soon move past the implications of COVID-19, we must plan for the current reality that school will look different when we open the fall semester on August 18th. Our priorities for serving our children remain the same. We aspire to provide a safe learning environment that promotes healthy and rigorous educational programs that meet the needs of our students.
On a weekly and sometimes daily basis, we receive guidance and information from a variety of resources that are guiding our decision making. These resources come from the Governor’s office, CA Department of Education, CA Health Department, Center for Disease Control, Fresno County Superintendent of Schools office and the local Fresno County Health Department. Those entities provide the information and guidance needed to lay out the framework of what school will look like in the fall. One of the most significant impacts of COVID-19 is the need to create an environment that maintains social distancing and face coverings. With that in mind, we will open the fall in a blended learning format. This means students will have a combination of in-seat instruction combined with distance learning. The in-seat portion will be in an environment that includes daily health screenings for every student/staff member arriving on campus, required face coverings when 6-foot social distancing cannot be attained, frequent cleaning and sanitation which include not only the cleaning of spaces/surfaces but also hand washing and the use of sanitizer.
Transportation will also be impacted significantly. At this point with the social distancing requirement buses would only be able to accommodate 12-15 students. Over 40% of our students currently utilize the bus to get to and from school. It is not possible to transport that number of students at this point. Until these guidelines are no longer required, we will need parents/guardians to arrange transportation to and from school on the days and times their child is scheduled. We know this creates a significant added burden on your schedules and we will work in every way possible to support you.
In the coming weeks, each of our school sites will be communicating the specific schedules for each of our students. Our goal is to maximize the amount of kids we can safely have on campus under current guidelines. As the guidelines change, we will continue to update you on new developments.
Be Safe,
Randy Morris