Dear Fontana USD Team Members:

Thank you to all of you who have been serving our Fontana USD scholars, their families, and our entire community during these times of crisis and high need. I also want to thank community organizers, education advocates, and businesses who have quickly pulled resources together to help ease the impact during this fluid environment.  We are in unprecedented times. The health concerns caused by the Coronavirus have affected all of us in some way.  I am truly grateful to all of you who are “leading from the seats that you sit in” for acting diligently to reduce the incidence of the Coronavirus spread.

Over the past week, I have received many calls, texts, and emails from administrators, teachers, staff, parents, and community members regarding the process of closing schools, staffing essential services, and what is next.  I want to remind all of us that we are in unprecedented times. There are currently more questions than answers. Please be assured that whether it is at our local, state, or federal level, we are only getting information as quickly as it comes and disseminating it accordingly. We are in a very fluid situation that changes very quickly. As leaders, we do not have all the answers, but we hope to share what we know when it becomes available.

Although our schools are closed, we are still required to provide essential services to our school community.  Here’s some guidance given by the CDE that may help you all understand why some of you are possibly working during this crisis:

School Meal Guidance

• Schools that are approved to operate National School Lunch Program Seamless Summer Option or Summer Food Service Program can continue to serve meals during COVID-19 at school sites that are closed and offer shelf-stable meals for multiple days.
• To be eligible for federal reimbursement, meals can be served to all children where 50 percent or more of the children are eligible for free and reduced-price meals.  In communities with less than 50 percent free or reduced-priced meals, meal service must be focused on children who qualify.
• Schools do not need to distribute meals on-site and can distribute them at another site that is accessible and convenient to the community.  It is also recommended that meals are consumed offsite, but may be consumed onsite if social distancing and sanitation guidelines are followed.
• To ensure families are aware of the availability of meals, a wide range of communication in multiple languages should be considered, such as public announcements on radio or television.

Care and Supervision Guidance

• LEAs that have physically closed should develop a plan to ensure students are supervised during school hours.  Options include (1) using school sites as a pop-up childcare or (2) partnering with local resource and referral agencies to connect families with care, and providing families with a list of programs that remain open.

Distance Learning Guidance

The guidance is meant to assist LEAs in creating high-quality distance learning during the pandemic.  The ability of LEAs to create these programs will be challenged by the present circumstances.  However, to the extent the district can create these programs, a careful review of this section will help assist in this process.  Highlights include:

• A curated list of resources that will support educators and students with an online educational platform.
• Strategies to help teachers keep students engaged while learning remotely.  This includes being present as an instructor, encouraging group learning, and avoiding assigning long text passages or videos.
• It provides best practices to ensure resources are accessible for all students, specifically our students with disabilities, English learners, and economically disadvantaged pupils.

You can find additional information here: https://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/he/hn/guidance.asp?utm_source=All+Member+031620&utm_campaign=9be221eaa1-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_03_18_01_39&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_7bab94cb24-9be221eaa1-276148845

There are other requirements in the area of Special Education, Social Emotional and Mental Health, along with other areas of focus that I hope to write about soon.

Please remember, that we are all going through this together. This will be a very bumpy ride. As 1/5 of your governance team, I truly understand your frustration. Many of you will be asked to serve our community. During a large-scale disaster or as we are in this COVID 19 crisis, we as public employees are by law disaster service workers.

I ask each of you to please not attack your administration or leadership teams. We are all going to try to get through this as best as we can. Please be patient through this process!

Thank you for your cooperation and understanding!

In partnership,

Mars Serna
Vice President
Fontana USD Board of Education