New Communication to Families! Get Important Informa...

March 1, 2021 Dear Solana Beach School District Families, Today marks the official day the Solana Beach School District has returned all Onsite Scholars in Kindergarten through grade 6 to school four full days a week! With each milestone of our phasing in plans, I can honestly say that students, teachers, and school staff are happy to be back on campus with their classmates and colleagues. I am beyond proud of our employees’ Herculean efforts, from our teachers to our Maintenance and Operations staff to those in our Technology Department. It is a prime example of, “It takes a village.” We ask that our families continue the good work at home and out in the community as we maintain our 15 above and beyond health and safety mitigation measures to keep moving forward. Please read through this entire email for important information, including information regarding the 2021-22 school year calendar. Date Change for This Week’s Winter Asymptomatic Testing Please see the revised schedule for details about the final day of testing for this cycle.  New Date! Testing Site Participants to be Tested (By Last Name) Wednesday, March 3, 2021 Solana Ranch Sk-Z Vaccinations for K-12 School Employees Announced K-12 school employees in San Diego County recently learned that on Saturday, February 27, vaccines would be made available on a priority basis. Eligibility for school employees is ranked through a combination of criteria, including health equity factors and potential risk of exposure, starting with schools in the hardest hit areas. Those schools most impacted are designated as quartile 4 and will be among the first eligible for the vaccine. Currently, all SBSD schools are designated as quartile 1 schools and teachers will be scheduled for vaccinations later in the cycle. District administration will be notified when our employees are eligible to make appointments through the California Schools Voluntary Employees Benefits Association (VEBA) portal. Earlier Start to School on 2021-22 Calendar As shared following the June 25, 2020, regular meeting, SBSD’s Board of Education adopted school calendars for the following years: 2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24. The adopted calendars were posted to the District’s website in July 2020 in order to allow for long-range planning for staff and families.  The first day of school for students in the 2021-22 school year is Monday, August 16, 2021.  As with previous school calendar adoptions, SBSD and other surrounding elementary district calendars are aligned with the San Dieguito Union High School District.  Planning for the 2021-22 School Year Planning is underway for the 2021-22 school year, and I am thrilled to say that we are well ahead of last year’s schedule. Staff has been gathering feedback from teachers, staff, and families in an effort to guide our planning. Staff will present preliminary plans for a five-day school week instructional model and an online learning model at the Board of Education’s regularly scheduled meeting on Thursday, March 11, 2021. We welcome you to attend the meeting via the Zoom link which will be posted on SBSD’s BoardDocs website prior to the meeting.  As always, I appreciate the determination, support, encouragement, and patience exhibited by our SBSD staff and families as we finalized phasing in more students, more days per week.   Sincerely, Jodee Brentlinger, Superintendent Upcoming Board of Education Meeting March 11, 2021, 6:30 p.m. A Spanish translation prepared by District staff will soon be available on our website. La traducción al español estará disponible próximamente en nuestro sitio web. A Chinese translation prepared by District staff will soon be available on our website. 我们即将在学区网站上提供中文的翻译版本

Tuesday, Mar 02 2021

New! SBSD Board Bulletin for Meeting on February 11,...

Board Meeting on February 11, 2021 (Photo: Guiding Principle and Phasing In Schedule slide from the Teaching and Learning presentation, which is featured below) Highlights from the Meeting Teaching and Learning Instructional Services staff provided an update to the Board on the District’s progress with phasing in more students, more days per week to onsite instruction at each of its campuses. Most recently, onsite sixth graders returned to their campuses four days per week. Phasing in fifth grade students (February 22, 2021) and fourth grade students (March 1, 2021) will continue, pending state and county health orders. View the Teaching and Learning Board Presentation in its entirety here. Board Directions and Actions Solana Beach Schools Foundation Donates to SBSD Online Scholars The Board accepted a donation from the Solana Beach Schools Foundation to the District’s Online Scholars model in the amount of $1,250 to assist with Discovery Labs for Online Scholars. Additionally, the Solana Beach Elementary PTA made a donation of $3,500.00 to support the school's personnel, materials, and supplies for the 2020-21 school year and a donation of $5,000.00 to support the school's garden for the 2020-21 school year. Updates to Comprehensive School Safety Plans Adopted Senate Bill 187, Comprehensive School Safety Plans, requires school districts to develop comprehensive school safety plans for each school for which the District is responsible. SBSD’s Comprehensive School Safety Plan Committees, comprised of representatives from each school site, met to update their individual safety plans for the 2020-21 school year. The Board voted unanimously to approve all safety plans. School Accountability Report Cards for 2019-20 Approved and Posted The Board annually approves School Accountability Report Cards (SARCs) for all SBSD schools as part of its regular review of the effectiveness of district programs, personnel, and fiscal operations. SARCs for 2019-20 were posted to the District’s website by February 1 in accordance with Education Code 35256. SARCs may be viewed online at www.sbsd.net , or paper copies are available upon request at every school and at the District Office. Board Approves Additional Language for SBTA-SBSD Tentative MOU The Board voted to approve additional language negotiated as part of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Solana Beach Teachers Association and the District, originally approved on August 13, 2020, September 24, 2020, and October 29, 2020. Additional language is related to phasing in grades 4-6 and can be found on the SBSD Board Docs web page . The current Collective Bargaining Agreement remains in force except for MOU modifications effective through June 30, 2021. Upcoming Board Meeting Join Us Again! The Solana Beach School District is currently hosting all Board meetings via Zoom video conferencing. Join us using the link below: SBSD Board meeting link Special Board Meeting Scheduled for February 25, 2021, 2:00 p.m. Next Regular Board Meeting Scheduled for March 11, 2021, 6:30 p.m. A Spanish translation prepared by District staff will soon be available on our website. La traducción al español estará disponible próximamente en nuestro sitio web. A Chinese translation prepared by District staff will soon be available on our website. 我们即将在学区网站上提供中文的翻译版本 Follow Us!  #SBSDEDU

Saturday, Feb 13 2021

Calling on Students, Families and Community Members ...

February 8, 2021 Dear Solana Beach School District Families, With the recent adoption of a new Memorable Mission and Vivid Vision by the Board of Education and with gratitude to the collaborative work of our Imagining Our Vivid Vision Committee, the Solana Beach School District has launched its Logo Design Contest. The deadline for all logo design submissions is 4:00 p.m. on Friday, February 19, 2021. Memorable Mission:  Where learners find their voice, share their gifts, and advance the world Vivid Vision:  Inspiring wonder and discovery in learning and life We are now poised to adopt a new logo which will graphically embody our reimagined charge for students, staff, and community members. SBSD’s Logo Design Contest is open to current and former students, staff, parents/guardians, and members of our communities. A contest flyer is attached for you and details are posted on our website,  www.sbsd.net . Criteria: What Makes A Great SBSD Logo? Reflects SBSD's Mission Simple Memorable Distinctive Timeless Appropriate Conveys an intended message Must work well in color and black and white designs Logo Submission: How Does Someone Enter? Entries must be in digital format (PDF or JPEG) and less than 1MB No more than three (3) colors File name example (Smith.Jane.jpeg)  Include name, email, address, phone number, and affiliation (e.g. current student, employee, etc.) Email to l ogocontest@sbsd.net A Logo Design Contest subcommittee will convene March 1, 2021, to review all submissions. The winning logo and artist will be announced March 11, 2021! We welcome entries from families, students (both current and former), staff, and members of our communities, so please share this information with anyone you think might be interested. Thank you for supporting SBSD’s Logo Design Contest! Sincerely, Jodee Brentlinger, Superintendent

Monday, Feb 08 2021

Watch SBSD's New Spotlight on Scholars Video - Winte...

February 5, 2021 Good Afternoon SBSD Families, I am happy to share with you the Solana Beach School District's latest Spotlight on Scholars video newsletter for winter 2021. Please enjoy this glimpse into student learning in both our Online Scholars and Onsite Scholars models. SBSD Spotlight on Scholars Video Winter 2021 Sincerely, Jodee Brentlinger, Superintendent

Friday, Feb 05 2021

New! SBSD's Board Bulletin for January 21, 2021, Reg...

Board Meeting on January 21, 2021 SBSD leadership joins the California School Boards Association in encouraging our communities, organizations, mayors, and other local officials to designate January as School Board Recognition Month, a time to recognize the hard work of our Board members and the important role they play in our schools and communities. View the Board appreciation presentation . (Photo: In addition to Superintendent Jodee Brentlinger and all departmental and Child Development Center leadership, SBSD Principals shared their appreciation for the Board of Education at the January 21, 2021, regular meeting). Highlights from the Meeting Teaching and Learning SBSD Online Scholars Principal Angie Tremble and Assistant Principal Roderick Gayta presented results of its December 2020 Climate Survey for families, staff, and students. Survey questions covered three areas emphasized in the Online Scholars model: 1) student engagement, 2) school culture, and 3) community. Responses from each of the three groups provided valuable positive feedback about continuity in learning, while also highlighting areas of opportunity. Details of the survey can be found in the Teaching and Learning presentation link below. Staff also presented the Board with a status update on the District’s continued phasing in of more students, more days per week, and details on next steps. View the Teaching and Learning Board Presentation in its entirety here. Board Directions and Actions Imagining Our Vivid Vision: Board Adopts New District Mission Statement and Vivid Vision; District Logo Contest Begins Now Like many successful organizations, SBSD recognizes that people are more likely to commit to an organization’s mission, vision, values, and goals if they share the same aspirations. In October 2019, the District launched Imagining Our Vivid Vision to update its mission statement, create a vivid vision, and develop a student promotion profile. The Vivid Vision Committee, made up of teachers, classified support staff, parents, leadership, and community members from across the District, renewed its work amidst the pandemic and shared its recommendations with the Board. Board members voted unanimously to adopt the committee’s recommendations as follows: Memorable Mission: Where learners find their voice, share their gifts, and advance the world Vivid Vision:  Inspiring wonder and discovery in learning and life  The statements are intentionally short and concise so that our youngest learners to our most seasoned community members can remember, recite, understand, and live the words. SBSD is now poised to create a new logo which will graphically symbolize our new charge for students, staff, and our communities. SBSD’s logo contest launched January 25 and is open to current and former students, staff, parents/guardians, and community members. A contest flyer and details (as previewed above) are posted at www.sbsd.net and in social media. Upcoming Board Meeting Join Us Again! The Solana Beach School District is currently hosting all Board meetings via Zoom video conferencing. Join us using the link below: SBSD Board meeting link Next Regular Board Meeting Scheduled for February 11, 2021, 6:30 p.m. Follow Us!  #SBSDEDU

Tuesday, Jan 26 2021

New! Communication to Families - Phasing In Grades 4...

January 22, 2021 Dear Solana Beach School District Families, Last night, at the regularly scheduled Board of Education meeting, staff received unanimous support regarding direction to proceed with phasing in grades 4-6 students, as well as a modified minimum rainy-day schedule in the event of heavy inclement weather. Please be sure to read the details surrounding these topics below.  Rainy-Day/Inclement-Weather Schedules With the forecast of stormy weather approaching over the next two weeks, I want to share that each school site has developed plans for rainy days that on most days will not have an impact on the daily schedule for staff, students, and families. However, other days may include heavy or successive rain, preventing students from eating lunch outdoors. Therefore, on these days, there may be a need to implement a modified minimum day schedule. If so, lunch schedules would be adjusted so that students would be released from school to eat lunch at home. Students who purchase a school lunch will be able to take their meal home with them.  Currently, all students eat their meals outside. In the event that this cannot be accommodated due to the outside eating areas being saturated by heavy rain and/or exposed to strong winds, students will be released early to return home for lunch. We realize this is an inconvenience for our families; however, we know that when health and safety mitigation measures are not implemented consistently, it poses additional risks to our staff and students. Our goal remains to keep our campuses healthy and safe, and prevent transmission and quarantine of students and staff.  Please look for more specific information regarding modified rainy day minimum schedules from your school principal in the next few days. Phasing-In Update As we look forward to the return of our third grade students next Monday, January 25, we can now share the following timeline to return students in grades 4-6 to school four days per week: Grade 6 - Monday, February 8 Grade 5 - Monday, February 22 Grade 4 - Monday, March 1 Bringing back more students will require some of our onsite teachers to move their current classroom locations to areas that offer adjacent learning spaces in order to accommodate all students while maintaining stable groupings. We will be assisting our teachers with this process and greatly appreciate the support, understanding, and patience of our families as we return each grade level to four days per week. Winter Asymptomatic Testing for Onsite Scholars Schedule: 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. On Thursday, January 28, we continue our asymptomatic COVID-19 surveillance testing for our staff and Onsite Scholars students. Please see the schedule below for details regarding further testing dates and sites. Day Testing Site Participants to be Tested (By Last Name) January 28, 2021 Solana Ranch Ci-Gr February 4, 2021 Solana Pacific Gu-Le February 11, 2021 Skyline Li-O February 25, 2021 Solana Pacific P-Si March 4, 2021 Solana Ranch Sk-Z We appreciate the input we have received from our SBSD staff and families as we continue to phase in more students, more days per week. Our Board members and leadership team value all feedback.   Sincerely, Jodee Brentlinger, Superintendent Upcoming Board of Education Meeting February 11, 2021, 6:30 p.m. A Spanish translation prepared by District staff will soon be available on our website. La traducción al español estará disponible próximamente en nuestro sitio web. A Chinese translation prepared by District staff will soon be available on our website. 我们即将在学区网站上提供中文的翻译版本

Friday, Jan 22 2021