Sweetwater Union High School District

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May 26, 2020

Dear Students and Families of the Sweetwater Union High School District,

Graduations are a time-honored tradition that the entire community looks forward to every year. Unfortunately, because of the impacts of COVID-19, we have had to make adjustments to these traditions in 2020 in order to ensure the safety and security of our students, our families, our staff, and the entire Sweetwater Union High School District Community.

In late April we surveyed Seniors and their families to ask how they were feeling about graduation ceremonies. It was very clear that the great majority, 81% of students and 90% of families, believe that some type of graduation ceremony is important. The majority of students and families also believe that the ceremony should be delayed.

Given that as of now, the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency Public Health Orders still prevent public events and gatherings, graduation ceremonies in the Sweetwater Union High School District are postponed.

Graduation events will be considered in late July/early August under the guidelines of San Diego County Public Health Orders at that time. If a graduation event is not possible at that time, the events will be postponed until December 2020.

In the meantime, schools will be keeping in contact with our Seniors and families to keep them up to date on any updates and changes. We appreciate the Class of 2020 and look forward to celebrating with you!

Stay safe and stay well. #InThisTogether

In Unity,

Karen Janney, Ed.D.
Superintendent

May 1, 2020

Dear Sweetwater Union High School District Students, Families, and Staff,

First, we hope that you and the ones you love and care for are navigating these very unique times as well as possible. We trust you and yours are managing to maintain good spirits – despite all the life changes and associated hardships – and staying out of harm’s way.

Second, we want to thank and recognize our amazing Nutrition Services staff. May 1, 2020 is School Lunch Hero Day and we thank them for serving our community and distributing almost 700,000 meals in the past six weeks.

Speaking of heroes, May 4-8, 2020 is National Teacher Appreciation Week, and May 6, 2020 is National School Nurses Day. More than ever, their efforts are very much appreciated, and we thank our teachers and nurses in Sweetwater. Look for more information about both of these recognition events in the coming week.

This week you may have heard that California Governor Gavin Newsom mentioned that he was considering that the 2020-2021 school year may re-open in late July. While Sweetwater and our South County elementary districts have started school in July for many years, State Superintendent Tony Thurmond stated that all schools have some major questions that need to be answered before we consider physically reopening schools, especially being able to maintain the health and safety of our students and staff.

Governor Newsom also made it very clear that there is a “roadmap” that we must follow in order to reopen the economy and public services in a multi-phase approach. You can view more detailed information about that here.

We know that South County has been impacted the greatest by COVID-19 and as we work towards what will happen in the coming months, we will continue to work with the San Diego County Office of Education and San Diego County Public Health Department in determining how, and when, to return students and staff safely to school.

Finally, we want to share with you some of the results of the survey we sent out to Seniors and their families. It was very clear that the great majority, 81% of students and 90% of families, believe that some type of graduation ceremony is important. The majority of students and families also believe that the ceremony should be delayed. Only 9% of students and 12% of families were in favor of a virtual event. Therefore, as of now, we will plan to host some form of a physical graduation ceremony at a later date.

That being said, schools are working very hard to find ways to recognize their Seniors and 8^th graders now, and especially the last week of school June 1-5. Several schools have already begun to reach out and do some type of recognition and much will depend on any State and County public health guidelines. As a district we will continue to work with each community to find a plan of action that best meets the needs of our students. Please continue to monitor the district website at www.sweetwaterschools.org for all the latest information and follow us on social media – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

Please remember the new expectation: when you leave your place, cover your face!

Stay safe,

Estimados estudiantes, familias y personal del distrito escolar de Sweetwater,

Primeramente, esperamos que usted y sus seres queridos estén navegando estos momentos únicos de la mejor manera posible. Confiamos en que usted y su familia se estén manteniendo de buen espíritu, a pesar de todos los cambios en la vida y las dificultades asociadas, y que se estén manteniendo fuera de peligro.

Segundo, queremos agradecer y reconocer a nuestro increíble personal de Servicios de Nutrición. El 1 de mayo de 2020 es el Día del Héroe del Almuerzo Escolar y les agradecemos por servir a nuestra comunidad y distribuir casi 700,000 comidas en las últimas seis semanas.

Hablando de héroes, del 4 al 8 de mayo de 2020 es la Semana Nacional de Apreciación de Maestros, y el 6 de mayo de 2020 es el Día Nacional de Enfermeras Escolares. Más que nunca, sus esfuerzos son muy apreciados, y agradecemos a nuestros maestros y enfermeras en Sweetwater. Más información sobre estos dos eventos de reconocimiento será distribuido en la próxima semana.

Es posible que esta semana haya escuchado que el gobernador de California Gavin Newsom mencionó que estaba considerando que el año escolar 2020-2021 podría reabrir a fines de julio. Aunque Sweetwater y todos los distritos escolares del sur del condado tienen muchos años comensando el año escolar en julio, el superintendente estatal Tony Thurmond declaró que todas las escuelas tienen varias preguntas importantes que deben responderse antes de considerar la reapertura física de las escuelas, especialmente para poder mantener la salud y la seguridad de nuestros estudiantes y personal.

El Gobernador Newsom también dejó muy claro que hay una “hoja de ruta” que debemos seguir para reabrir la economía y los servicios públicos en un enfoque de múltiples fases. Puede ver información más detallada al respecto aquí.

Sabemos que COVID-19 ha tenido más impacto en el Sur del Condado de San Diego y a medida que trabajamos para lograr lo que sucederá en los próximos meses, continuaremos trabajando con la Oficina de Educación del Condado de San Diego y el Departamento de Salud Pública del Condado de San Diego para determinar cómo y cuándo devolver a los alumnos y al personal de manera segura a la escuela.

Finalmente, queremos compartir con ustedes algunos de los resultados de la encuesta que enviamos a estudiantes del duodécimo año y sus padres. Es muy claro que la gran mayoría, el 81% de los estudiantes y el 90% de las familias, creen que algún tipo de ceremonia de graduación es importante. La mayoría de los estudiantes y las familias también creen que la ceremonia debería retrasarse. Solo el 9% de los estudiantes y el 12% de las familias estaban a favor de un evento virtual. Por lo tanto, a partir de ahora, planeamos organizar algún tipo de ceremonia de graduación física en una fecha posterior.

Dicho esto, las escuelas están trabajando muy duro para encontrar formas de reconocer a sus estudiantes de último año y de octavo grado, y especialmente la última semana de clases del 1 al 5 de junio. Varias escuelas ya han comenzado a acercarse y hacer algún tipo de reconocimiento y mucho dependerá de las pautas de salud pública de del estado y condado. Como distrito, continuaremos trabajando con cada comunidad para encontrar un plan de acción que satisfaga mejor las necesidades de nuestros estudiantes. Siga monitoreando el sitio web del distrito en www.sweetwaterschools.org para obtener la información más reciente y síganos en las redes sociales: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram y YouTube.

¡Gracias!