On Thursday, June 18, 2020, the Sweetwater District hosted a virtual Town Hall Meeting outlining opening plans for the 2020/21 school year. A huge thank you to all for tuning in to the live broadcast. We had more than one thousand viewers tune in via the districts YouTube channel as plans to open the school year were addressed.
The meeting provided detailed plans of a variety of educational and operational options for students, staff and parents. At this time, the new school year will begin August 3 with distance (virtual) learning as the current option for instruction. Planning for on campus instruction is still being outlined to ensure a safe and secure return for the entire Sweetwater community.
“Part of today’s purpose is to receive input and feedback from parents, families and community members to meet students academic needs,” said Sweetwater District Superintendent Dr. Karen Janney.
The district outlined four guiding principles that steered the town hall conversation in the areas of: health and safety guidelines, flexibility, LCAP Goals and Reinvention. The draft outline reflects the districts plan to address the ever- changing reality to keep students and staff safe while striving for equitable continuity of learning.
For the past several months, the district has worked with LCAP inspired working groups that focused on the current state of family and community engagement, health and safety, systems and equity, and teaching and learning. Through that, the district has and plans to continue to conduct surveys, forums, provide opportunities for committee involvement, circles of collaboration and communication plans to complete that work.
Health and safety essential components were also discussed during the town hall, specifically on district facilities, schools, classrooms, and staff and students. The discussion further detailed plans for implementing social distancing on campus, to potentially detecting/reporting COVID-19 cases.
Distance learning will be supported in several ways, one being the distribution of laptops, iPads and other devices for students in need, as well as mobile hotspots for connectivity. Athletics and use of athletic facilities/equipment will still be restricted until further notice.
Lastly, students will be given the option to enroll fully in the districts online campus, Launch Academy. The virtual instruction option will provide one-to-one online learning as well as college and career support.
We understand not everyone was able to join us for the live Town Hall Meeting. For those unable to attend, the full video can be found via the Sweetwater Districts YouTube channel @ www.youtube.com/suhsdk12
In addition, the district is requesting input from the Sweetwater Community. Input, comments and questions can be provided here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdpRX1blaOEfLDrupn6_WUpIEvfjJo_sSt6zj3TQwyesaDv0g/viewform