Superintendent Kern's message to employees – March 20, 2020

Superintendent Kern

Fri 3/20/2020 5:01 PM

Good afternoon, 

I wanted to take some time to reflect on the events that have unfolded in the past week and express how thankful I am to be a part of a district so committed to the wellbeing of our students and families.  

Last Friday’s decision to close our schools was not an easy one to make, as I want to have our students in our schools learning and accessing the supports they need. However, due to the rapidly changing COVID-19 situation, we wanted to make sure that students and staff were as safe as possible during mitigation efforts.  

Despite it being such a challenging time, there are a few key moments that have stood out to me with the work that has taken place this week: 

• Our Nutrition Services team activated 27 school sites for meal distribution to our students. I had the chance to visit three schools on Tuesday and two on Wednesday and was amazed at the level of support our staff and community provided to make sure our students are being fed during the closure. I am proud that we have already provided thousands of meals to youth in our community.  
• Our Professional Learning and Curriculum Innovation team acted fast to develop a comprehensive San Juan C.A.R.E.S. document sharing enrichment resources with our families. This document is available in multiple languages thanks to our committed translation team.  
• While not an easy task, our teacher practitioners have quickly shifted to holding virtual office hours to support our students. I appreciate their willingness to be creative and take on this new challenge. 

There is still a lot of work that needs to be done. Earlier today we shared an update about our distance learning planning that is underway. We will be establishing professional learning and collaborative communities to support practitioners as they adopt distance learning techniques. We are also working on a plan to distribute technology to students who do not have a device at home. It is our intent that every senior, who meets requirements, is able to graduate this June and that all of our students can access quality learning during this closure.  

I appreciate your flexibility as we work through this situation and will continue to communicate with all employees as new details emerge. I also encourage you to visit www.sanjuan.edu/COVID19 and share this resource with others. 

Lastly and most importantly, my sincere hope is that all employees are focusing on self-care – maintaining wellness during these uncertain times is essential. Please stay safe, healthy and keep your spirits up. 

Have a great weekend. 

-Superintendent Kent Kern