The Cloverdale Unified School District Board of Trustees is gathering over Zoom this Wednesday, Sept. 23 for a special board meeting. The special meeting will primarily be covering items that were also up for discussion at the last board meeting — an addendum to the Washington and Jefferson school lease leaseback agreements, discussion and review of the district’s Learning Continuity and Attendance Plan and discussion and review of the district’s school reopening plan — the board will also be discussing athletic conditioning. The virtual meeting will take place over Zoom at 6 p.m. To view the meeting agenda, including the Zoom login information, click here.
Learning Continuity and Attendance Plan
The district’s Learning Continuity and Attendance Plan was presented for public hearing at the CUSD meeting on Sept. 9. The plan will be coming back to the board on Wednesday for final approval.
Rather than create a Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP), districts are creating Learning Continuity and Attendance Plans that are used to outline district goals for distance learning, as well as account for uses of distance learning-specific funding and state-set requirements for learning.
“The Learning Continuity and Attendance Plan really and is intended to be an accountability tool and a communication tool with our stakeholders. It does not get evaluated, judged, approved by the state or by the county. It’s something that we developed to share with our community so the community has a way to understand our planning,” Cloverdale Superintendent Betha MacLain said during the meeting on Sept. 9.
Districts are required to provide certain types of support for students, parents and staff during distance learning. Some of what has to be provided includes access to digital resources; feedback and assessment on student progress; support for English learners, special education students and foster and homeless students; and it has to address learning loss through supplemental services. Districts also have to list out how they’re spending learning loss mitigation funds from the state and how they’re working to provide social and emotional learning for students, mental health services, as well as other areas.
According to the agenda item, minor edits and additions were made to the plan since the public hearing, including the addition of two bilingual liaison positions to support Spanish-speaking families during distance learning.
Reopening Plan
Following the creation of the district’s reopening plan for the 2020-21 school year, the board has asked MacLain to present regular reports on the reopening plan, as well as any updated timelines for reopening and recommendations that the district may have for the board.
At a meeting in August, the district decided to reevaluate whether or not it could pivot to a hybrid learning model by Sept. 25. Sonoma County is still under the state’s “purple tier,” meaning schools as a whole can’t reopen for hybrid learning. However, K-6 schools in the county are able to submit applications for waivers to reopen in small cohorts. When asked if the district plans to pursue a waiver with the county, MacLain said that the district isn’t planning on pursuing a waiver but is looking at ways to bring small groups of high-needs students back.
Athletic Conditioning
Following a discussion during the Sept. 9 board meeting, a presentation about athletic conditioning was requested. Guidance on athletic conditioning was issued by the North Coast Section (NCS) over the summer and summer rules have been extended for the traditional school year through December.
The NCS has put forth a two-part plan regarding skill development, workouts and practices. Each guideline varies depending on type of sport and, regardless of NCS plan, districts have to follow the guidelines of the counties they reside in, including gathering numbers and maintaining social distance.
The presentation will also include comparisons to other districts in the county, some of which have already or are planning to start conditioning. According to the district, Cloverdale athletes are currently not participating in practice or conditioning, however students are informally practicing off-campus independently from the district.
