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Attention SGTA Members:
We are looking for members to join us for our School Board Elections Planning Meeting. Please attend our meeting TODAY, Friday at 2:00 p.m.! Topic: SGTA Political Action Committee - School Board Election Planning Meeting Time: Jul 31, 2020 02:00 PM Pacific Time Zoom meeting link invite sent to your personal email. Thank you and stay safe, SGTA Executive Board & Political Action Committee
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Attention SGTA Members:
Your negotiations team needed to hear from you regarding virtual academy daily schedules and held emergency meetings on Sunday July 26th. Distance Learning Committee were welcome to join all zooms to have a clear understanding of grade level scheduling concerns. Please keep in mind your Negotiations team has been working tirelessly and there are not enough words to say to extend our gratitude for their tireless efforts! Thank you and stay safe, SGTA Executive Board Board Meeting Highlights and Key Attachments:
Click here for Link to Full Agenda and Complete Attachments Regular Governing Board Meeting 06/21/2020 06:00 PM Virtual Meeting SGTA Board Bullets: for SGUSD School Board Meeting July 21, 2020 1. OPENING PROCEDURE A. CALL TO ORDER at 6:00 aB. ESTABLISHMENT OF QUORUM Quorum established. All members present. 2. REQUESTS TO ADDRESS THE GOVERNING BOARD There were no requests to address the board. 3. RECESS TO CLOSED SESSION at 6:02 A. PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT/APPOINTMENT Principal, Del Mar High School Assistant Principal at Gabrielino High School 4. RECONVENE TO OPEN SESSION approx. 7:00 p.m. A. ANNOUNCEMENT OF ACTION TAKEN IN CLOSED SESSION Action Taken: 5-0 vote Luis Montoyoa as principal of Del Mar 5-0 vote Mr. Nick Genosawski(?) as vice principal of Gabrielino B. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE led by Supt. Jim Symonds C. APPROVAL OF AGENDA No discussion Motioned, Seconded and Approved D. REQUESTS TO ADDRESS THE GOVERNING BOARD Rosalie Cho, Parent - Is it possible for each school to publish a matrix for synchronous learning? Problem is with the inconsistency in subjects. Perhaps teachers of the same subjects can design together? I think it is important for teachers and parents to communicate weekly/monthly what students are learning. Another suggestion is to develop surveys for the parents to respond, and also develop tutors for students to partner. Beth Matoba Husband- New parents. They have been to recent meetings. They have K students. They feel powerless due to lack of communication. Unanswered phone calls. Communication needs to be better. Suggest setting up open forums. We heard about the 2nd survey, but have not received info. How will the Dual Immersion affect children's ability to speak the language sufficiently? Once the Hybrid Model is implemented how does SGUSD plan to handle the CDC policy for younger children wearing masks. It seems unsafe to subject teachers to this environment. It is crucial for parents to know so they can plan and reduce anxiety Kyle Derbriendt, parent- Return to school is complex and no answers. He is in support of a Hybrid model. He attended the last meeting next week. He for all to use the following months to plan. It is important to engage the district. He volunteers to be part of the task force. It will never be 100% safe. This is time for constructive discourse. Solutions in a world of COVID. No more talking about waivers or suing. This is a virus, why is this any different from the Flu (so why is liability a problem). We are a small district and we can be safe by finding solutions. Educational institutions are essential and we need to get them back up and running. Brian Brenthog- Want to express appreciation to teachers and administration. I know the district is balancing social and emotional concerns for students. An absence was social interaction for the student. This may be an even bigger problem in the Dual Immersion programs. I need to mention this concern and also online conversations should be monitored. We understand that this may not be able to be accommodate but I am really proud of our district Karen Dekker, Teacher - 20 years. I appreciate very much the hard work that the task force groups have done. Please consider 1) I would like our district to involve more stakeholders in the Hybrid Model. Asking thoughts and getting details. I would like all of the teachers involved too. 2) What is happening in districts around us? La Canada & South Pasadena. Slightly different, but they have done some amazing work in the evaluation of the Hybrid Model. They surveyed families and teachers since early June. They provided multiple models to consider and share. One outcome is particularly ‘how to have kids on campus, safe as possible, and give them much time.” Both districts came up with the am/pm model, Our districts model I do feel that the am/pm model is tremendously better for kids and for teachers in a planning situation. I know that transitions between am/pm groups and how we address the MIE Needs at Roosevelt. These are valid concerns and need to be addressed, expeciall between transitions of 2 groups. It's worth looking into these districts to see how they are going to handle this. I would love the opportunity to have the option to discuss this option. We need to open up this discussion to all families, teachers. All models from So Pasadena are posted and LIVE and have been discussed on youtube. Carol Thompson, Teacher and Foster Parent of JMS student- Appreciative of DEC admin, the School Board and her peers. Allow input from teachers and parents on how to approach virtual and hybrid learning to get more buy-in from the parents and teachers. Paula Mark, Parent 12th Grader- GHS president of Booster. Appreciation for the work done. Sports are not high on your priority so she is wondering if sports are being addressed. What is the school district’s plan? Board President Dr. Gary Scott - response- CIF new to all of this. Such an important part of learning and culture. Missing sports. What about the learning experience from sports? We will be first in line to get back in the field. Vanessa Dodd PTA president Washington and Coolidge employee - Appreciates all the work and how our district has made the students the priority. However we feel that parents have not been included in the decisions and planning for virtual learning. We do not feel confident in what this year will bring. It’s imperative that parents and teachers are part of the planning and to add parents to the District Task Force. Doly Sengelmann, 2 children in SGUSD- appreciative regarding safety. She is confident that her children will grow and be safe and healthy. She has been satisfied and felt very informed about plans. She received robo calls, letters, websites, and social media. Many of us feel very satisfied with support and communication. We just have not taken the time to express our gratitude for all the wonderful things the district has done during COVID. Nancy Tsai, Parent - Thankful for the School Board, DEC Admin and teachers. Concerned about the safety and the dangers of COVID-19. My child has been given additional time to complete tasks in the past and wondering if a robust virtual learning program will allow for that. To be best prepared to go back to school, we need the support of all community members to be sure we have sufficient PPE. Dr. Gary Scott- intent is always to be inclusive. 5. APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS MEETING MINUTES A. Approve the Governing Meeting Minutes of June 30, 2020 The Board is asked to approve the meeting minutes as presented. No discussion Motioned, Seconded, Approved. B. Approve the Governing Meeting Minutes of July 16, 2020 The Board is asked to approve the meeting minutes as presented. No Discussion: Motioned, Seconded, Approved. 6. PUBLIC HEARING(S) A. Public Hearing - Notice of Public Hearing on The Temporary Inter-Fund Cash Borrowing No public comments. Public hearing closed. 7. SPECIAL REPORTS AND PRESENTATIONS A. REPORT Governing Board President - Dr. Gary Scott - It’s only been 5 days, seems like 5 years. Things have changed dramatically in 5 days. Thank you to all in our district. Everyone is expressing the desire to get back to school and we all want to get home and are committed. Last week we had 403 unique sign-ins into last week's school board meeting. I got to thinking, this is a good thing, we are moving into an environment where we can communicate with a big group. Thank you. Congratulations to the new Administrative hires. B. REPORT - Superintendent Jim Symonds- Welcome everyone. Luis and NIck to SGUSD. You are a great addition to our team. He appreciates all the comments tonight. I am so proud of this district, especially during these trying times. Announcement from Gov. Newsom regarding reopening says that 14 days of COVID free needs to be present to open up schools. Survey will go out to parents and a new invitation of the task force. Contact Zulma or Mr. Symonds. Next week there will be a town meeting for every stakeholder. We are looking for daycare for essential workers. PRISM group will improve communication for public relations. PRISM is an in house public relations. PD is being developed for this school year. Heather is the leading in PD and helping develop new PD and using district talent to provide relevant PD. PD plan a month long season of learning. Starting Aug. 1st for staff and parents. Some themes: social and emotional lessons, parent workshops, and virtual learning. On Aug. 1-12 the PD will focus on teacher tool kits. Aug. 13-24 online teaching and Parent series brings in experts support in mental wellness and academic strategies (webinars will be posted). We welcome comments, encouragement, and criticism. He truly appreciates all the feedback and input. C. PRESENTATION - Public Relations, Interest, & Social Media Internship Program (PRISM Group) Samantha Theisen PRISM Group facilitator - An idea under development that we’ve been experimenting with since March. Jackie Borja from Gab came up with the idea, during a VAPA meeting, to have Gab students as interns promote all activities going on in the district. There are a group of about 7 interns, that Jackie already knew were interested, who are current Gab students and alumnus. They are the interns doing the planning to make it come together. There will be an enrollment period for students interested in becoming members of PRISM.The goal is to feature the human beings that make up our district and the ones that are making it all happen (see the slides to view the awesome “Enrollment Video” featuring all of our site activities).The website is still under construction by one of the interns, Jonathan Huang, as well as Eric Chau. Where are we going with this? The purpose is to promote the district...and amplifying student voices throughout our district. The website will include social media, blog/articles, podcast and digital galleries. Jonathan Huang, Gabrielino Alumni, UC Berkley Graduate, Graphic Designer- Website redesign. They are in the final draft of the website and hopefully launch in a couple of weeks. Eric Chau- Website was outdated. The district and school websites needs to be friendlier to community members. This process started at the end of June. Various revisions of the website. They are on schedule. They will finalize design in upcoming weeks. Beginning of August 14 it will be live. They are getting feedback from each principal for school websites. Samantha Theisen- We hope to help build better communication Dr. Perez- The hope is that this will be CTE class. Thank you to Jonathan and his time. Dr. Gary Scott- VAPA is so much needed, as we can see through PRISM. Thank you for helping with doing this with a limited budget. 8. ACTION ITEMS A. BUSINESS SERVICES 1. (ROLL CALL) Adopt Resolution No. 01/2020-21 Temporary Inter-Fund Cash Borrowing The Administration recommends to Adopt Resolution No. 01/2020-21 Temporary Inter-Fund Cash Borrowing and authorize the designee to execute the necessary documents. To adopt a cash borrowing resolution allowing the District to borrow cash between funds or from the County Treasury for operating needs in a cash shortage situation Board President D. Gary Scott Board Vice President Mrs.Rochelle Haas: Board Clerk, Mr. Andrew Ammon: Board Member, Mrs. Cheryl Shellhart Board Member, Ms. Cristina Alvarado Unanimous . 2. Approve Renewed Primeroedge Software Annual Subscription Licenses 2020-2021 The administration recommends the approval of the renewed Primeroedge Software Annual Subscription Licenses 2020-2021. To remit annual subscription license fee for the continuous use of the Primeroedge Software for the Food Services POS System. No Discussion: Motioned, Seconded, Approved. Unanimous 3. Approve Renewed Consultant Agreement with Kristin Fyfe for Specialized Food Service Support, 2020-2021 Fiscal Year The Administration recommends the approval of the renewed Consultant Agreement with Kristin Fyfe for Specialized Food Service Support, 2020-2021 Fiscal Year. To obtain the specialized consulting services to meet the regulations and promote wellness for both students and staff through education and dialogue. No Discussion. Motioned, Seconded, Approved. Unanimous. B. EDUCATIONAL SERVICES 1. Approve Rated Fourth Quarter Report on Williams Uniform Complaints, School Year 2019-2020 Administration recommends approval of the Ratied fourth quarter report on Williams Uniform Complaints for the 2019-2020 school year. No Discussion. Motioned, Seconded, Approved. Unanimous. 2. Approve Consultant Agreement with Advanced Medical Personnel Service, Inc. for Speech and Language Services, School Year 2020-2021 (Special Education) Administration recommends the approval of a contract with Advanced Medical Personnel Service, Inc. in the amount of $59,500.00 to secure the services for 1 FTE Speech and Language Pathologist to provide mandated services to students. Special education students who attend school in the San Gabriel Unified School District may require speech and language services per their IEP. At this time, it is necessary to contract with an outside agency for 1 FTE speech and language pathologist to provide speech testing and/or speech services on an as-needed basis for students in the district. It is necessary to contract with an outside agency for 1 FTE speech and language pathologist. No Discussion. Motioned, Seconded, Approved. Unanimous. 3. Approve Consultant Agreement with Alexa Garcia for WorkAbility I Transition Coordinator, School Year 2020-2021, Special Education Administration recommends the approval of the consultant agreement with Alexa Garcia in order to stay in compliance with the Work Ability Grant for the 2020-2021 School Year. The District needs to contract with Alexa Garcia as the Work Ability Job Coach and Coordinator in order to stay in compliance with the Work Ability Grant. No Discussion. Motioned, Seconded, Approved. Unanimous. 4. Approve Consultant Agreement with Dave Williams for WorkAbility I Transition Coordinator, School Year 2020-2021, Special Education Administration recommends the approval of the consultant agreement with Dave Williams in order to stay in compliance with the Work Ability Grant for the 2020-2021 school year. The District needs to contract with Dave Williams as the Work Ability Coordinator in order to stay in compliance with the Work Ability Grant. No Discussion. Motioned, Seconded, Approved. Unanimous. 5. Approve Consultant Agreement with Gomez & Associates for Translation Services, School Year 2020-2021, Special Education Administration recommends the approval of the consultant agreement with Gomez and Associates for special education translation services for the 2020-2021 school year. The District must provide oral and written translations in order to facilitate meaningful communication between the schools and the parents in the area of special education. IDEA 2007 provides guidelines that correspondence must be in the parent’s native language, unless clearly not feasible. Gomez & Associates can provide translation services in over 100 spoken languages. No Discussion. Motioned, Seconded, Approved. Unanimous. 6. Approve Consultant Agreement with International Service Agency for Translation Services, School Year 2020-2021, Special Education Administration recommends approval of the Consultant Agreement with International Service Agency for translation services, school year 2020-2021. International Service Agency provides oral translation for meetings and written translation in Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, and other selected languages as needed. No Discussion. Motioned, Seconded, Approved. Unanimous. 7. Approve Consultant Agreement with SpeechCom Inc. for Speech and Language Services, School Year 2020-2021, Special Education Administration recommends the approval of the consultant agreement with SpeechCom Inc. for Speech and Language Services for the 2020-2021 school year. Special education students who attend school in the San Gabriel Unified School District may require speech and language services per their IEP. Students need to be assessed in any area of suspected disability, per the IEP team’s recommendation. SpeechCom, Inc. is able to provide a part time speech and language pathologist to provide speech services and/or testing on an as-needed basis for the 2020-2021 school year. No Discussion. Motioned, Seconded, Approved. Unanimous. 8. Approve Consultant Agreement with 2Teach LLC, School Year 2020-2021, Special Education Administration recommends the approval of this Consultant Agreement with 2 TEACH LLC for co teaching training in an amount not to exceed $6,000.00 for the 2020-2021 school year. The District needs to provide training to General Education and Special Education teachers on effective co-teaching and inclusion strategies for the 2020-2021 school year. No Discussion. Motioned, Seconded, Approved. Unanimous. 9. Approve Agreement with RO Health Inc. for Substitute Nurses and Substitute Support Personnel District-Wide for School Year, 2020-2021 Administration recommends the approval of the contract with RO Health Inc. to provide medical and staff personnel to the District on an as needed basis for the 2020-2021 school year. There is a need to provide nursing services for Special Education and General Education students at multiple school sites. These services cannot be provided by health aides. The District needs the services of an outside nursing agency to provide these nursing services in the event the LVNs are absent and need coverage. RO Health Inc. can provide LVNs, RN, CRNs, and CNAs to provide coverage should the need arise. In addition, the Special Education Department and Health Services Department along with the Human Resources Department will continue to recruit Special Education paraprofessionals with the intent of maintaining a viable pool of substitutes that will be used as the primary source of replacement personnel for classroom aide coverage. Due to the limited number of substitute paraprofessionals that are part of our current sub pool, there is a need for the special education department to utilize paraprofessionals provided by Nonpublic Agencies. RO Health is one reliable source for providing said substitutes. No Discussion. Motioned, Seconded, Approved. Unanimous. 10. Approve the Memorandums of Understanding Between San Gabriel Unied School District, Lead Local Educational Agency (LEA) for San Gabriel Valley Consortium (SGVC) Induction Program, and Clairbourn School, Monrovia Unied School District, Rosemead School District, San Marino Unied School District, South Pasadena Unied School District, Temple City Unied School District and West San Gabriel Valley SELPA Systems Improvement Leads Administration recommends approval of the Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) between San Gabriel Unified School District (SGUSD), Lead Local Educational Agency (LEA) for San Gabriel Valley Consortium (SGVC) Induction Program, and Clairbourn School, Monrovia Unified School District, Rosemead School District, San Marino Unified School District, South Pasadena Unified School District, Temple City Unified School District and West San Gabriel Valley SELPA Systems Improvement Leads. San Gabriel Unified School District (SGUSD) is the Lead LEA for the San Gabriel Valley Consortium (SGVC) Induction Program. The consortium, which began in 1998, is comprised of eligible beginning teachers from Monrovia Unified School District, Rosemead School District, San Gabriel Unified School District, San Marino Unified School District, South Pasadena Unified School District, Temple City Unified School District, Clairbourn School and West San Gabriel Valley SELPA Systems Improvement Leads. C. GOVERNING BOARD OF EDUCATION D. HUMAN RESOURCES No Discussion. Motioned, Seconded, Approved. Unanimous. 1. (ROLL CALL) Resolution for Exemption to the Separation-From-Service Requirement for Steven Rudeen Resolution No. 02/2020-21 Adopt Resolution No. 02/2020-21, of the Governing Board of the San Gabriel Unified School District approving for Exemption to the Separation-From- Service Requirement for Steven Rudeen pursuant to Section 24214.5 or 26812 of the Education Code. Board President D. Gary Scott Board Vice President Mrs.Rochelle Haas: Board Clerk, Mr. Andrew Ammon: Board Member, Mrs. Cheryl Shellhart Board Member, Ms. Cristina Alvarado Cheryl Shellhart- Can I get clarification on this one? Ross Perry - this exempts Steven Rudeen from the rule and we need his services for ELPAC testing before the rule allows him to do his 25 days. He took the SGTA early retirement plan too. Gary Scott - this allows for the necessary situation and for Steven Rudeen’s expertise. Approved. Unanimous. 2. Approve Student Teaching Agreement Between the San Gabriel Unified School District and Cal State Teach University It is recommended that the Governing Board approve the Student Teaching Agreement between the 7/17/2020 San Gabriel Unified School District and Cal State Teach University. An Agreement with Cal State Teach University enables student teachers to engage in their practice teaching in the District. The term of this agreement is from July 2020 to June 2023. The District will provide Master Teachers for their student teachers. 3. Approve Student Teaching Agreement Between the San Gabriel Unified School District and Grand Canyon University It is recommended that the Governing Board approve the Student Teaching Agreement between the San Gabriel Unified School District and Grand Canyon University. An agreement with Grand Canyon University enables student teachers to engage in their practice teaching in the District. The term of this agreement is from July 2020 to June 2023. The District will provide Master Teachers for their student teachers. Discussion: Motioned, Seconded, Approved. Unanimous. Andrew Ammon- question have any requirement changed due to COVID Ross- this is for current student teachers. This was already done through distance learning in May. Andrew Ammon- was concerned with the amount of workload this would cause teachers 4. Approve Internship Credential Program Agreement Between the San Gabriel Unified School District and National University It is recommended that the Governing Board approve the Internship Credential Program Agreement between the San Gabriel Unified School District and National University. An agreement with National University enables interns to engage in their practice teaching in the District. The term of this agreement is from July 22, 2020 and shall continue until such time as either party gives 30 days written notice of its intent to terminate this agreement. No Discussion: Motioned, Seconded, Approved. Unanimous 5. Approve Contract Agreement Between the San Gabriel Unified School District and Swing Education There will continue to be a shortage of substitute teachers and substitute instructional aides in the area due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It will be essential for the district to continue utilizing SWING substitutes in addition to our own substitute pool for the 2020-2021 school year. As a result of California Assembly Bill 5, SWING can no longer classify their substitutes as independent contractors and must hire their substitutes as employees of their company. This has resulted in an increase of their service fee from 25% to 40% in order for SWING to continue to cover the payroll, administrative, and insurance expenses that they incur. This is still a lower rate than the other substitute companies in the area. No Discussion: Motioned, Seconded, Approved. Unanimous E. SUPERINTENDENT'S OFFICE 1. Approve Recommendation of Phased Reopening Plan for San Gabriel Unified School District, School Year 2020-21 It is recommended that the Governing Board approve a phased reopening plan for San Gabriel Unified School District, school year 2020-21. California Governor Gavin Newsom announced new guidelines for reopening schools. The guidance indicates that schools in counties that are on the state's COVID-19 watch list should not reopen for in-classroom instruction. Los Angeles County is on the watch list. Governor Newsom says those schools must use distance learning until respective counties have been off the watch list for 14 consecutive days. No Discussion: Motioned, Seconded, Approved. Unanimous 2. Governing Board Review of California School Boards Association (CSBA) Policy Revision Recommendations Administration recommends the Governing Board review the first reading of California School Boards Association (CSBA) policy revision recommendations. This is an opportunity for the Governing Board to review and discuss the first reading of California School Boards Association (CSBA) policy revision recommendations. Discussion: Motioned, Seconded, Approved. Unanimous 9. BOARD ANNOUNCEMENTS/REPORTS/COMMUNICATIONS Board President Dr; Gary Scott - It’s moot due to the state’s decision but we still wanted to do what’s best. Thank you to Steve Rudeen for all your years of service. Board Clerk Andrew Ammon- Thank you to all the people that commented last week and tonight. We’ve had some rocky meetings in this district but we come out stronger. Mr. Symmonds takes the comments graciously. Board Vice President Mrs.Rochelle Haas: We really need to have parents as partners in the decision making process. I am glad that we can move forward in that way. Board Clerk, Mr. Andrew Ammon: Board Member, Mrs. Cheryl Shellhart -Remember that this is fluid and things are changing. Have a great summer. Board Member, Ms. Cristina Alvarado- This is a different time. Again we are being told what to do by higher powers that be. 10. CONSENT AGENDA NOTE: Moved. Approved all items with correction to Item 10C 1. It says Steve Rudeen is employed at Gabrielino. He is employed at Jefferson. A. BUSINESS SERVICES 1. Approve Renewed Agreement with the American Red Cross for the Use of Gabrielino High School and Jefferson Middle School as Mass Care Shelters The Administration recommends the approval of the Renewed Agreement with the American Red Cross for the Use of Gabrielino High School and Jefferson Middle School as Mass Care Shelters. Access to the Gabrielino High School and Jefferson Middle School campuses provide gymnasium access, as well as provide cafeteria, kitchen, and restroom facilities. During periods of emergency The Administration recommends the approval of the Purchase Orders Issued in excess of $5,000 Report No. 1. that do not impact the school while in session, it is in the public interest to make school facilities available. Discussion for Item A.1. Cristina Alvarado - I would like to pull. I understand we are being asked to approve mass care shelters during COVID, I think we may need to rethink or address this issue. This makes me think what are the emergency groups doing to plan during a crisis. Will Wong - District is already in an agreement with the american Red Cross. I hear what you're saying. They stated this would not be a COVID shelter. I can work with them to get more detail. Andrew Ammon - This has been very beneficial in the past. It has been utilized… I agree with Ms. Alvardo, you would think there would be language about COVID, but I did not see it. Maybe we could revisit this? In my field we are having to have new agreements since COVID Gary Scott - Is it possible to request an information sheet from the Red Cross? Can we request that this be brought back to the board at a future meeting. Will Wong - Yes. 2. Approve Warrants Issued for Payments, Goods, And Services Received For June 2020 - Report No. 1 The Administration recommends the approval of the Warrants Issued for Payments, Goods, And Services Received For June 2020 - Report No. 1. 3. Approve Purchase Orders Issued in Excess of $5,000 Report No. 1 B. EDUCATIONAL SERVICES 1. Approve Essential Training Travel Report No. 17 Administration recommends that the following District employees be authorized to attend the events attached. The representative of the District indicated will attend with no loss of salaries for District personnel, and with actual and necessary expenses paid for all attending as authorized by Education Code Sections 35172, 35173 and 44032, and the District's Board policies. Authorization for an advance of funds to cover actual and necessary expenses is hereby granted. Such Advances shall be repaid or adjusted upon lling of a regular claim for the actual and necessary expenses incurred. Approved. C. HUMAN RESOURCES 1. Approve Certificated Personnel Status Report No. 1 Approved. 2. Approve Classified Personnel Status Report No. 1 Approved. D. SUPERINTENDENT'S OFFICE 11. NEXT MEETING REMINDER(S) Tuesday, August 18, 2020 Tuesday, September 8, 2020 Tuesday, September 22, 2020 Tuesday, October 13, 2020 Tuesday, October 27, 2020 Tuesday, November 17, 2020 Tuesday, December 8, 2020 Tuesday, December 15, 2020 12. ADJOURNMENT We ARE stronger together! Join us at the next Board Meeting! August 18, 2020 Tuesday, August 18, 2020 Tuesday, September 8, 2020 Tuesday, September 22, 2020 Tuesday, October 13, 2020 Tuesday, October 27, 2020 Tuesday, November 17, 2020 Tuesday, December 8, 2020 Tuesday, December 15, 2020 6:00 Open Session, Closed Session, 7:00 Open Session Reconvenes Attention SGTA Members:
We need members to step up and fill these empty positions:
Become a member of our Equity team and help in one of the 3 areas below. Duties may include attending any CTA endorsed conference and share any key points learned with our teachers and our Rep Council meetings. The goal is to build an Equity Team that helps teach our members ways to promote social justice and ways to protect human rights.
If you are interested in any of the 4 postions above, please email Dena at [email protected]. Thank you and stay safe, Dena Dragoo - President Patti Kim - Vice President Vicki Mireles Perales - Treasurer Iraise Garcia - Secretary Please Attend the School Board Meeting Tomorrow Night! Tuesday, June 21, 2020, 6:00 p.m. MEETING OF THE GOVERNING BOARD This agenda is posted online at the San Gabriel Unified School District Governing Board Agenda Online Website at https://tinyurl.com/sangabrielboardagenda PUBLIC ACCESS: Due to the current state of social distancing and Gov. Gavin Newsom's "safer at home" order, the Governing Board of San Gabriel Unified will be implementing the following public access for the upcoming Board meeting: Online access - https://sgusd.zoom.us/j/87339457320?pwd=RGxOZkcyOGhMRkNxb0FDc0lmbHhZUT09 ID: 873 3945 7320 Online Password: 7UVwCS Telephone access - +1 (669) 900-9128 ID: 873 3945 7320 Call-In Password: 926861 *Local phone charges may apply. PUBLIC COMMENTS: Requests to Address the Governing Board: Speaker Requests to address the Governing Board will be made available via email. Please send public comments on agenda or non-agenda items to: Zulma L. Ayala-Padilla, Executive Assistant to the Superintendent at Public Comments All submissions must be made before or by noon on day of the meeting. Please limit public comments to 300 words or less. Board Meeting Highlights & Attachments:
Click here for Link to Full Agenda and Complete Attachments Regular Governing Board Meeting 07/16/2020 07:00 PM Virtual Meeting MEETING OF THE GOVERNING BOARD July 16, 2020 1 . OPENING PROCEDURE 2. REQUESTS TO ADDRESS THE GOVERNING BOARD Public Comments: Dena Dragoo, Teacher- Read a letter written from San Gabriel Valley Teachers Union Presidents asking to start the year with Full Distance Learning. Stephanie Bucey, Teacher - Reopened the school year with a month long virtual academy. Would like the ability to return to the classroom and teach virtually. Chad Budde, Teacher- Teacher 21 years. Member DL Committee. Committee requests that the board respect our decisions and 1) adopt a version of option 4. 2) Continue to look into ways where teachers can meet in person safely. Iraise Garcia, Teacher - Letter from SGTA Executive Board on behalf of all SGTA. Majority of our teachers do not feel it is safe to open schools. Results out of 168. 66% would like to teach a virtual academy. Please commit to a K-12 virtual academy. Derrick Chin, Parent - Father of 3 students at Mckinley. Family would prefer not to have it in person. Would like 100% virtual class in a monitored manner. Would like teachers to monitor students' games, youtube experience. Kyle Devriendt, Community Member - If we have a virtual academy, teachers need to be up to standard by Aug 17th so that virtual learning is up to par, vigorous, robust. He is in support of a Hybrid Model, believes there is a model to get students back in a safe way. Hoping that the school board and teachers association are looking at all options. Jenny Chow, Parent - Concerned with Internet Safety - For Distance Learning there will be a lot of time unmonitored. What is done with data for students who are on various academic websites. Consider installing touchless faucets. Connie Chow, Parent - Grandparents are watching my kids. Cannot afford a tutor. Can you group live learning together? Or else I have to quit my essential job. How will the district accommodate parents already putting lives on the line. Lourdes Arrellano - Question regarding the platform to use for Virtual Learning. What platforms will the district be using? Can we use one platform? Can we use something simple for the students so they are not getting bored and distracted. Can we limit the number of places the students need to go to complete assignments? Angela Acosta Anguille- Parents not receiving feedback about returning to school. SGUSD needs to be more open and provide better communication with parents. Include students and families in the decision making process instead of families relying on updates on social media. . Andy Jeong- Supports Virtual Academy because there is a spike in cases and hopefully we will follow the decisions of LAUSD. Still open to a Hybrid model and Zoom sessions and understands that families still have trouble with technology availability and hopes it can be solved by families helping each other or support from the district. Families want internet safety for their children and offered a website for parents to use. Bobbie Collins- Romero, Parent - Wanted to say Thank you to Teachers, Board and all Staff. I have let go of normal. Son will be an incoming 7th grader. I am opposed to any school reopening plan in the 20-21 school year. The reopening must be based on science. With no vaccine in place, please consider a Virtual Model. As always, kids first. Chanda Stom, Teacher- Teach chemistry at GAB. Friday March 13, which she refers to as P-Day (Pandemic Day), the normal has changed. Thanking school Board for trusting Administrators. Care and concern for the people. Colleagues want to go back, but numbers are spiking. This is a Novel virus. Children are able to spread disease. We are still in the first wave. There will be a second wave. Why not start 100% DL, give staff enough time to prepare. Teachers want to create rigorous curriculum. Please air on the side of caution and when safe move to a Hybrid. Veronica Inojos , Parent - We are at high risk for returning to campus. Would like to recommend if supplies can be given to students to keep learning, like books. If they are attending schooling, How will they be screening staff and students? Throughout the day? Still opened to Distance Learning. I would like to make sure everyone is safe. Amy Eng Johnston,- Pandemic devastating and distance learning causes serious struggles for students and families. However the risk of the spread of the virus needs to be realized and we should focus on creating the best online learning experience for our students so we don’t cause a disruptive learning experience by starting with reopening and then closing again. Yasmin Maestro, Teacher - at Roosevelt has taught for 20 years. She has a good grasp and understanding of what happens in the schools on a daily basis. She knows her students and their needs. Hybrid opens a need for manpower and time. She would love to return, but she does not feel safe for herself, nor for students, nor staff. She has three kids at SGUSD. She has been experiencing DL as a parent and a teacher. She wants her children safe and healthy as well as students at SGUSD. As a teacher and parent she wants DL because it is the best and safest decision. Family support will be more needed at this time and prepare parents for this new way of learning. Thanking Everyone. Wendy Quinde, Parent- Parents and guardians have not been given the opportunity to give their input on our return to school. Our children should not return to school in the fall. COVID-19 needs to be controlled versus exposing children and teachers. Concerned about the health risks, especially because her children get easily sick and does not want to take any chances of them losing their lives to COVID-19. Strongly urges the board to vote to continue online learning until it is safe for everyone to return safely. Terri Hopper, Teacher- Want to return to my classroom and to teach art to my students instead of teaching ceramics virtually from my dining room table, but it cannot be done safely. The Hybrid model has been written but the number of COVID-19 cases have spiked recently and although I would love to see my students, it is not safe and I hope you vote for 100% distance learning. Kat Ross, Teacher- She would like to say two things: 1) She wanted to say that she really liked working with the district admin. She wants to thank Admin for listening to the teacher's voices. Admin is doing a great job. 2) She is a visual arts teacher who teaches hands-on studio classes and still I support DL only for the first semester. A decision needs to be made to help teachers and parents to prepare for the year. Daphne Traege, Teacher- I love what I do because I love being in the room with my students. The trials and tribulations of the Traeger family were evident (two teachers and 4 kids in one house). There is trauma for students going back and forth with different models. Do distance learning well and stay with it. The Hybrid model would cause teachers with children to take time off and getting subs would be challenging. High schoolers struggled during distance learning because they were babysitting for neighbors who had to go to work and leave their young children at home. So we would like a flexible schedule for the students. We can do this and we can do this safely. Dr. Gary Scott- He acknowledged how wonderfully dedicated our SGTA teachers. He feels confident that with this group of teachers we will make next year happen. Thank you to Zulma. 3. SPECIAL REPORTS AND PRESENTATIONS A. PRESENTATION - Recommendation of Phased Reopening Plan for San Gabriel Unified School District, School Year 2020-21 Presentation by Superintendent, Jim Symonds - Thanked everyone who made public comments. We have amazing teachers who took ownership and we survived. Made it through the end of the year with virtual graduations. Now working with our task force to reopen the school district. Proud of Ed Services team that created the virtual online academy. Now we need to have a robust, challenging virtual academy. Major spikes in the past week. Phone conversations with Dr. Ferrar. 10,000 children diagnosed in the county. State has given local control to districts. Most districts in our area have decided to go to virtual learning. Friday Governor Newsom will give a talk at 12 noon. Many changes with the infection rate. Tonight I will talk about my recommendation to the Governing Board. My main priority is the Health Safety and wellbeing of students and staff. Tonight you will learn about the plan, the phases of our reopening. See Complete Presentation for information on : 5 key areas in reopening schools, guiding principles, COVID Task Force Group, Best Practices on Reopening Framework, Distict Nurse, Kathy Leon- The numbers are different (presentation on 2 days ago). 59 deaths today. Over 7,000+ new cases. On June 23 there was 88,000k, but just in a few weeks close to double. The Positivity rate is still at 9%. New testing sight will be added in San Gabriel Valley due to community transmission. The positivity rate should be 5% for 14 days in order to reopen. We are at 9%. Higher levels of community transmission have been spread through students and it is likely through schools this will increase. Kathy said it would be reckless to open schools in SGUSD since our community transmission is so high. Presentation Information: San Gabriel numbers. She mentions that the science is unclear. It was noted that ⅓ of the kids are testing positive in Florida and consequences of COVID are very concerning. We don’t know and it is scary and it is frightening. Key findings for Recent LAC DPH Study (slide); Example of a Long Term Projection: Daily Patients (slide); A Patient's Journey: COVID 19 (slide); Who is at risk for severe illness from COVID-19 (Slide) Kathy mentioned all they types of illnesses that plague our students (i.e. 541 students with asthma); LAC DPH Reopening Protocols (slide) Kathy mentioned that are not enough staff to implement protocol nor classified staff. She mentions a quote that says Science should drive decisions on reopening schools. Evidence should drive decision and not politics. Regarding education the state needs to listen to educators and Admin to see how we manage curriculum during this pandemic. Her job is to see that family and kids are safe. Our kids can die and she doesn't know how we can deal with such a reality. So far she is aware of 3 staff members testing positive members, 6 staff members have been quarantined. Family members of staff- so far one family member died. We still don’t know all those numbers. Assist. Supt of Business, Will Wong - Liability Considerations - Joint Powers Authority believes that it is unclear if our insurance carriers will cover COVID if an employee were to get sick. Districts should not count on liability if anyone were to get COVID. It could potentially reduce our reserve. There is an Assembly Bill in the making for blanket liability coverage for school districts. Could possibly have COVID waivers for parents to sign to hold the districts harmless. Supt. Jim Symonds: So what if we Don’t Reopen in Person? Asst Supt of Educational Services, Dr. Joan Perez- She is asking us to hone in our focus on educating our children. Presentation information: Phased in approach (slide): Start with Virtual academy. Three different phases. (see slide for phases). She mentioned the specific needs for TK, EL, and SPED to better engage students. When the positivity rate falls under 5% then we can move to Phase 2 (launch hybrid). In Phase 3-inperson learning with preventative process. In a Phase- in Approach (slide): What the first weeks of school will be like. How will the Fall 2020 Virutal Academy be different from DL in Spring 2020 (Dr. Perez “Teachers did a Dam good job!”) (slide). Student Access, Social-Emotional Needs, and Learning (slide): Special Eduation guidelines, ELLs Resources and support, Students Needing Targeted Supports. How will the Virtual Academy change (side): increase of minutes. Here is a snapshot of sample scheduling: Sandra Dunville, Washington School Principal - Presenting a sample schedule for TK-5, whole class online instruction (slide- Sample TK-5 Virtual Learning Schedule). Participation and attendance will be mandatory. It’s important that the students understand and feel like they are in school and be participatory. So grateful for our library teacher that read to the students online. Chris Guyer, Jefferson Middle School Principal - Presenting a sample schedule of what the secondary might look like (slide- Sample 6-12 Virtual Learning Schedule). It will be much more structured and provide more contact online with the teachers. We don’t expect the parents to be the main instructor. The teachers have the expertise and they want to connect with the students and want it to succeed. District Coordinator, Heather Wolpert - Discussion on Professional Development. Launching a season of learning, shifting to continue to provide learning opportunities for our entire staff. P.D Offered: August 1st - Focus on Tech tools. Focusing on engagement, online learning loss, creating virtual learning lessons that provide equity. We will also support our parents to increase communication and offer advice from many experts for our students and families. We will be hosting different webinars, helping families on how to support their children, Our staff and families are eager to help our students during this pandemic. Asst Supt of Educational Services, Dr. Joan Perez -How will we help our families? With a phased in approach, and do it well. We cannot do Distance Learning and a Hybrid at the same time. This will allow us to take virtual learning and go deeper so we are prepared for the Hybrid Model. The phased in approach will help reinforce teachers. We will always offer 100% Distance Learning should parents opt in to that. Next steps, continue to work on the details in the phases . Refine the Hybrid Model. The Task Force will finish the Reopening Framework. MOU Negotiated with Employee Associations, Closing comments by Dr. Perez: New beginnings! This is an opportunity to do it well and prepare them for their future. This has forced us to prepare our students for the future. B. DISCUSSION - Recommendation of Phased Reopening Plan for San Gabriel Unified School District, School Year 2020-21 Discussion: Member - Cristina Alvarado - So Impressed by district, teachers and administrators. Such passions among our community. In response to the recent burning of our San Gabriel Mission, it was noted that “ We are a Tight Community.” We are meeting on zoom now because we don't want to expose ourselves, so we do not want to put our students in harm. Vice President - Rochelle Haas - Thank you everyone for all of the work that you are doing. How will the family support and training be delivered? My concern is that even though there is more structure planned for the coming year, there will still be a responsibility placed on the families to monitor their child’s participation. This will continue to present challenges for parents who work. How will learning losses be addressed for the coming year? Also, I have a parent asking how can we be sure that teachers are logging in to deliver instruction and how will teachers be tracked? Can a sub be brought in to cover for a teacher not able to log on? (After Dr. Perez and Ross answered the questions, Dr. Scott asked Rochelle if she had any follow up) Rochelle - No follow up . Parents really wanted to give input on how we will start the school year and the district survey didn’t ask enough questions. Working parents with young students have a lot of concerns and would like to be able to give their feedback. Families are concerned that they were not given the opportunity to give their thoughts. Dr. Perez answered: Regarding academic loss- Implementing benchmarks reading and math for baseline. Will be meeting with teachers and doing “data dives” regarding the needs of our students. Programs like iReady will be used for data and at the high school will use the adopted curriculum for benchmarks. District will also be using interim assets for benchmarks. The greatest challenge are the little ones. District is looking into ESGI for assessing phonemic awareness. These are all things that will be implemented for measuring learning loss. As for parent support: we will bring in keynote speakers and we will map out schedules, as well as provide support (meeting weekly support- not just one and done; like coffee with Ed services. Heather Wolpert: Also added that translation will be done for all our ELL parents. Asst. Supt. Ross Perry - Regarding Substitute teachers- sick or out for a day; several subs that were long term and were trained for virtual learning; do virtual training in the beginning of the year. We are preparing for this situation.. Clerk - Andrew Ammon- Thank you. Keeping it brief. Everyone has been working hard. I thought we would be voting on a plan. It is a moot point. Fighting a losing battle on too much screen time (anxiety, tension). Social emotional component is important. He would feel responsible for exposing kids to COVID. He also feels for the other social emotional issues (such as sucide and depression). Communication with the parents needs to be addressed. We are a small community and we need to do better about communication. As we develop plan parent communication is essential. We need collaboration with parents and teachers. Member - Cheryl Shellhart - I wanted to say that I agree with Jim Symonds comments. Students, staff safety and well benign is our priority. So many unknowns, we understand a decision has to be made. This cannot work without the support of our caregivers. I have several “Asks”: I think it would be advantageous to create a timeline to go from phase to phase to be able to move; 2) We need to develop tools for parents to help them create a learning environment at home. I.e, help explain homework, Investigate more resources for childcare, shelter, family support, counseling, mental health support, look at suicide rates, need to seek more parent input in our tasks forces, communication is key. Not sure how much teacher involvement has been in this process, I don't know if all the stakeholders have been invited into this process.., need to make sure our virtual academy is more robust, make sure communication is more timely. What will it take to transfer from phase to phase? Mrs. Shellhart concluded with what school will look like when we return. President - Dr. Gary Scott - Closing statements. His concerns are that parents need to be more involved and that is not easy to accomplish. Language issue or tech issue, how will we provide to make this work. We are going to do best practice. Schools will never look the same way again. Traditionally in education it is slow moving, but we will figure out a way to make this all happen. We all need to accept that we need to address. We are lucky, we have some great folks. Great job Jim Symonds. Education is a complex issue. We can always do better. 4. ACTION ITEMS A. SUPERINTENDENT'S OFFICE 1. Approve Recommendation of Phased Reopening Plan for San Gabriel Unified School District, School Year 2020-21 Discussion:To Table the motion 3a to recommend phase reopening until Tuesday night, July 21st Motion: Cheryl Shellhart motion to move the vote to Tuesday due to Governor Newsom’s press conference on Friday July 17th at 12:00 p.m. Second to table the action motion 3a. Will place on the agenda next Tuesday night by Christina Alvarado All in favor. 5-0 Adjourned at 9:45 p.m. 5. NEXT MEETING REMINDER(S) Tuesday, July 21, 2020 Tuesday, August 18, 2020 Tuesday, September 8, 2020 Tuesday, September 22, 2020 Tuesday, October 13, 2020 Tuesday, October 27, 2020 Tuesday, November 17, 2020 Tuesday, December 8, 2020 Tuesday, December 15, 2020 We ARE stronger together! Join us at the next Board Meeting! July 21, 2020 6:00 Open Session, Closed Session, 7:00 Open Session Reconvenes Keep wearing those shirts!! Show we are unified! Hi GHS SGTA!
I just wanted to take a second to thank everyone who logged on to the school board meeting Thursday night. Thanks to everyone who called in via phone to stay engaged and informed about what the district and Board is doing. Three cheers to Laura, Scott, Phil, Chad, Jessica, Trish, Jorge, Pat, Edith, Marguerita, Ashley, Natalie, Xenia, Lillian, Desiree, and Daphne for logging in and letting the Board know we are paying attention. Hats off to JC, Jocelyn, Kenny, Joseph, Terri, Susan, Melissa, and Chanda for flashing their union logos. And a special thank you to those of you who spoke to the board. Union strong, Site Reps Attention SGTA Members:
Thank you for taking the time to fill out the recent survey. Click below to see the results for Reopening our schools. Thank you and stay safe, Dena Dragoo - President Patti Kim - Vice President Vicki Mireles Perales - Treasurer Iraise Garcia - Secretary Reopening of Schools Survey (.pdf doc) Reopening Schools Survey Results and Comments (excel doc) Dear SGTA Member,
Here is the link to the Survey regarding reopening schools. Click or copy/paste in your browser. http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07eh752168kcjqs843/start Sincerely, San Gabriel Teachers Association Executive Board Hi GHS SGTA,
The SGTA website is being updated with the new dues structure. Dues have gone up $3 a month to ensure we have continued access to lawyers (instead of mediators) if the need arises. Information updated in Member Resources page. Let us know if you have any questions. See you Thursday at the special Board meeting. (The link is forthcoming, forwarded to your personal email as always). Best, Site Reps Hi GHS SGTA,
Reminders: Friday July 10th, was the last day to participate in open enrollment for work-sponsored health care. Next Thursday, July 16th is a Board special session on the district reopening plan. Your attendance with an SGTA zoom background (video on) or SGTA Logo (video off) is appreciated. Zoom background file found in Member Resources page. Thank you to all of you who attended the meeting yesterday. SGTA is committed to transparency and a robust sharing of information with all members. Please reach out if you have any questions or needs that can be resolved within the union context. Best, Site Reps |
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San Gabriel Teachers Association is a proud chapter of the California Teachers Association and National Education Association.