Dear LASD Community, 

Yesterday, we welcomed our first cohorts of TK-1st Graders back to campus! It was a wonderful day of learning as students and teachers greeted each other in their classrooms. With TK-1st graders and SDC students on campus again, we offer a huge thank you to our amazing teachers and staff for their hard work in this amazing endeavor.

While we're very pleased with this milestone, there are a number of challenges that come with implementing complex health and safety measures to help prevent the spread of illness and keep our entire community healthy.  We appreciate everyone’s attention to and cooperation with the LASD Community Expectations for Healthy Schools. 

Revised Reopening Schedule
We have always believed that a slow and measured approach to bringing students back to school for in-person learning will give us the best chance for a sustained reopening and continuity of instruction for all of our students. For that reason, and now that we better understand the logistics required as we return students to campus, we have revised our reopening schedule for the rest of the grade levels. Each returning group of students will continue to have at least a three-week separation of return dates to ensure health and safety protocols are in place and operations are running smoothly.  

We have made three important changes to the return schedule: 

1. We are shifting the return dates of the 2nd through 5th grade return back by one week to better align with the academic calendar, including the end of the first trimester and the Thanksgiving break. 
   1. Second and Third Grades will now return November 9 instead of November 2
   2. Fourth and Fifth Grades will return December 7 instead of November 30
2. We are moving the return date for 6th through 8th graders to January. The decision to delay was not taken lightly, but the instructional programs for grades 6-8 are much more complex than for our TK-5th grade students. Students in grades 6-8 have multiple teachers specializing in each subject, which is very different from the single teacher lower-elementary stable cohort model. Thus, it is taking longer than expected to determine the best way forward to ensure safety while delivering the best possible instruction. 
   1. Sixth Grade will now return January 11 instead of November 30
   2. Seventh Grade will now return January 20 instead of November 2
   3. Eighth Grade will now return January 20 instead of November 30
3. We are altering the "program switch dates." As you may recall, our prior plan allowed families to switch between the Blended and Virtual models every six weeks.  With experience we have learned that such a cadence is not sustainable for students, teachers, staff and the district office.  Under the new plan, families can change their child's program to Virtual or Blended prior to their child's grade-level return date and then on two additional "program switch dates" available to all grade levels. We believe that this reduction in frequency of program switches will provide much more stability for all teachers and students.

Please take a look at the updated table of return and notification dates below.  A reminder:  to change your child’s program to either Blended or Virtual, please email your principal by the Notification Deadline noted below.

We recognize that these changes may cause an inconvenience for our families and understand distance learning is difficult for many of our students. However, we also know that our families share our commitment to a safe return to campus with an excellent instructional program to continue our students' success.

As we continue to move forward, our principals and I will provide additional information on the detailed plans for our 6th-8th grade students, including a presentation to the Board of Trustees at its meeting on Monday, November 9th. We will also plan to hold Parent and Staff Town Halls to answer questions and concerns before the Thanksgiving Break (tentatively, the week of November 16). Please stay tuned for more information. 

Thank you as always for your partnership. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email me at jbaier@lasdschools.org.

Sincerely, 
Jeffrey Baier
Superintendent
Los Altos School District

Dear Los Altos School District Community,

As a school community, parents, staff and students are guided by core values rooted in respect for one another.  This shared sense of commitment to one another’s safety, health and well-being is one of the reasons why our schools are wonderful places to teach and learn.

In the midst of this pandemic, we all must take these core values just one step further, with a consistent mindset to prevent the spread of illness.  We must think more deeply about our own health and its effect on others because our individual actions and decisions will make a huge difference and help us minimize the risk of illness for all the members of our community. While it is very likely there will be isolated COVID cases in our community, by strictly adhering to all state and local regulations we will help prevent the further spread of illness.

As we resume in-person school, we ask all community members, including those who are not physically returning to campus, to commit to the Los Altos School District Community Expectations for Healthy Schools.  Please carefully review these expectations below.

Los Altos School District 

Community Expectations for Healthy Schools

In the year ahead, we ask all community members--children, families, staff--to commit to the following:

• Limit the spread of COVID-19 by making your own health and safety, as well as the health and safety of other community members a priority.
• Abide by all policies, procedures, and orders related to COVID-19 implemented by the state, county, and school district.
• Practice good personal hygiene consistent with public health protocols, such as frequent hand washing for 20 seconds and appropriately covering coughs and sneezes.
• Conduct daily symptom checks before entering campus via the daily email and/or text you will receive from LASD. Carefully monitor symptoms of your child(ren), yourself and household members (including any individuals working in your home).
• Be more mindful and extra cautious. Do not come to campus if you or your child feel at all unwell, if you have tested positive for COVID-19, or are a close contact to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. Stay home and isolate.  In short,  no one should come to campus if they do not feel well.
• Notify your school office immediately, if you have tested positive for COVID-19 or been exposed to someone who has tested positive.
• All adults and all TK-8th grade students will be required to wear a face covering on campus at all times, unless eating, drinking or engaging in vigorous physical activity. 
• All staff and students are strongly encouraged to receive a flu vaccination before returning to campus.
• Practice physical distancing by maintaining at least a 6-foot distance from others.
• Avoid all large gatherings and environments in which people are not wearing face coverings and not practicing physical distancing. 
• Per SCCPHD guidelines, children and youth may only participate in one after school or non-classroom cohort program at a time and may not move from one program to another more than once every three weeks.
• Abide by all current local, state and federal guidelines regarding unnecessary travel. 

Understand that to keep our campuses healthy, parents, staff and students may need to move to distance learning on short notice due to an identified COVID-19 case in the cohort or in the school. Flexibility will be required to continue our students’ education while protecting our community’s health and safety.

Our ability to keep our schools open is dependent upon all of us strictly adhering to these guidelines to prevent the spread of illness. We should all feel empowered to encourage and remind one another to abide by these guidelines. 

We look forward to welcoming students back to campus and continuing top-quality education for all students, both in our neighborhood school classrooms and LASD Virtual School.

Sincerely, 

Jeffrey Baier
Superintendent
Los Altos School District

Dear Los Altos School District Community, 

As you may have heard, yesterday Santa Clara County Public Health Department (SCCPHD) announced encouraging news regarding the County’s progress to prevent the spread of COVID-19.  Based on the new State of California color-coded reopening system, as of Tuesday this week, Santa Clara County has stayed in the “Red” Tier for 14 consecutive days.

Schools May Reopen Countywide to All Grade Levels
SCCPHD’s announcement means that all schools in Santa Clara County are eligible to reopen for in-person learning at all grade levels, with modifications based on strict adherence to all state and local guidelines. Santa Clara County has been a leader in strong public health and safety standards to prevent the spread of COVID-19, ensure robust testing capability, and provide the contact tracing needed to reopening our economy and our schools.

Family Town Hall Forum
LASD will host a Town Hall Forum on Thursday, September 24 from 7:00pm-8:30pm to provide information and answer questions regarding our phased approach to reopening our campuses for in-person learning at the TK-6th grade level.  This town hall is particularly well-timed for our TK-1st Grade families, whose students will return to campus first.  To register, please click here.

With the announcement from SCCPHD, we now know we may reopen to all grade levels and are no longer operating under the waiver (as described in my prior messages). We will host another forum in the coming weeks regarding our reopening plans for our junior high schools. Please keep an eye out for an invitation from your principal.

LASD’s Reopening Plans
LASD has been preparing for months to safely and responsibly reopen our schools with a phased and measured approach to ensure our reopening remains sustainable.  We will proceed with returning students to in-person learning on our campuses according to our Reopening and Instructional plans.  We will always strictly adhere to any changes in state or local guidelines to ensure student, staff and community safety. Please visit our Reopening and Coronavirus web pages for more information and FAQs.

Reopening Schedule
The below chart shows the schedule for students’ return to campus by grade level with the coinciding deadline to switch programs.  It is important to note our TK, Kindergarten and 1st grade students will be returning first, so the deadline to switch programs for these students is coming up on September 28.  Please notify your principal by email by the corresponding grade level deadline if you would like to change your child’s enrollment to either the Virtual School or the Blended Learning (in-person) program, which will combine two days on-campus with three days of asynchronous learning each week.

As always, we will monitor the air quality to ensure student safety and provide for proper ventilation in our classrooms to protect everyone’s health.  If necessary we will delay the start date or learn remotely on days with poor air quality.

Thoughts on Going Back to School 
As educators dedicated to the academic success and emotional well-being of every one of our students, we believe the best place for children to learn is in our classrooms.  We recognize none of us have ever experienced a classroom as we will in the coming days:  wearing masks, physically distancing ourselves, regularly washing our hands, and disinfecting our classrooms.  While it’s hard to imagine school under these circumstances, what we’ve heard from colleagues across the globe is that despite these changes in our students’ physical environment and daily routines, the joy of learning and social connectedness will endure in this new educational world.  

For those students and families who prefer to remain in a distance learning model, we will continue to provide a robust academic experience with the well-rounded curriculum for which our schools are known through LASD Virtual School.  We will build community in LASD Virtual School and protect those ties that bind us to our neighborhood school communities, too.

As we move forward together in partnership to provide an excellent education to all students despite these challenging times, I am reminded of all that we have overcome and accomplished together since our schools first had to shut their doors in March.  I am constantly inspired by all of your dedication to our children and to one another.  If you have questions as we continue to move ahead, please feel free to contact me.  I’m happy to help. 

Sincerely, 

Jeffrey Baier
Superintendent
Los Altos School District
 

Dear Los Altos School District Community, 

Recent news regarding the Los Altos School District (LASD) Waiver Application, new California Department of Public Health (CDPH) guidelines, and news of Santa Clara County’s move from “purple” to “red” is a lot to absorb.  As I’ve said before, the only constant during this pandemic has been change.  Below is a summary of how this new round of information and change will impact LASD.

LASD’s Waiver Application Is Approved
SCCPHD and CDPH have approved LASD’s Waiver Application to bring targeted groups of students back to campus in a phased approach, including those in grades TK-3.  We believe it is essential to focus this limited reopening on the students who experience the greatest challenges in distance learning, including students with special needs, English language learners, students receiving nutritional services, and our youngest learners.  

Reopening with the Waiver
Our phased approach under the waiver is as follows: 

On September 21st, Group 1 Starts 

• Students Enrolled in Special Day Class
• Students Requiring Academic Supervision in Distance Learning (see waiver)

After Group 1, approximately three weeks will separate each group’s return to campus in our Blended Learning model, physically attending school in the A/B Group format, on Mondays/Tuesdays or Thursdays/Fridays, respectively.  Those students enrolled in Virtual School will remain in distance learning unless they request to move into the Blended learning program.  The rest of the groups and their order of return to campus are as follows: 

Group 2:  Transitional Kindergarten and Kindergarten Students
Group 3:  First Grade Students
Group 4:  Second Grade Students
Group 5:  Third Grade Students

LASD will consult with the Santa Clara County Public Health Department for approval prior to implementing each step of this phased approach.  The LASD Virtual School will continue to operate for those families who do not wish to return their child to campus.  Furthermore, all families will continue to have the option to change to the Blended Learning or Virtual School program every six weeks.  That being said, your school principal requires notification two weeks in advance of the designated program switch dates. The first such switch date is October 5, with a notification deadline of September 21. For more information click here.

New California Reopening Strategy and Santa Clara County in “Red”
The State of California recently announced a new reopening strategy, or tiered color system, which now guides the reopening of businesses and schools.  Yesterday, Santa Clara County moved from the “Purple/Widespread,” or most severe level, to the “Red/Sustained” tier.  If Santa Clara County remains at the “Red” tier for 14 consecutive days, LASD and all other school districts in the county will be allowed to reopen campuses to students.  

LASD’s plan is still to reopen in a Blended Learning format, with TK-8th grade students returning to campus 2 days per week in stable A/B cohorts.  Students would not return to campus all at once, but rather in a phased approach and by grade level as outlined in our Reopening Plan.  As we reopen, our schools must still adhere to all SCCPHD guidelines.  

When and if the state clears schools to reopen in Santa Clara County, we will immediately update our community at that time so that we can all make preparations accordingly.  Additionally, I will have public discussions with our Board of Trustees to determine the phased return of each grade level of students, along with corresponding dates. I will communicate those to you as they become available.

Health and Safety Is Our Priority
As we slowly return groups of students to campus in a phased approach, LASD will strictly adhere to all current and future state and local public health guidelines to keep our students and staff safe. We will ask our families and staff to collaborate with us in strict adherence to all guidelines at home as well.  This collective action will be critical to ensure our reopening is sustained and that our entire community stays healthy. 

I’m very proud of our school district’s proactive efforts to safely and responsibly bring students back to campus under ever-changing circumstances.  I recognize the current situation is challenging and requires a great deal of effort from families and staff alike.  Your partnership and collaboration is appreciated as we continue to navigate this public health crisis together. 

As always, I am available to answer your questions and address your concerns as we work to provide the best educational experience for all students.  

Sincerely, 

Jeffrey Baier
Superintendent
Los Altos School District

Questions and Answers:  Waiver

Under the approved waiver, which groups of students will return to campuses first and when?
Focusing on students with the greatest need for academic support in distance learning, students in Special Day class and those otherwise requiring significant assistance in distance learning will return to campus in small cohorts beginning on September 21. 

What is the approximate time-frame between each group’s return to campus under the waiver plan?
Approximately three weeks will separate each group of students’ return to campus.  LASD will work in coordination with Santa Clara County Public Health Department to determine the exact date of return of each group based on public health circumstances and our schools’ ability to safely and effectively implement all public health requirements to keep our communities healthy. 

What if my child is enrolled in Blended Learning, but we prefer not to return to campus yet?
All families have the option to change to the Blended Learning or Virtual School program every six weeks.  The first notification deadline is September 21 for an October 5 switch date. Your school principal requires notification two weeks in advance of the switch date.  Please click here for more information on program switch and notification dates. 

What are the health and safety protocols under the waiver process?
LASD will strictly adhere to all current and future health and safety requirements from state and local public health officials. Please review the Waiver Application for more information.  

What will the school day look like when my child returns to campus in the Blended Learning format?
Students will attend school in their stable cohort in the A or B Group.  Group A students will learn in their classrooms on Monday and Tuesday.  Group B students will learn in their classrooms on Thursday and Friday.  Wednesday will remain an online learning day.  On the days when students are not attending class physically, learning will be online and largely asynchronous.  

How do I know if my child is in the A or B cohort?
If your child is in elementary school, you should have received notification of your child’s cohort and classroom teacher assignment via a letter from your principal in August.  If you need more information or have misplaced this information, please contact your school principal. Junior high school families will be notified of cohort designation prior to our actual return.