Superintendent Communication

COVID-19 Public Health Order Update

Dear BHUSD Community,

We made it through our third week of this crazy school year and I want to thank you! This is a lot for everyone and you are doing a sensational job navigating so many new challenges. 

Today, I have another Public Health Order update to bring you. If you are beginning to feel that just as you understand the information, it changes, you are right! 

Yesterday, the LA Department of Public Health updated their Health Order, linked here, indicating if the District submits an application (which has not yet been made available to us) schools can consider offering in-school services for small cohorts of students with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) and children who are English Learners (EL) needing assessments and/or specialized in-school services anytime after September 14, 2020.  

In full transparency, I just finished a conference call with Dr. Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and she announced some very important information we were not yet aware of both for our high risk, high need students and also our general population:

1. In order to allow in-school services for students with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) and children who are English Learners (EL) needing assessments and/or specialized in-school services, we must submit an application to the LA County Department of Public Health. This application form for limited in-school services has not yet been made available to anyone in LA County. 
2. Even when the State announces we (LA County) can move from Tier 1 (purple) to Tier 2 (red) the LA County Department of Public Health may not allow schools to physically reopen. LA County cannot be less restrictive than the State but they can be more restrictive than the State. In fact, they imparted that the current Public Health Order would need to be revised when we change Tiers. 
3. LA County Department of Public Health does not predict any consideration of physical reopening until early November. This is due to the new more restrictive metrics announced by the State and the trends the County is seeing especially after holiday weekends. Of course, as we know, this situation changes daily and we will continue to monitor and review the LA County data. 

In addition to the mandatory orders, LA County announces, the decision to reopen physically in any way will be made under the direction of the BHUSD Board of Education and Superintendent. The factors to be considered are vast. The health and safety of our entire BHUSD community remains our first priority. 

Lastly, one of the items Dr. Ferrer asked me to impress on you, is the importance of getting the flu shot. We are nearing flu season, and combining this with a global pandemic may make physically reopening schools even more difficult. 

What are the takeaways from this letter? 

• Students with IEPs, EL students, and high risk, high need students who need assessments and/or specialized in-school services will be the first students to return physically to school however, we need to apply for this privilege through the LA County Department of Public Health and they have NOT made this application available yet. If you are impacted by this update please know that within this group there are a number of constraints and limitations. We are assessing the feasibility of which programs, students, and staff to bring back while working within the cohorting approach dictated by the LA County Department of Public Health. Each individual program and student schedule must be analyzed to ensure as little cross-contamination takes place as possible. 

• We will be in Tier 1 (purple) for many weeks to come. 

• Even when we move to Tier 2 (red) by the State, LA County may have more restrictive requirements, additionally, we know there will be an updated Public Health Order when we change Tiers.

We are asking you to understand that LA County is trying to offer us options however, we must maintain its intent which is to lower community transmission.

Have a wonderful long weekend,

Dr. Bregy 

Please see attached the revised 2020-2021 Calendar. 

Both the District and the Association agreed on the importance of providing time to plan, prepare and adjust to the changes needed for the 2020-2021 school year in order to provide teachers with the necessary resources, technology, and professional development. Therefore, the first day of school for students has changed from August 17, 2020, to August 18, 2020. To make up for this day of instruction, January 27, 2021, will change from a professional development day to an instructional day.

Dear BHUSD Community,

Can you believe it?! School begins in a couple of weeks and everyone is working around the clock to make sure we have a fantastic start to the upcoming school year. You have heard a lot of information over the last 7 days about our Reopening Plans, options, and recommendations from our expert Think Tank about Physical Reopening. 

I am reaching out with some significant updates about forthcoming dates, coffees with the principals, and the statement made earlier today. We announced with the Beverly Hills Education Association, that a Tentative Agreement of a Memorandum of Understanding has been reached today, August 1st, 2020. 

The Tentative Agreement Memorandum of Understanding is pending Board of Education and BHEA Representative Council approval. The full agreement is available at bhusd.org/mou/. On Wednesday, we will release academic class schedules which include start and stop times and further information about certainties. 

This is a huge milestone for our community and I want to take a moment to thank the Beverly Hills Education Association bargaining team and BHEA Executive Board and our district bargaining team, including the District Leadership, California Teachers Association Regional UniServe Staff representative, Penny Sevoian, and Board President, Isabel Hacker, for their hours and hours of collaboration in creating an MOU with the common goal to achieve the highest quality outcome for our students in what can only be described as truly unprecedented circumstances.

We understand you are eager to know as many details as possible.  We have created a few opportunities below for you to join us to learn more about the 2020 - 2021 school year.

On Tuesday, August 11th at 8am I would like to meet with all of our staff, from teachers to custodians to office support, anyone who works for BHUSD is invited to join me for a voluntary all staff meeting on Zoom. 

Parents, on Wednesday, August 12th our principals and some of our cabinet members will join me in hosting a parent meeting Zoom coffee. I hope you will join us. BVMS will start at 8am, Elementary will start at 10:30am and BHHS will start at 3pm. 

Although this MOU focuses on the change caused by COVID-19 from physical learning to distance education, it is the intent of the District and Association to return to a traditional educational program as soon as is feasible consistent with applicable state and local directives issued in response to this pandemic. It is anticipated that the return to a traditional program may occur in phases and may include remote and hybrid instructional and support models.

Before we share some highlights from this agreement, we want to take a moment to reinforce the importance of fundamental lessons we teach our students. Working together we can create positive, impactful change in this world. When we resort to unkind, divisive behavior, our ability to reach our potential is squandered. We encourage the BHUSD community to join us as teachers, administrators, staff, and parents in leading our students with behavior we expect from them. During a crisis, kindness is critical and we are grateful to be able to achieve unity and strength for both our students and one another through this MOU. 

After weeks of negotiating, now is the time to meet the moment we have all been waiting for, to come together and ensure our students are given the opportunity to learn, grow and achieve their personal success. 

For those of you who may not be familiar with an MOU, it is a Memorandum of Understanding, an agreement between, in this case, the Beverly Hills Education Association (our teachers and other unit members) and the District. There are many people in our community who make sure we can do the best job in delivering exemplary education however the people who create such a strong foundation as the bedrock of our District are our teachers. 

When things change, for example, a pandemic comes along, there is a change to the way our district works and that means we need to come up with a clear agreement to help everyone know what we need to follow to give our students the best possible education. 

The BHEA bargaining team has worked in a partnership with the District and Board of Education to fine-tune and reach an agreement today detailing exactly what the plan is so that we can start the school year with clear expectations for everyone. On Wednesday, we will share very specific schedules and expectations. Live@BHUSD will bring you the very best of Home Learning 2.0 and address what didn’t work so well.

The key elements of the MOU are outlined below:

• Live@BHUSD will mimic what occurs in a physical classroom as closely as possible connecting in visual and auditory ways providing students, instruction, encouragement, and feedback.

• Both the District and the Association agreed on the importance of providing time to plan, prepare and adjust to the changes needed for the 2020-2021 school year in order to provide teachers with the necessary resources, technology, and professional development. Therefore, the first day of school for students has changed from August 17, 2020, to August 18, 2020.  To make up for this day of instruction, January 27, 2021, will change from a professional development day to an instructional day.

• BHEA unit members will have the opportunity to select their preferred worksite from District assigned locations or their determined remote location. 

• Students will receive daily interaction in real-time. 

• Students will receive live and synchronous instruction which engages students following the academic class schedule through direct instruction, guided practice, checking for understanding, progress monitoring, and setting the expectations for daily independent practice and homework assignments.

• Live and synchronous instruction and support occurs when the BHEA member and students are meeting in the same virtual space at the same time using one or more of the audiovisual remote instructional platforms provided by the District.

• Only students, members, and administrators shall have the right to be present in virtual spaces during synchronous and live instruction.

• The District will clean and sanitize all necessary facilities and equipment remaining in full compliance with the LA County Department of Public Health Orders. 

• In the event a staff member tests positive for COVID-19, the District will make provisions to support a leave. 

Thank you for your support, your patience, your willingness to challenge us, and give us grace. Thank you for extending each other kindness in a time that can create endless frustration and upset. Thank you for setting the example to our students for how to respond in an ongoing crisis with respect, trust in leadership, and empathy. 

To summarize here are some key dates and times:

• Wednesday, August 5th - Academic class schedules and start/stop times released

• Tuesday, August 11th at 8am - All Staff District Wide Voluntary Meeting

• Wednesday, August 12th

  • 8am BVMS District/School/Parent Zoom

  • 10:30am Elementary District/School/Parent Zoom

  • 3pm BHHS District/School/Parent Zoom 

• Monday, August 17th - New Staff Professional Development Day 

• Tuesday, August 18th - School Starts

This pandemic has created challenges for all of us but we are so excited to start the school year on August 18th! Please stay on the lookout for the specific schedules and expectations for your family on Wednesday afternoon. 

Have a great weekend, wear your mask, wash your hands, and keep smiling, we will get through this together! 

Respectfully, 

Dr. Bregy

Dear BHUSD Community,

I want to start by saying thank you. I am so grateful for your patience at this time of uncertainty. As you have seen over the last week, all local districts are unveiling very similar fall options. 

Although we wish that COVID-19 would cease to exist and we could return to school full time, we are not allowed to do that under the current order (mask requirement pg 2, social distancing requirement pg 13 - click here) from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LACDPH). We are waiting for the latest order which we have been informed will be published this week. I have been told that the new order will not have any less stringent regulations. 

We must also follow the guidelines from the California Department of Education (CDE) and Center for Disease Control (CDC) and Los Angeles County of Education (LACOE). 

I understand that this situation is extremely difficult for all parents, staff, and students and particularly impacts our working parents in a different way. 

As a District we have two priorities, they have and always will be in the following order. First, Safety. Second, Education. We are working day in and day out with experts and our own staff to make the best decisions for our community. 

We want to help you make the decision by July 15th between Option 1 - ILC and Option 2 - Hybrid Learning by providing as much information as we have. It is important to separate this by age group as it impacts everyone differently. In all actuality, both options will not compare to the experience we provide without a global pandemic. 

There are three main updates I can give you today:

1. You will hear from me once a week with an update throughout the summer. 

2. We will publish a BHUSD Frequently Asked Questions document this week. 

3. Our Primary and Elementary students, being younger learners, have significantly different needs to our Middle and High school students. Therefore, this Friday, July 3rd at 10am for 90 minutes we will hold a virtual Coffee with the Principals of Hawthorne and Horace Mann together. Information about this will be forthcoming.

Please be aware that everything we share is contingent on information from the Department of Public Health, the MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) with our bargaining teams, and a litany of things that are out of our control. Nothing is concrete and we understand that we are asking you to make a concrete decision about the ILC- click here- by July 15th. 

Respectfully,

Dr. Bregy