COVID-19 Operations Written Report

On March 12, 2020, the State of California issued a directive for the cessation of all non-essential public gatherings, not inclusive of classroom instruction. The next day, March 13th, the Governor issued Executive Order N-26-20, allowing schools to retain funding if districts:

• Continue delivering high-quality educational opportunities to students through other options, distance learning and independent study;
• Safely provide school meals through the Summer Food Service Program and Seamless Summer Option, consistent with the requirements of the California Department of Education and U.S. Department of Agriculture;
• To the extent practicable, arrange for supervision for students during ordinary school hours;
• Continue to pay employees.

The Garden Grove Unified School District Board of Education met on March 13th and the outcome was the suspension of in-person classes through April 13th. School staff came together on March 16th to determine plans for distance education and each employee submitted an individual work from home plan. By the end of that week, all school site employees were working from home along with most district employees.

On April 1st, Governor Newsom and State Superintendent Thurmond announced an expectation that distance learning continue through the end of the 2019-2020 school year as part of the statewide effort to flatten the curve and reduce the spread of COVID-19. In keeping with districts in the county and across the state, GGUSD has also extended distance learning through June 12; in-person classes will not resume before the end of the school year.

While the Governor and State Department of Education have indicated that it is likely that students will return to school in the Fall, they have also advised that, depending on the status of the pandemic, that return might be markedly different than typical school practices. At present, we are looking into all of the possible aspects of a return, contingent on state and county directives in relation to COVID-19, and will be sharing information with all stakeholders as it becomes available.

GGUSD has placed significant focus on efforts that are principally directed towards meeting the needs of our English learners, foster youth, and low-income students.

Technology plays an important role in ensuring students continue to receive high-quality educational opportunities during distance learning. Since all students do not have the same resources, particularly our foster youth and low-income students, this section begins with addressing access to devices and the internet.

• Student Device Access: Students have ongoing opportunities to obtain devices through-out the closure. School sites reached out to families to ensure students can access lessons.
• WiFi Access: The district has communicated through mail/email about free or low-cost internet options for families. GGUSD has extended school site WiFi signals and developed other solutions to improve internet access for highest need communities.

For our English learners, teachers consider their English Learners’ Language Levels when designing lessons and monitor accordingly, provide multiple opportunities for students to engage in structured oral language practice, as well as provide opportunities to process new learning through structured writing prompts with academic language and sentence frames. The school administrator participates in Zoom break-out sessions to see how English Learners are engaging in learning, and they provide support and professional development for staff in supporting their English learners. Bilingual Instructional Assistants support English learners with distance learning by engaging with students in break-out sessions, providing follow-up support in small groups, responding to individual questions on posts or via email.

During the COVID-19 cessation of in-person classes and distance learning, per the Governor and State Superintendent of Public Schools, grading during distance learning can do “no harm” to students, and students are not to be punished by grades. In response to this charge, GGUSD district and site administrators, along with teachers and GGEA President and Executive Director, agreed to a temporary grading policy. District grading policies consider the needs of all students, including English Learners, students with an IEP, homeless and foster youth, and those with differing accessibility to digital learning and other tools or materials.

Distance learning is academic instruction in which the student and teacher are in different locations. This instruction does not have to occur at the same time and typically involves the use of technology. Distance learning can be:

• one in which students learn at the same time (synchronous) OR learn at different times (asynchronous)
• completely digital (all technology-based) OR hybrid (partially digital and partially print) o in special circumstances, print only may be provided

Technology plays an important role in ensuring students continue to receive high-quality educational opportunities during distance learning. GGUSD has placed significant focus on efforts that address the technology needs of our students in the following areas:

• Student Device Access: GGUSD Schools distributed over 15,000 devices to students. Students have ongoing opportunities to obtain devices through-out the closure. School sites reached out to families to ensure students can access lessons. Specialized equipment were sent home for special education students.
• WiFi Access: The district has communicated through mail/email about free or low-cost internet options for families. GGUSD has extended school site WiFi signals and developed other solutions to improve internet access for highest need communities.
• Accessing Lessons: Teachers and administrators make multiple attempts to follow-up with families who need additional technology support.
• Ongoing Tech Support: Tech support is available by contacting school or emailing ATHomeHelpDesk@ggusd.us. FAQs and ongoing tech tips and support materials are sent through ParentSquare & posted online.

Teachers have created online classrooms for students using Google Classroom. Younger students may have a simpler learning space set up for them to interact with their teacher through the Seesaw app or web portal. In addition, teachers are using the online meeting tools, Zoom and Google Meets, to conduct live face-to-face lessons with students as well as hold office hours for students to receive extra help. Parents and students will continue to receive messages and notices through ParentSquare.

Garden Grove Unified School District’s Grab and Go Meal Service provides breakfast and lunch on Mondays and Wednesdays from 11:00a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Families receive meals on Monday for both Monday and Tuesday and meals on Wednesday for Wednesday through Friday. Both breakfast and lunch meals will be served at once to all individuals participating in the drive-through or walk-up meal program. The Grab and Go meals are offered at 13 locations including:

• Alamitos Intermediate School, 12381 Dale St., Garden Grove
• Bell Intermediate School, 12345 Springdale St., Garden Grove
• Fitz Intermediate School, 4600 West McFadden Ave. Santa Ana
• Irvine Intermediate School, 10552 Hazard Ave., Santa Ana
• Ralston Intermediate School, 10851 Lampson Ave., Garden Grove
• Peters K-3 Elementary, 13162 Newhope St., Garden Grove
• Bolsa Grande High School, 9401 Westminster Ave., Garden Grove
• Garden Grove High School, 11271 Stanford Ave., Garden Grove
• La Quinta High School, 10372 McFadden Ave., Westminster
• Los Amigos High School, 16566 Newhope St., Fountain Valley
• Pacifica High School, 6851 Lampson Ave., Garden Grove
• Rancho Alamitos High School, 11351 Dale St., Garden Grove
• Santiago High School, 12342 Trask Ave., Garden Grove

The meals are available to all children age 18 and under and any developmental disabled person under 21 years of age who is enrolled in an institution or Regional Center program. In accordance with state guidelines, parents are allowed to pick up meals without students present. However, parents will be asked for their students’ ID numbers at the meal service distribution sites.

It has not been practicable for GGUSD to arrange for supervision for students during ordinary school hours. During the COVID-19 cessation of in-person classes and distance learning, 90% of GGUSD employees are working from home.

Now more than ever, our ability to support student health, safety, and well-being is critical. GGUSD recognizes that our students may feel additional stress and anxiety during this period of uncertainty. GGUSD staff will continue to work tirelessly in supporting students and families during distance learning. School staff, including school community liaisons, are conducting wellness check phone calls to ensure families are experiencing successful distance learning as well as having their non-academic needs met. During the wellness checks, employees ask families if they have access to school work, food, internet, and wellness resources. When families need additional assistance, they are connected to the appropriate resource/contact.

Our website, www.ggusd.us/covidresources provides academic resources (links to textbooks and other digital platforms used by our teachers during distance learning), wellness resources, (support for mental health and wellness), and community-based resources (support for childcare, low-cost/free internet, food resources, etc.). All students and parents may contact our helpline at 714- 598-6366 which is staffed by a friendly GGUSD employee Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.