Happy Thursday Allen Eagles!
Please continue to check www.cvesd.org and allenelementary.org for the most up-to-date information about our vibrant school community and amazing district: The health and safety of our students and staff remain at the forefront of all decisions regarding the upcoming school year.
While the school year ends officially on Wednesday, June 3rd, the district will continue to offer students access to online programs and resources such as iReady, Achieve 3000, Smarty Ants, and GoMath over the summer break. In addition, families may print out educational packets for students over the summer break here. CVESD’s Distance Learning packets available for download can prevent the loss of learning over the summer break. Curriculum packets may be used with or without technology. Each packet is intended to last two weeks (10 school days).
A friendly reminder that students will not recieve a report card for quarter 4. If you did not receive a digital copy of your child’s 3rd quarter report card, please contact your child’s teacher ASAP.
A Message from the Superintendent
State Budget Proposal Would Devastate CVESD Schools
May 26, 2020
Dear Parents/Guardians and Staff Members:
As California begins reopening businesses in stages, we are already seeing the extraordinary negative economic impact of the COVID-19 shutdown on California. Governor Gavin Newsom recently released his revised proposal (known as the “May Revise”) for the 2020-21 state budget. In a word, the proposed budget cuts would be “devastating” to our schools as well as those across San Diego County and the state.
This is because Governor Newsom’s revised budget, if enacted, would mean a $6.5 billion cut to schools’ main source of funding. It would mean single-year reductions to public education worse than we experienced in the last recession. CVESD would experience a $24 million reduction in Local Control Funding Formula (LC FF) and Special Education revenues compared to what the District had been expecting from the governor’s January proposal for the 2020-21 fiscal year. Yes, it’s true—a $24 million switch in direction.
As we know, much has happened over the last couple of months that has changed our CVESD community and the world. CVESD is currently working with a broad group of stakeholders to develop a reopening plan for campuses. We anticipate the need to purchase everything from additional cleaning supplies to thermometers to thousands of face coverings/masks. This added expense comes at a time of the worst state budget gap and highest unemployment since the Great Depression.
The Board of Education and I will continue to dialogue with Congressional and Senate representatives to advocate for another round of federal stimulus funds. The new stimulus package is needed just for schools to survive. Nearly 90 percent of our District’s budget is in personnel costs, which is another way of saying “people.” With this level of budget reductions, we are looking at significant numbers of layoffs, furlough days, or both. If federal officials truly want to Celebrate Our Heroes, such as the recent Teacher Appreciation Week and Classified Employee Week, then they should do all they can to keep them employed.
As we watch how the federal stimulus debate plays out in Washington D.C., we will continue planning for various scenarios, both in how we reopen schools and what staff we will be able to have in place when we do reopen. Despite the serious fiscal challenges coming our way, we also will maintain focus on our primary purpose: educating students.
Guiding principles for decision-making in fiscal matters:
- Cutting as far away from the classroom as possible.
- As we continue to devise hybrid models of learning when students return to campuses, we need to prioritize having enough teachers in the classroom.
- Looking at all options to reduce the impact on services and staff (shortened work calendars, etc.)
- Focusing on the essential services—what do students need to succeed?
Balancing these important demands will not be easy. Many of the decisions that local school districts will be forced to undertake are directly related to the state budget and will be unpopular cuts. In the weeks and months ahead, we truly must be #InThisTogether, and unified in our purpose to weather these cuts.
My sincerest gratitude,
Francisco Escobedo, Ed.D.
Superintendent
We Need Your Feedback: Parent Survey – Distance Learning Plan and Reopening of Schools
With the current school year ending distance learning, plans for the next school year are being developed with a number of possible reopening plans under consideration. We understand that each family has a unique situation, be it the state of health or the level of comfort regarding the reopening of the schools. This short, but important survey will help guide us in considering staffing needs and models for teaching, whether physically in person in a classroom, online in a virtual classroom, or a combination of both. The purpose of this survey is to learn about your experience and the experience of your child/children this 2019-2020 academic year, and to help schools plan for the upcoming 2020-2021 school year. Parents/guardians will also be asked about interest in continuing their student’s education at CVESD for grades 7 and 8. The survey takes only a few minutes. Thank you in advance for your help.
La Propuesta del Presupuesto Estatal es devastadora para las escuelas del CVESD
26 de Mayo, 2020
Estimados padres/tutores y personal:
A medida que California comienza a reabrir negocios por etapas, ya estamos viendo el extraordinario impacto económico negativo del cierre de COVID-19 en California. El gobernador Gavin Newsom lanzó recientemente su propuesta revisada (conocida como “Revisión de mayo”) para el presupuesto estatal 2020-21. En una palabra, los recortes presupuestarios propuestos serían “devastadores” para nuestras escuelas, así como para las del condado de San Diego y el estado.
Esto se debe a que el presupuesto revisado del gobernador Newsom, si se aprueba, significaría un recorte de $6.5 mil millones a la principal fuente de financiamiento de las escuelas. Significaría reducciones de un año a la educación pública peor de lo que experimentamos en la última recesión. CVESD experimentaría una reducción de $24 millones en la Fórmula de Financiamiento de Control Local (LCFF) y los ingresos de Educación Especial en comparación con lo que el Distrito había estado esperando de la propuesta del gobernador de enero para el año fiscal 2020-21. Sí, es cierto: un $ 24 millones que fueron desviados.
Como sabemos, mucho ha sucedido en los últimos meses que ha cambiado nuestra comunidad CVESD y el mundo. CVESD está trabajando actualmente con un amplio grupo de partes interesadas para desarrollar un plan de reapertura para las escuelas. Anticipamos la necesidad de comprar todo, desde suministros de limpieza adicionales hasta termómetros y miles de cubre bocas/cubiertas faciales. Este gasto adicional llega en el peor momento de déficit presupuestario estatal y del desempleo más alto desde la Gran Depresión.
La Mesa Directiva de Educación y yo continuaremos dialogando con representantes del Congreso y el Senado para abogar por otra ronda de fondos de estímulo federal. El nuevo paquete de estímulos es necesario para que las escuelas puedan sobrevivir económicamente. Casi el 90 por ciento del presupuesto de nuestro Distrito es para costos de recursos humanos, es decir “personas”. Con este nivel de reducciones al presupuesto, estamos enfrentando números significativos de despidos, reducción de días laborales, o ambos. Si los funcionarios federales realmente desean celebrar a Nuestros Héroes, tal como se hizo durante la reciente Semana de Apreciación del Maestro y la Semana del Empleado Clasificado, entonces deberán hacer todo lo posible para mantenerlos en sus empleos.
Mientras esperamos el resultado del debate sobre el estímulo federal en Washington, D.C., nosotros continuaremos planeando para varios escenarios, tanto en la manera en que reabriremos las escuelas y cuánto personal podremos tener en sus puestos cuando las escuelas se vuelvan a abrir. A pesar de los serios retos fiscales que están por venir, también nos mantendremos enfocados en nuestro propósito principal: educar a los estudiantes.
Los principios para la toma de decisiones en asuntos fiscales:
- Hacer reducciones que afecten lo menos posible al salón de clases.
- Al continuar ideando modelos híbridos de educación para cuando regresen los estudiantes a las escuelas, necesitamos priorizar tener suficientes maestros en los salones de clase.
- Analizar todas las opciones disponibles para minimizar el impacto a los servicios y el personal (calendarios de semanas cortas de trabajo, etc.).
- Enfoque en los servicios esenciales – ¿Qué necesitan los estudiantes para ser exitosos?
No será fácil balancear todos estos requerimientos importantes. Muchas de las decisiones que los distritos escolares locales se verán forzados a enfrentar están directamente relacionados con el presupuesto estatal y serán recortes no populares. En las siguientes semanas y meses, realmente debemos estar #Juntos En Esto y unidos en nuestro propósito de sobrepasar estos recortes.
Mi más sincero agradecimiento,
Dr. Francisco Escobedo
Superintendente
Necesitamos su opinión: Encuesta para padres sobre el plan de educación a distancia y la reapertura de las escuelas
Con el ciclo escolar actual terminando con la educación a distancia, se están desarrollando planes para el próximo ciclo escolar con una serie de posibles planes de reapertura bajo consideración. Entendemos que cada familia tiene una situación única, ya sea el estado de salud o el nivel de comodidad con respecto a la reapertura de los planteles. Esta breve pero importante encuesta nos ayudará a guiarnos al considerar las necesidades de personal y los modelos para enseñar, ya sea físicamente en persona en un salón, en línea en un salón virtual, o una combinación de ambos. El propósito de esta encuesta es saber sobre su experiencia y la experiencia de sus hijos este año académico 2019-2020, y ayudar a las escuelas a planear el ciclo escolar 2020-2021. También se les preguntará a los padres/tutores sobre el interés en continuar la educación de sus estudiantes en el CVESD para los grados 7 y 8. La encuesta toma solo unos minutos. De antemano, gracias por su ayuda.
Distance Learning Parent Survey
As stated by Dr. Escobedo in the letter above, CVESD would like to share its Distance Learning Survey for Parents in English and Spanish at this link here. Your valuable input is needed! The purpose of this survey is to measure your experience and the experience of your child this 2019-2020 academic year, and to assist schools in planning for the 2020-2021 school year (while adhering to federal, state, and local guidelines). Individual survey responses will be kept confidential. For specific concerns, please contact the school principal, Mr. John Greenwell, by email at john.greenwell@cvesd.org. We appreciate your time in completing this short, 13 question survey. Thank you!
The survey can be accessed by clink this link: https://bit.ly/3ccG9qh. La encuesta está disponible aquí: https://bit.ly/3ccG9qh.
6th Grade Promotion & Drive-Thru
We are pleased to be able to share details regarding our sixth grade promotion ceremony. We will share a link to the virtual ceremony, scheduled for Tuesday, June 2 by 9 am.
We are currently planning an optional, drive through celebration for sixth grade students to receive certificates and other materials, also on Tuesday, June 2. The school’s traffic loop will be open from 5 pm to 6:30 pm. Details can found below in a letter from our principal, Mr. Greenwell. Please look for additional communication from your child’s sixth grade teacher.
Kindergarten Promotion
Kindergarten promotion will occur online via a link for families on Wednesday, June 3rd in the morning. Ms. Davies’ class will have their promotion ceremony at 9:15 am, while Ms. Sinong and Ms. Gurule will have their ceremonies at 10 am.
Please look for additional communication from your child’s teacher for more information regarding details and the link for this virtual Kindergarten promotion ceremony.
PTC Meeting
The PTC will be hosting an additional meeting in June on Monday, June 8th at 6 pm. Please email the principal or secretary at michelle.reza@cvesd.org if you wish to receive the link to attend this online meeting.
Caleb’s Stories
We are very proud of all of our students, but wanted to share something cool with you. Caleb, a first grade student, has been writing his own stories! A budding author, Caleb wanted to write his own stories and share them with others. His first book, “Jaxon and the Big Fire” is about a dog that saves others. Way to go, Caleb! We want to continue to spotlight the amazing things our students are doing and share good news with our school community.
Online New Student Registration
Please spread the word to share how wonderful Allen Elementary is! Online registration for all new incoming students to Allen remains open at the district’s website! This process is only for families new to Allen Elementary and all incoming kindergarten students. While the school office remains closed to the public, registration is happening online. Questions? Email michelle.reza@cvesd.org.
Click the link here for more information regarding zone transfers (within CVESD) and interdistrict transfers (from outside CVESD). Current Ella B. Allen Elementary students do NOT need to re-register online. They are automatically enrolled for 2020-2021 school year; however, if your child attends Allen on a Zone Transfer or Interdistrict Transfer that must be renewed each year. Residency Verification for returning students will be done at a later time (to be announced later).
If your child will NOT return to Allen Elementary in 2020-2021, please email michelle.reza@cvesd.org or john.greenwell@cvesd.org. Outgoing sixth grade students do not need to notify the office staff that they are attending middle school next year.
Community Resources
We would like to share some additional, online resources for our families.
CVESD Parent Help Line and TEAMS Support: Parents may call the Parent Help Line for Tech Support at (619) 409-6638 Mondays through Fridays from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. This help line offers technical assistance with district programs such as Microsoft TEAMS, iReady, and Achieve 3000. Parents may need to leave a message during peak times, but please be reassured that someone will contact you as soon as possible if you leave your name and phone number on your voice message.
Families Together: Families Together, Inc. keeps updating safety and health resources for the community. It provides COVID-19 information and support to families, including a helpful section called “Helping Your Child Understand COVID-19.”
CVESD Community Resources: This page is updated occasionally to provide families in our district with community services such as food, housing, and internet resources.
SDCOE Connectivity Resources: The San Diego County Office of Education provides links for families in San Diego County to get increased access to wifi resources for families struggling with distance learning.
PBS News Hour: This segment from PBS News Hour discusses the positive impact of classical music on children.
Sesame Street’s Grover Shares a Message with Kids: NPR’s Life Kit reached out to Sesame Street’s beloved monster, Grover, to speak directly to kids. Grover talks with NPR Life Kit hosts Anya Kamenetz and Cory Turner about wearing a mask, missing his friends, and why it’s OK to be sad sometimes.
Sesame Workshop’s Tips for Parents During the Pandemic: A companion piece for adults about using the above resource (Grover speaking to kids).
🦅 Allen Eagles: Together, we SOAR!
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Ella B. Allen Elementary School 