Castaic Union School District

The first day of school will be August 11, 2020. At this time, we do not have education plans finalized for the 2020-2021 school year; with COVID-19, things are constantly changing. We currently have a special task force working together in collaboration with Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LADPH), California Department of Education (CDE), and the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE) to determine how to best (and safely) serve our students and families in accordance with guidelines set forth by the state of California. The task force is comprised of Castaic Union School District (CUSD) parents, health care providers, nurses, school psychologists, teachers, support staff, and administrators, which gives us varied and valuable perspectives. The task force has considered the education models recommended by LACOE and discussed in-depth how each of these models might affect our students, staff, and families.

May 26, 2020 - Today, members of the Castaic School Reopening Planning Task Force held the first meeting to begin planning for the opening of our schools. The Task Force is comprised of parents, site and district level administrators, CTA and CSEA members, and representatives from all areas of operations for the district. This broad cross-section of viewpoints will provide valuable guidance as we move forward in developing a plan to reopen. The plan will ultimately be approved by our Board of Trustees and submitted to the Los Angeles Department of Public Health for approval. While the timeline for this process is unknown, we feel it is important to begin the planning process. We have adopted the guiding principles from the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE), as they are preparing to release their framework for opening schools this week. These guiding principles are: Keeping students and staff safe and healthy Assuring continuity of instruction Ensuring access and equity for all students Communicating with stakeholders, such as staff, families, bargaining units and partners Ensuring flexibility to meet the needs and advocate for all students The Task Force reviewed and is providing feedback on the draft survey that has been created to get feedback on our schools reopening and distance learning. We understand that there were many challenges to rapidly create a distance learning program on the fly. We are looking to improve our distance learning program for the future in the event schools are closed again or for those parents that choose to remain in a distance learning program in the fall. Please look for the survey to be distributed at the end of the week.