Good evening Mountain View family,
Maybe, just maybe, the winds this morning will bring a change in weather. We have endured a lot in 2020, and this being the hottest summer on record and driest summer on record have not helped things. The sun was an incredible color this morning behind the dust and we can only hope that all of this will signal cooler temperatures. My parents in Colorado had temperatures in the 90's yesterday and today, received temperatures in the 30's and snow. Of course, that is a bit much to ask but cooler temperatures and even the threat of rain would be a welcome change in Tucson.
If you have not done so already, please complete the survey sent last week. This information is vital for our district to determine how to best reopen our schools. Thank you in advance for your attention to this survey and we appreciate greatly the support during remote learning.
Dear Parent/Guardian:
The Marana Unified School District (MUSD) Return to School Task Force continues to plan for the Safe and Thoughtful Return to School, aligned with the Arizona Department of Education Roadmap for Reopening Schools and Governor Ducey's Executive Order 2020-51 - Arizona: Open for Learning. As the metrics in Pima County are trending in the right direction, we want to re-survey parents and guardians to gain updated information to help us plan for the next phase of instruction.
It is important that the District continues to hear from you as we plan and prepare. Please provide your input by completing the MUSD Survey by Tuesday, September 8, 2020. Please fill out one form for each student.
MUSD recognizes that these are uncertain times with many unknowns and evolving conditions; therefore the District will continue to communicate with you and seek your input through the planning process.
Please continue to stay safe and stay connected.
MUSD Administration
Thank you for your continued partnership during remote learning. Over the past couple of weeks, throughout our District, we have been reflecting on the implementation of our Distance Learning Plan. Based on the feedback that we have captured from teachers and parents at the secondary level, we are changing our attendance procedure. In short, we are providing another option for families to report their child's engagement in learning.
During Remote Learning, attendance is based on student presence in collaborative Zoom sessions as well as the submission of work products during flipped learning periods. We recognize that it has been challenging for teachers to maintain accurate attendance records for flipped learning when students are not able to submit assignments during the school day. Additionally, many families are supporting their child's learning outside of school hours. While we know our students in MUSD are working hard, we continue to explore ways to capture this so they are not marked absent.
Up to now, teachers have been responsible for marking attendance as present based on their class attendance. Students are marked present when they engage with the content or show in the Zoom meetings. They are marked absent when they do not engage. The change we have made is to allow parents to verify attendance by filling out the form below. Note that if your child is marked present, there is no reason to complete this form. However, if you notice that your child was marked absent, but was engaged with school work, once this is submitted our attendance team will take care of updating attendance records. We hope the addition of this option provides flexibility for families and helps to increase accuracy of our attendance records for secondary students.
In Short:
- If your child is marked present for class, there is nothing to do.
- If your child is marked absent, and you can verify that s/he did engage with school work, complete and submit the form so we can reflect that in Parent and Student Vue.
- The form must be completed for each child separately.
- The form can be re-used, and must be submitted for each day that you wish to correct.
Parent Attendance Form: https://forms.gle/VXecea9BBftfxHJF9
Protecting Zoom Classrooms
Given the open availability of our Google Classroom Codes, we have set rules for entry. We have asked teachers to limit classroom entry to only students who are on their class list. We do however recognize that some of our students for a variety of reasons go by nicknames or other selected names. If a student is more comfortable with the nickname or selected name, we want them to use that name. We recommend that students in this situation, email their teacher to let the teacher know the preferred screen name. By receiving this email, the teacher will be able to officially connect the nickname/selected name to the student on the roster.
Remote Learning & Support Services
As we continue our school year through Remote Learning, I want to remind parents and guardians that our school, along with all school districts in Pima County, are not able yet to reopen to in-person classroom learning. Our Superintendent continues to work closely with health officials, County Administrators, and other school superintendents to identify appropriate local benchmarks and indicators with the goal of returning us to school safely as soon as possible.
Our teachers and students will continue their Remote Learning work as we wait for the County to meet benchmarks for reopening, as directed in the Governor's Executive Order.
The Governor has also directed schools to provide free learning opportunities and on-site support services for students who need a place to go during the day. These support services are intended to serve our more vulnerable students, including those with special education services, English learners, and those in care of the Arizona Department of Child Safety, including Foster Care, beginning Monday, August 17. If you believe your student is in need of these targeted support services, please visit the District's support services webpage.
Todd Garelick
Principal
Mountain View High School
(520) 579-4427
Updated-_Marana_Unified_School_District-_Program_Participation_Assumption_of_Risk,_Waiver,_and_Release_of_Liability.pdf (57.6 KB)
