MESSAGE FROM THE OFFICE OF THE SUPERINTENDENT September 22, 2020
This message is from Dave Olney, Superintendent of the Hesperia Unified School District.
Tonight, I get the opportunity to share a little bit of good news. Over the past few weeks, we have actually seen a decrease in the number of new cases of COVID, both in Hesperia and San Bernardino County.
While the county is still considered by the state to be at the purple level and it will not allow us to reopen our schools, we are in the process of developing an elementary waiver to submit to the state. If the state approves our waiver, we will be able to bring our elementary students back in smaller groups, meaning that about half of our students would come to school at any one time. If the county numbers continue to improve, we could also see secondary schools being allowed to partially reopen as well in the not too distant future.
To prepare for students returning, we are increasing our sanitization and safety protocols, as well as investigating various methods for additional safeguards. In the meantime, our schools are working on ways to better support our students while we are in distance learning. Thank you to those who participated in our distance learning survey.
We continue to seek ways to help our students learn during this challenging time and, as there are new but strict guidelines for providing small group intervention, this may include bringing small groups of students in for short tutorial sessions. This will not replace the distance learning, as we are not yet allowed to do that, but we want to provide as much support as possible.
Please remember, on our website at www.hesperiausd.org, we have many supports, including counseling supports, for those who need it. As a father, I understand how frustrating this time has been and, as an educator, I want to get our students back to the physical school sites as quickly as we are safely able to do so.
Thank you for your support and understanding, and I also want to thank our teachers and staff, I don’t think anyone ever expected to have to deal with a global pandemic, or to be forced into working in the manner in which we have. But as I listen to my colleagues across the state, I don’t think anyone has stepped up to this challenge better than Hesperia Unified. Even though distance learning will never replace having our students in school, I’m proud of the work our staff, our students, and our families have done to support learning.
I hope to be able to report more good news to you very soon. Have a good night.