Message from Our Superintendent
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Greetings DUSD Families, Staff and Community,
I hope all of our amazing moms were able to enjoy a very happy Mother’s Day despite the challenges of gathering with our loved ones this year.
The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to play a significant role in our everyday lives and our school district. In a moment of reflection, I thought back to how we have communicated throughout this period of time. More than ever, it has been our absolute priority to keep you well informed about what we are doing to address our current reality. This focused effort has resulted in the development of a robust set of tools and resources that are offered on our district website. Our
Distance Learning and COVID-19 Resources
portal provides timely and helpful information for our staff, students, families, and community. The menu of options includes grading policies, assessment notifications, remote learning resources, mental health supports, how to contact our staff, and much much more.
If you haven’t yet, please check it out for yourself here.
As is the situation we are in, this site is always a work in progress, so check often for updates and let us know if you have suggestions for items you would like to have added by sending a message to our team
here
.
As states and local communities begin strategic re-opening plans, the need for communication will be even more critical as we prepare for our own return while dealing with the realities of the virus and its impacts on our daily lives. As of May 3, 2020, our District has provided 18 Community Updates.
They can be viewed here in case you missed any of them.
Moving forward, we are committed to continuing to communicate in clear, direct messages that enable our community and families to be informed and confident about the steps and measures that DUSD is taking. Details that are being solidified now that will be forthcoming include plans regarding celebrations in honor of our graduating and promoting Classes of 2020, procedures for the close of this school year, delivery of our STEAM summer school programs, and summer meal service. I am very proud of our team’s ability to develop and adapt our systems and infrastructure to ensure all of these services will still be provided to the best of our ability while keeping our students and staff safe. Please look for specifics on these topics coming from your Principals this week.
Simultaneously as we are addressing our immediate needs, our district is also diligently working to plan for every scenario the reopening of our schools for next year will require. While we would favor a return to normalcy allowing for in-person instruction, until it is safe to do so for our students and staff, we will continue to plan for a range of options to meet the needs of all our learners and employees.
I assure you that DUSD will be prepared to deliver the highest quality education whether it be through in-person and/or remote delivery and we will explore every viable alternative in-between that the challenges of COVID-19 may necessitate. I hope you share this with your families, friends, neighbors, and colleagues since not all districts are as well-positioned as we are to nimbly respond to this crisis. We are still accepting new enrollees for next school year, and I ask that you help us spread the word that we are ready and able to welcome new members to our DUSD family in all grade-levels including preschool even now.
Click here to submit your request.
As we near May 15, 2020, please be prepared for another new reality as the updated “safer-at-home” order will be updated for all Californians. We all are curious to learn what new parameters may be instituted. For now, thank you once again to all who are sticking to the “safer-at-home” guidance, it is vital we do so to flatten the COVID-19 curve, but while we work to contain the spread of the virus, we can continue to find creative and safe ways to increase the spread of kindness and love.
Thank you to everyone who helped us to do that by sending our teachers, nurses, and health aides your heartfelt messages of appreciation last week. I am also excited that we have found a way to virtually join together as a staff to recognize our employees for their years of service and retirement as well as honor our certificated and classified employees of the year. Our district has scheduled May 14 and May 21 to host these events. Details will be provided to staff prior to Wednesday on how to virtually attend. I ask all members of our learning community to please continue to get creative during the month of May and let our staff know how much we value their efforts and care for them. Thank you, have a good week, stay safe, and be well everyone!
Best,
Gordon
Superintendent of Schools
Duarte Unified School District
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Special and Regular School Board Meetings
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In Compliance with the Governor of California’s “Safer-at-Home Order” due to COVID-19, the Duarte Unified School District Board of Education will be conducting meetings virtually until further notice. This means there will be no specific physical meeting place; the meeting will be held remotely. However, public participation continues to be welcomed and encouraged.
- A Special Board Meeting will be held on May 12, 2020, telephonically. This meeting will be available to the public and can be accessed to view live and for video playback here. Closed Session begins at 6:00 p.m. and Public Session will start at approximately 7:00 p.m. View directions to submit public comment for this meeting here.
- A Regular Board Meeting will be held on May 14, 2020, telephonically. This meeting will be available for the public to access online and for video playback here. Closed Session begins at 5:00 p.m. and Public Session will start at approximately 7:00 p.m. View directions to submit public comment for this meeting here.
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District Events Taking Place This Week
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Employee of the Year Virtual Event
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On May 14, our district employees are invited to an online celebration to honor the staff members chosen by their colleagues as the 2019-2020 Teacher of the Year and Employee of the Year for each site. The Teacher and Employee selected to be the District's Awardees will also be announced. Invites via Google Meets are on the way!
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Distance Learning Phase 3
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DUSD will provide distance learning for all students during the closure of our schools through May 28, 2020.
If you have a question specific to your child's learning plans, please contact their teacher directly during school hours. Find more information and additional resources on our dedicated
Distance Learning Plan webpage.
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During school closure, DUSD will provide free Grab-n-Go Meals for children 18 and under from 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. daily Monday through Friday at Andres Duarte Arts Academy, Maxwell Academy, and Royal Oaks STEAM Academy.
For more information, click here.
If you have questions, call (626) 599-5022.
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District and School Offices Closed
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COVID-19 Safety and Public Health Information
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School Nurse Appreciation Day
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Please help us to thank our DUSD district nurses and health aides!
Rebecca Martyn: Andres Duarte
Berenice Beltran: Beardslee
Angelica Lopez: Maxwell
Kim Clark/Corina Spindola: Royal Oaks
Pauline Monge: Valley View
Timi Snedden- Duarte High School
Lisa Dowd: Health Services Coordinator
Marleen Martinez: District LVN
Christine Quintero: District Nurse
Barbara Roberge: Consultant Nurse Practitioner
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The
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health
reminds everyone the best protection against COVID-19 is still to wash your hands frequently, avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands, self-isolate if you are sick, practice physical distancing (especially by staying at home), and wear a clean face covering when in contact with others from outside your household. Find additional updates related to COVID-19 below:
- CDC expanded list of symptoms that people may experience with COVID-19 to include: cough, shortness of breath, fever, chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, and loss of taste or smell. Learn more here.
- Tips for talking with your child about COVID-19 can be found here.
- LA County residents who are facing food insecurity can apply for Cal Fresh at getcalfresh.org or by calling 866-613-3777.
- Click here for information about the LA County rent moratorium.
- Essential workers can access local child care by calling toll-free 888-92CHILD (922-4453) or visiting lacoe.edu/childcare, which also includes resources for teachers, providers and families.
- The WHO organization provides daily situation reports regarding COVID-19 that can be viewed at www.who.int.
- The CDC regularly updates recommendations regarding essential travel within the Unites States including travel by air, bus, and car as well as hotel occupancy guidelines and more. Find the link to this information here.
- For anyone interested in following the research being conducted in the United States on COVID-19, find the link here and clinical trials information can be found here.
- Please only refer to trusted public health sources for information and updates regarding COVID-19. Find a listing here.
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Moving Full STEAM Ahead for Summer School
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As we know this will be a summer like no other, DUSD is prepared to move full STEAM ahead to offer ALL children the opportunity to engage daily in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics instruction through our STEAM Summer School program that will be delivered in a digital environment! This opportunity is FREE for all students who will be entering Grades 1-12 next school year, and you do not have to be attending DUSD schools to participate. However, students not currently enrolled in DUSD will need to have their own personal device with internet access and Google account. Registration information will be provided this week and posted on our website at duarteusd.org. In the meantime,
submit questions here
, and please help us spread the word!
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2020 CTE Virtual Summer Internship Program
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We are excited to announce with our Foothill Consortium partners consisting of Duarte Unified, Azusa, Charter Oaks and Monrovia, that we will still be able to offer internships with local businesses this summer through virtual hosting. Duarte High School has 23 juniors and seniors participating in the CTE internship program from culinary entrepreneurship, business, and photography, and video production for the NAF Academy pathways. All chosen interns attended a pre-internship workshop and interviews for summer placement. Students will complete anywhere from 60 hours to 120 hours and receive school credit based on their internship. This is an important program because it provides students with valuable work experience, positive experience for the student and internship host, ambassadorship for hosting partners and development of potential local employees.
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DUSD Band Directors Create Virtual Recording to Lift the Spirits of our Instrumental Music Students
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This is a must watch! Our DUSD Band Directors gathered fellow professional musicians from near and far to create a virtual recording for our students of the piece “You Never Walk Alone.” View list of credits of all the participating musicians below with special thanks to Mr. Arenas for facilitating this special project.
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Payroll Information for DUSD Staff
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Business Services would like to remind our DUSD employees that payroll checks will be available for pick-up on their respective pay dates at the District Office front entrance lobby at the dates and times listed below. If you need to retrieve your check in-person, please adhere to all "social distancing" directives, wear a face-covering, and do not come if you are feeling ill.
All Classified Staff:
Friday, May 22, 2020, from 10:00 a.m. - Noon
All Certificated Staff:
Friday, May 29, 2020 from 10:00 a.m. - Noon
Employees who do not pick up their checks during the pick-up period will have their checks mailed to their home address on the day that checks are disbursed. Employees using automatic deposit will continue to receive their deposits on the usual payroll deposit dates with no changes. Direct Deposit forms are available for those who would like to start direct deposit. Required for direct deposit is either a voided check or direct deposit authorization form from your bank. Contact our Business Services Team if you have any questions by email.
Find our staff email directory here.
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2019-2020 Teacher of the Year Honorees
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Congratulations to our esteemed certificated colleagues who have been selected by their peers from each site to be this year's Teacher of the Year awardees. Please email them a much deserved message of congratulations. From this group, the 2019-2020 District honoree will be selected. This will be announced during our virtual celebration on May 14, 2020. Staff, check your email inboxes for the Google Meets invite that will arrive prior to Wednesday.
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DHS Class of 2020 Valedictorian & Salutatorians
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All members of the Duarte High School Graduating Class of 2020 will be receiving this week a commemorative lawn sign from our Falcon Family to proudly display at their homes to celebrate their achievement and remind them we miss them! Please follow all directions provided by our DHS Admin Team for pick-up of these signs and your cap and gowns, rings, and t-shirts.
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May 1, 2020, was College Decision Day for Seniors. Find where our Falcons will be soaring to next year at
@duarteasb on Instagram.
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Andres Duarte Arts Academy's "Wave Parade"
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Our Andres Duarte Arts Academy staff 🚗 🚙 🚗 paraded through the neighborhood to wave a safe hello to our Cougars last week! It was a thrill for both our students, staff, and families to see one another.
View of video of their "Wave Parade" here.
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Board Member Finlay Virtually Visits ADAA Students
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The students and families of Ms. Thind's Special Day Class were honored to have Dr. James Finlay as their special virtual guest last week. He showed them a desert tortoise, his newest pet. He also entertained the children and adults by reading an interesting story. We appreciated his taking time out of his busy schedule to join us at our Google Meet Hangout!
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Story Time with Our DUSD Family
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We are putting together a collection of stories read by our staff for our students to watch. You can view them on our
website
and on our social media sites. Check for new episodes often. We hope you enjoy them! If you are a DUSD staff member willing to record a story for us to add to our collection, please email
communications@duarteusd.org.
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Pentel Arts Donated 450 Kits to Beardslee Students
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At the materials pick up last week, Pentel Arts donated 450 sample art kits to the Beardslee students! Parents were so thankful and the kids who were present were too! Thank you to Pentel Arts and Belinda Sumner, Marketing Product Manager, for your generous donation, the students are sure to enjoy the colored pencils, markers and coloring pages during this time of distance learning.
Message from Pentel: "We know that artwork at home can be a therapeutic way for students (and adults) to express themselves through their creativity during this difficult and challenging time. It’s the same reason Pentel was created by our founder more than 70 years ago – to enable self-expression."
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Distance Learning Teacher Tech Resources
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Our Technology Services Team has developed a dedicated website to host resources for our teachers to utilize during distance learning. This site hosts a variety of helpful information for how to screen record, video conference, access all of G-Suite, and much more. Teachers, please check it out!
Click here to visit the DUSD Teacher Resources website.
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Staff Internet Safety Training Reminder
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DUSD Staff, a friendly reminder that if you haven’t yet taken the 15 minute training provided via email from our Chief Technology Officer, Eric Ramos, regarding "Internet Safety While Working From Home," please take a moment to finish the online training. Reach out to Eric at
eramos@duarteusd.org
if you have any questions.Thank you!
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Distance Learning Family Enrichment Resources
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In addition to the learning assignments teachers have provided, our district has also put together a database of supplemental resources for all grades.
Click here to access this database.
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DUSD Social Media Directory and Popular Posts
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We have put together a
DUSD social media directory
of all the official sites operated by our district, schools, and staff for your convenience. We encourage you to follow these sites for important information and updates. Also, it's a great way to stay connected and to "see" our students as they participate in our schools' virtual spirit week activities and daily challenges. Staff, if you have a site that you would like added to our directory, please send an email to
communications@duarteusd.org
. View last week's top posts below:
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Beardslee Dual Language Academy
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Andres Duarte Arts Academy
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Maxwell Academy - IB World School
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Need Tech Support? We're Here to Help You!
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If your student runs into any technical issues, please request assistance by using the tech support email address for your child’s school. The correct addresses are listed below:
Also, please remember that students should be checking their district-issued Outlook emails. If they need assistance reaching their Outlook emails,
click here
. Students should use Google Chrome to browse the internet and sign in using their district-issued email and passwords.
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Duarte Choir Digital Pop Show
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Our Falcons are Getting Ready to Take Flight
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Congratulations to our
Duarte High School
Falcons on their college acceptances! We are very proud of you and excited for your next chapter! Seniors, please continue to share with us where you have received acceptances to by submitting the Google Form provided by your counselors. 👏🎓
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Online Registration for Preschool, Kindergarten & New Students is Still Open - Enroll Today
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If you have a child that will be ready to start Preschool, Kindergarten, or Transitional Kindergarten (TK) next school year, it's time to register! Please register online at
register.duarteusd.org
.
We will be developing a system to submit documents, and will notify you when that is available.
We offer full-day Kindergarten at all of our Academies, and TK is offered at Beardslee Dual Language Academy and Valley View Academy of Technology and Creative Learning. Students new to the district entering preschool - 12th Grade next school year are also encouraged to begin registering now.
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Keeping Hearts and Minds Connected
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We are creating lots of clever ways to connect with our students virtually, and our students are enjoying “seeing” our staff! We’d love to help share these digital well wishes, so please send to
communications@duarteusd.org
and/or tag
@duarteusd
on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Sending loads of virtual hugs to all in gratitude for helping to keep our community close in heart and mind, especially now.
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Duarte Counts! Census Information
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Download it Today for FREE
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Stay up to date with everything that is taking place at every school across our district by downloading the DUSD APP. Check your child's grades, attendance, lunch balances, sports scores, notices from teachers, calendar of events and more all in one place! Download our free app from the Apple App and Google Play Stores.
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School Flyers Available Via Email
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Save Paper & Stay Informed
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DUSD uses Peachjar to send home school-approved flyers digitally, saving our schools time and money while eliminating paper waste. This means that now our parents can opt to receive flyers via email.
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Submit Your Newsletter Ideas
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Have an idea, information or a suggestion for a story for our newsletter?
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DUARTE UNIFIED | 626.599.5000 | communications@duarteusd.org
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