WEEK OF MAY 18, 2020
El Semanario Edison Language Academy – Together Through Two Languages (310) 828-0335 www.edison.smmusd.org
FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S DESK This is the time of the year when the remaining days in the school semester start to race by! As I write these words, there are only 16.5 days left in the 20192020 school year. While our current circumstances are very different from the way we usually end the school year, there are some similarities. Teachers are still working to provide students with all the skills they know will be essential for them in the coming year. Culminating projects are starting to take shape. Students are starting to look forward to being promoted to the next grade, feeling nostalgic about leaving their current communities of learning, friends and teachers, and longing for summer break. The COVID-19 virus and the rapid shift to distance learning are front and center for everyone right now. But as you and your child start to reflect on the 2019-2020 school year, I think it’s also important to look at the totality of the year and not just the things that we are missing so very much right now. Edison students have made tremendous growth over the course of this school year – as caring community members, as readers, writers, mathematicians, scientists, and historians. They’ve grown as musicians and artists, developed stamina and physical skills. Their English and Spanish skills have continued to grow and they worked hard this year to grow their sociocultural competence – valuing each other’s cultures and the importance of justice. They didn’t get to have all the experiences we had planned for them because of this unexpected and unwelcome virus -- and we all feel sadness at the disruption in our plans. But please help the children look back at the totality of their year and remember many of the fun and significant moments that they shared with their teachers and classmates. Thanks for the 75+ parents who came to Coffee with the Principal last week. We went over current school policies and directives, responded to some questions about how to help children focus during distance learning, how to support children during Zoom calls, talked about promotion plans for 5th grade, report cards, and possible scenarios for re-opening and next year. The slide decks from those meetings are posted on
the Edison website for those of you who weren’t able to join us. As we learn more about the Corona-19 virus, it is becoming apparent this virus and distance learning will probably be around for a while. Already Santa Monica College and the entire California State University system have decided to offer distance learning only in the fall semester. Public school districts will follow state and county public health guidance, but it does appear that distance learning may be a part of our children’s life for a while longer. So, we’re engaging in a process of looking at what is working well and which areas may need more attention if we are to use Distance Learning again in the next school year. We want to get as good as we possibly can in using distance learning tools and are already looking at what other Dual Language schools are doing so we can learn from each other. We will need the feedback of all stakeholders as we reflect on lessons learned this spring and how we can keep growing in our ability to offer high quality distance learning. Parents at the last two Coffee with the Principal meetings have shared their feedback on what is going well and what still needs work. We’re also gathering stakeholder feedback from parent groups such as ELAC, PTA, and Site Council. ELAC meets this Wednesday at 10:15 am, Site Council is on Wednesday at 4:00 and PTA is later that evening at 6:00 pm. You are also welcome to email your observations directly to the principal at lorum@smmusd.org . Let us know what is going well and what is still difficult or can be improved. Staff are engaging in the same cycle of reflection and are sharing promising practices with each other. As the state begins to slowly re-open in stages, please continue to pay attention to social distancing requirements. Use masks and gloves in public, stay at home as much as is possible, maintain 6 feet of distance, wash and sanitize your hands frequently,and practice self-quarantine if you have been exposed or have symptoms of Covid-19. Stay safe dear friends!
Lori Orum