2020 Merced County Schools Annual Education Report

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AN UNTY SC E HO N D SC OL U S U TH HO R A EP C L E OL HE R A AL ES O TH PO T R I CR NS O IS E T T IS N O CO

Message from the

Superintendent

Steve M. Tietjen, Ed.D. Merced County Superintendent of Schools

s an educator of nearly 40 years, there is no doubt in my mind that the past year has been the most challenging we have ever faced.

While every school district has an emergency plan for catastrophic events, a pandemic that shuttered schools and caused most aspects of our daily lives to change dramatically, not only tested our preparedness and resolve, but laid bare inequities in our schools and society.

When we learned in March, 2020, that COVID-19 had become a pandemic and that schools would close for what we thought would be a few weeks, we began planning for a variety of “what-ifs.” Primarily among them was the possibility that students would not return to the classroom in the 2019-20 school year.

When MCOE first announced through a press release and on social media that schools in Merced County would remain open despite Los Angeles Unified and San Diego Unified both temporarily closing, there were strong reactions from our school communities.

When the decision was soon after made to temporarily close Merced County schools, there were equally strong reactions. Like many decisions that affect families and communities across the county, there are reasons that make sense on both sides.

MCOE’s goal was to work with school districts and the Merced County Department of Public Health to create options for families.

School districts quickly deployed technology to students and families so that education could continue in a virtual format.

Nutrition services programs identified ways to ensure students had access to healthy and nutritious meals because we know that some families rely on those services, and students cannot learn when they’re hungry.

MCOE transformed its educational television station METV to provide daily supplemental programming for students and families and produced simultaneous broadcasts across multiple platforms to provide access to as many people as possible.

Educators moved quickly to adapt their lesson plans and frameworks to best meet a virtual platform, and while some students succeeded in this environment, the reality is that there is no replacement for in-person instruction and the support students get from knowing there are adults that truly care about their well-being.

This report tracks the timeline of events beginning in March, 2020, and shares some of the struggles educators, students and families faced, and some innovative programs that helped to keep students engaged.

On a personal level, I have witnessed the challenges my own grandchildren have faced and I know how hard this year has been on children and families. One of the biggest challenges has been to separate work life from personal time during the past year and we all must give each other the grace needed to stay physically and mentally strong.

We are all looking forward to the day when all children that want to be back to in-person instruction can be, and that we can once again enjoy the energy that comes from the teachinglearning process. I hope that day comes soon!

Steve M. Tietjen, Ed.D

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MERCED COUNTY OFFICE OF EDUCATION

Board of Education

Merced County Off ice of Education Steve M. Tietjen, Ed.D. Merced County Superintendent of Schools Janet Riley Assistant Superintendent Business Services

Eva Chavez Deputy Superintendent Merced County Office of Education

John Magneson Assistant Superintendent Educational Services

Susan Coston Assistant Superintendent Special Education

Dennis Hanks

Area 1

Chris Chavez Chairperson

Area 2

​​Frank Fagundes​

Area 3

Fred Honoré

Area 4

Geneva Brett Vice-Chairperson

Area 5

Merced County Superintendent of Schools

The Role of the County Office of Education

In Merced County, the County Superintendent of Schools is elected to a four-year term and performs a broad range of duties. In addition to leading MCOE and its programs, the County Superintendent serves as an advocate for public education and facilitates public awareness of educational and legislative issues, trends, and activities.

County Superintendents work collaboratively with school districts to ensure that every student benefits from a quality educational experience, regardless of their circumstances. As the county’s education leader, the County Superintendent promotes and guides collaboration among school districts, higher education, government agencies, community organizations, and elected officials to support children, families, and schools.

County Offices of Education support local school districts by providing services, leadership, and oversight. These services include implementing new standards, staff development and training programs and instructional procedures; fiscal oversight and approval of each school district’s Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP); and performing many other services to meet the changing needs of the 20 Merced County school districts. County Offices of Education also provide a wide range of instructional programs, including arts and outdoor education, special education, career and technical education, programs for at-risk youth, and instruction in juvenile detention facilities.

MCOE Schools

Atwater Valley Community School­­ 1800 Matthews Ave., Atwater | 209-381-4550

Los Banos Valley Community School­­ 715 West H St., Los Banos | 209-827-5600

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Come Ba​ck ​​Charter School 350 W Yosemite Ave., Merced | 209-386-6025

Merced County Juvenile Court School 2840 W. Sandy Mush Rd., Merced | 209-381-1414

Floyd A. Schelby School 6738 N. Sultana Dr., Livingston | 209-394-1800

Merced Scholars Charter School ​1850 Wardrobe Ave. Bldg H, Merced | 209-381-5165

Green Meadows Outdoor School 77798 White Chief MT. Rd., Fish Camp | 559-642-012

Merced Valley Community School​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ 1850 Wardrobe Ave. Bldg Q & R, Merced | 209-381-4500

2020-21

Timeline s Merced County schools adjusted to slow the spread of COVID-19 in March, 2020, many changes were made quickly and schools adapted to distance learning.

Throughout the year, the state adjusted criteria for reopening schools and MCOE created a planning guide for education leaders to use as they developed reopening plans.

This timeline gives a glimpse at how quickly guidelines and support were implemented for Merced County school districts.

MARCH 15 Merced County school district superintendents and public health officials make the decision to temporarily close schools to in-person instruction

Click on the images and icons on the timeline to view letters, videos and other multimedia.

APRIL 1 Gov. Newsom announces the closing of schools through the end of the school year and Merced County is put on Watch List

MAY 15 Public health officials prohibit in-person graduations

APRIL 17 MCOE launches Distance Learning website for students, parents and educators

Visit Site

JUNE 19 MCOE releases Merced County Academic Planning Guide containing guidance and considerations for reopening schools to in-person instruction

View Guide 4

MERCED COUNTY OFFICE OF EDUCATION

JULY 17 Gov. Newsom requires all schools to begin school year with Distance Learning

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Timeline

MARCH 1 DECEMBER 28 Gov. Newsom proposes reopening guidelines with financial support in new budget year; legislature proposes a counter on Feb. 1.

Both positions would close schools in Merced County that were open at the time.

Gov. Newsom and legislative leaders announce a compromise for supporting school reopening that does no harm to schools that are already open for in-person instruction

JANUARY 14 California Department of Public Health announces new reopening guidelines

View Document

DECEMBER 3 Gov. Newsom announces regional stay-at-home order; school districts offering in-person instruction transition back to Distance Learning

OCTOBER 21 All schools in Merced County eligible to reopen in Red Tier and must adhere to reopening guidelines

AUGUST 3 School waiver process established by State; new guidelines published for in-person instruction

SEPTEMBER 10 Merced County school districts qualify for waiver process approval

2020 ANNUAL EDUCATION REPORT

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Merced County

Schools

Merced County has 20 school districts that serve nearly 60,000 transitional kindergarten through 12th grade students. The Merced City School District, Merced Union High School District and Los Banos Unified School District serve more than half of those students.

Ballico-Cressey

Snelling-Merced Falls

Delhi Unified

Merced River

Hilmar Unified

Merced City

Gustine Unified

Planada Elementary

Livingston Union Elementary

Le Grand Elementary

Atwater Elementary

Plainsburg Union Elementary

Winton

Weaver Union Elementary

McSwain Union Elementary

El Nido Elementary

Los Banos Unified

Merced Union High School District encompasses 8 elementary districts

Dos Palos-Oro Loma Unified

Le Grand Union High School District encompasses 3 elementary districts

School District Support uring times of crisis, the role of the County Office of Education is integral in supporting school districts. In the past year, MCOE assisted school districts by leading superintendent meetings, guiding communications to school communities, aligning distribution of personal protective equipment (PPE), creating school reopening plans, and lobbying for state and federal resources.

Professional Development MCOE specializes in providing professional development for educators across the region. In the past year, eight content experts hosted trainings and worked with educators one-on-one in nearly all Merced County school districts, and some school districts in the surrounding region. The MCOE content experts helped guide educators in delivering instruction through a virtual format they may not have been accustomed to.

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MERCED COUNTY OFFICE OF EDUCATION

mcoe.org/school

MCOE

Support A Pivot to Virtual Learning s school districts ceased in-person operations on March 18 for what educators believed would be a temporary closure, MCOE worked to create new platforms for students and parents to utilize during this unprecedented time.

One of the first tools designed was a Distance Learning website with sections for students, parents, and educators.

Not only did this website have resources for academic and enrichment activities, it also had information about social and emotional wellness for students and families as the state had implemented a stay-at-home order which meant children were unable to play and socialize in ways they were accustomed to.

MCOE also utilized its educational television station METV to broadcast programming in content blocks that was ageappropriate and covered several different content areas. To reach the widest audience, the programming was broadcast through cable television, MCOE’s website, Facebook and several apps. Educators from MCOE and several school districts created original content for the broadcast component of Distance Learning.

On social media, MCOE shared the daily schedule for METV, announcements about new public health guidance, and messages from the County Superintendent of Schools.

2020 ANNUAL EDUCATION REPORT

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Distance

Learning

f the many challenges posed by ceasing in-person operations at school sites, a sudden change to Distance Learning was one of the most difficult. Some school districts prepared paper packets for students during the temporary closure, others utilized existing technology and worked to procure more devices, and some were well-positioned to switch to online learning with one-to-one devices for all students.

Parents and caregivers, many of whom were also working from home, suddenly became de facto educators to support their children in this new online environment.

While some students thrived in a Distance Learning environment, the best place for students to succeed is in a classroom with a teacher who cares about their academic success and their overall well-being.

Another obstacle for Distance Learning is the disparity in internet bandwidth in communities across Merced County. In more rural areas of the county, internet connectivity is poor or inaccessible. School and government leaders continue to work with telecommunications companies to expand the reach of internet services across the region.

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MERCED COUNTY OFFICE OF EDUCATION

mcoe.org/distancelearning

As schools moved to a virtual format, educators offered both live and recorded lessons in platforms like Google Classroom and Canvas, so students could have the in-class experience, but also work at their own pace.

Nutrition

Services Schools Provide Healthy and Nutritious Meals esides creating a safe environment for students to learn, Merced County schools play a vital role in ensuring students have nutritious meals. When schools closed last year, school district nutrition services teams quickly created plans to best serve meals in a safe way for school staff and families.

In developing these plans, school districts identified the most effective way to serve their school communities. Larger school districts utilized multiple school sites for grabn-go or drive-through pickups. Some of the more rural school districts used busses and bus routes to deliver meals to students.

In total, Merced County schools served more than 6 million nutritious meals and snacks across the 20 school districts in the past year.

MORE THAN 6 MILLION MEALS AND SNACKS SERVED TO STUDENTS ACROSS MERCED COUNTY

2020 ANNUAL EDUCATION REPORT

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Graduation Message from the

Parades Superintendent

Unconventional Commencements

Source: California Department of Education, 2019-20

SCHOOL DISTRICT

GRAD RATES

Delhi Unified

98.20%

Dos Palos-Oro Loma Joint Unified

93.30%

Gustine Unified

94.20%

Hilmar Unified

97.10%

Le Grand Union High

92.50%

Los Banos Unified

96.10%

Merced Union High

94.80%

Merced County Average

93.30%

California Average

90.00%

Students and families across the county were creative with signs and car decorations for graduation parades.

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MERCED COUNTY OFFICE OF EDUCATION

cknowledging educational accomplishments is a time of celebration for students and families and a right of passage for high school seniors as they transition into adulthood.

When it was announced last year that schools would close temporarily, many parents and community members asked if schools would be allowed to hold commencement ceremonies.

The direction provided to schools by public health officials was that any graduation ceremony that brought families and students together on an in-person basis would not be approved and not probable throughout the summer months because of the continued growth of COVID-19 cases in Merced County.

School leaders and public health officials were concerned about the potential exposure and cross-contamination of the virus at these large events.

School districts worked quickly to develop plans for nonconventional graduations that included virtual celebrations where students and families could participate online, in addition to car parades at school sites where graduates received the praise and congratulations of their family members in the safest way possible.

Small

School Districts Leveraging Resources and Partnerships mall school districts faced unique challenges in the past year, as many of the homes in these mostly rural parts of Merced County lack robust internet connectivity, which proves especially challenging when instruction moves to a virtual format.

Thankfully, there were many partnerships formed to help these small school districts that lack some of the resources of their larger counterparts.

El Nido School District partnered with T-Mobile and MCOE Information Technology Services for internet and mobile hot spots that gave online access to 100% of the school district’s families.

Le Grand Elementary School District partnered with AgLink in the spring and through the summer

to provide boxes of fresh meat and produce for families in Le Grand. Le Grand Elementary also partnered with Raley’s Supermarkets to provide computers and wireless hot spots for students and families struggling to connect.

Conversely, Ballico-Cressey School District was well poised when schools switched to online learning. In fact, the subject of a previous annual report focused on the district’s 1-to-1 capability where each student has a laptop and internet hot spot.

Because of these obstacles, small school districts were quick to apply for and receive approval for inperson instruction. These small school districts were among the first to have students back on campus in September under the waiver option for school reopening.

2020 ANNUAL EDUCATION REPORT

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In-Person

Programs Protective Gear

A Safe Return to Campus hile schools were closed to a majority of in-person instruction, small student groups were allowed to return to campus when waivers were granted by public health officials. Students with the highest needs – which includes students with disabilities, homeless and foster youth, and English language learners – needed additional support and were among those students in small groups. Children of essential workers were another group allowed to return to in-person instruction and day care providers.

With many unknowns about COVID-19 last spring, the need for personal protective equipment became paramount. MCOE collaborated with the Merced County Office of Emergency Services to coordinate receiving, organizing, and distributing these supplies to local school districts.

School districts redesigned classroom spaces to accommodate guidelines that mandated six feet of distance between students and staff. Plexiglass shields were installed around desks and in other areas of school sites, along with handwashing and sanitation stations. Schools also utilized temperature checks upon entry and placed signage in key areas to remind students to maintain physical distance and regularly wash their hands.

Mobile Library

Early Education MCOE’s Early Education Department enrolled 270 children in the first two-month period after school closures to allow for more essential workers in the community to continue their vital work.

Since July, 2020, the office processed nearly 12,000 claims to pay child care providers who serve children across the county.

The Livingston Union School District established a mobile library to promote literacy among the community’s 2,500 elementary and middle school students. In addition to the bookmobile’s visits to school sites, students were given books to read at their own pace.

Message Camp from the

Superintendent Green Meadows Providing Outdoor Education Virtually amp Green Meadows Outdoor School was another victim of the pandemic and was forced to cut the 2019-20 short as well as close for the entire 2020-21 school year. The thousands of Central Valley students that normally visit the outdoor school and bring life to the Camp Green Meadows campus did not get that opportunity this school year. The mountain campus has been quiet since March 13, 2020.

Camp Green Meadows staff did not let that stand in the way of educating students and came up with creative ways to bring some of the outdoor school experience to students virtually.

They created high-quality, engaging, interactive Next Generation Science Standards-aligned lessons, incorporating some of the traditional parts of the camp experiences like meeting the naturalist, singing campfire songs, and sharing ideas with each other.

These lessons were created by the Camp Green Meadows staff and MCOE content experts. They are content-rich lessons that make real-world connections with the local forest ecosystem.

Lessons include the Camp Experience, Fire in the Forest Ecosystem, Stream Ecology, Wildlife Ecology, and Big Trees.

Each lesson in the curriculum features naturalist-led interactive videos with accompanying maps, virtual 3D tours and hikes, a camp journal, and data collection and analysis.

As students work through these lessons and sing the naturalist-led songs, hopefully the tradition of Camp Green Meadows comes alive in households across Merced and the surrounding counties.

campgreenmeadows.com 2020 ANNUAL EDUCATION REPORT

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Future

Education Budget

Planning Vaccines for Educators n late 2020, the Federal Food and Drug Administration approved COVID-19 vaccines for emergency use, giving hope to communities across the country that they would be able to return to some sense of normalcy. The initial doses went to essential workers and groups most susceptible to severe symptoms from the virus. In February, Gov. Newsom announced that 10% of California’s weekly allocation would be designated for educators. MCOE quickly worked with Merced County to host vaccination clinics in Merced and Los Banos. The more educators and school employees are vaccinated, the less risk there is for staff and students to contract the virus and develop severe symptoms.

One of the biggest concerns during the past year as schools reopened was how to identify a staff member or student who had contracted COVID-19. In the fall, the Merced County Department of Public Health began administering COVID-19 tests for the community. In December, the McSwain Elementary School District became a pilot for a

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new statewide program for rapid tests administered to both staff and students on the school site. By January, many Merced County school districts implemented a testing program for staff through the state lab in Valencia. Tests are administered at school sites and shipped that day to the lab for testing. Results are in the hands of the individual who tested within 48 hours and sometimes as quickly as 24 hours. The use of rapid tests is being planned by several other school districts and testing will continue throughout the spring and into the next school year to ensure the safety of students and staff.

MERCED COUNTY OFFICE OF EDUCATION

n January, 2021, Gov. Newsom submitted his 2021-2022 budget proposal with a theme of addressing the pandemic and keeping an eye on the future. The budget proposal includes $14 billion in one-time investments to provide immediate relief for individuals and small businesses disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, the safe reopening of schools, and extended learning time.

Assembly Bill 86, the early action budget bill, was signed into law on March 5, 2021, and provides $2 billion for in-person instruction and $4.6 billion for expanded learning time and academic interventions.

In December, 2020, California K-12 Local Education Agencies (LEAs) received $6.7 billion of one-time federal funding and will be required to distribute 90% of the total allocation to LEAs. Most recently, a $1.9 trillion federal relief package will provide nearly $130 billion in one-time funding for various K-12 programs. Initial estimates project this new stimulus package could provide $15 billion in federal education relief funding to California.

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