It certainly appears that we will not be returning to normal classroom settings for the remainder of this school year. All school sites have made plans to continue with modified school instruction through the end of May. The first week of June will be used for students to turn in all assignments and for teachers to assign grades. All students will be moved to the next grade unless discussions about retention have already taken place.
Although very unlikely- if it is possible before this school year ends to bring back a limited number of students, the District would consider the following: Brookside grade 2 only, Blosser Lane grade 5 only, BGMS grade 8 only and all seniors at WHS. In regards to graduation our preference is to wait it out, meet as a group and make it happen. As I have stated before, we can do it in August if necessary. I prefer this idea over a virtual ceremony.
Middle school and high school campuses are planning to hold a summer school session from July 27th through August 14th. WUSD is willing to provide support to all other summer session programs which use our facilities so they may become operational.
In regards to the governor's comments about starting school July 1st. There are more problems with that Idea than good. A major issue for a third of our students is transportation, can they get on the bus, with such a confined space we would have to limit buses to 12 students and this is a problem. Another large issue is the heat in July, only about 40% of our facilities have air conditioning and classrooms would be very warm. Along with this are summer jobs, summer school, cleaning facilities, adding 20+ days to teachers' work year, new teachers who won't be here yet, plus all the added cost for operations for a month and half. Although we are anxious to all be together again an early start is not the best plan. When all the students come back in August we will all work aggressively to get back on track.
I commend all of our parents and staff for working through this situation, hang in there. My biggest concern in coming back together is the health of our adult staff, the impact from the virus can be harsh and we have a small number of substitutes available. The need to social distance even with a small group is very tough with young kids. If we do have to create A and B days for students to limit the exposure we will do so. Bus routes, siblings, teachers, children and creating off day work for students will be a challenge but we will do it if necessary.
In conclusion, we are waiting it out and hopeful that summer will get us a little closer too normal. Our goals for Willits Unified are to finish the year in distance mode, have a graduation ceremony, provide whatever educational services we can in the summer and get ready for next school year.
Mark Westerburg
Hi Brookside families. Your next independent study packets were mailed out today. You should receive them in the next couple of days. Packet drop off dates are May 4th,15th, and the 29th. Please drop off your finished packets in the cans in front of the Brookside office between the hours of 8:30-12:30 and 4:30-6:30 pm. May 29th is our final drop off day. We miss you all and hope you are all safe and well.
Hi Brookside Families,
We hope you are all doing well. We miss our students so much! Here is an updated Packet Schedule, for getting packets mailed to you at home, and for dropping packets off at school. If you miss a drop-off day, don't worry, just turn in all packets on the next Drop-off Day. Please try to stay current with dropping off packets, though! Be sure to drop off all packets by the last Drop-off Day, May 29th!
April 29, Wednesday: We will mail packets home.
May 4, Monday: Packet Drop Off Day: 8:30-12:30 and 4:30-6:30- Drop Packets in the cans in front of the school
May 15, Friday: Packet Drop Off Day: 8:30-12:30 and 4:30-6:30- Drop Packets in the cans in front of the school
May 29, Friday: FINAL Packet Drop Off Day: 8:30-12:30 and 4:30-6:30- Drop Packets in the cans in front of the school
Homework Packet Cover Sheet Update...
Good news... Our Superintendent said that you, Parents and Guardians, only need to sign one 'contract' sheet for the entire time of our homework packets! That's a great change that will cut down on some of your weekly paperwork. Reminder: It is important to include your child's name and the teacher's name at the top of each week's packet. More information about packet drop off and mailing will be coming soon! Thank you for your support!
Congratulations Students you have hit the 7 digit level on IXL.
I have attached a link to the CENSUS 2020. It is very important for school funding to have an accurate census for the district. Federal funding inTitle Programs, food service and grant opportunities come from census data. It is very quick and easy to do. https://my2020census.gov/
WUSD April 15, 2020 School Board Meeting Video
https://youtu.be/dOmTXIUzBlU
Hello Brookside Families. We miss you all. We hope you are all safe at home. We will be mailing home your next set of work packets this week. There will be cans out front of the office on Tuesday, April 14th. from 8:30-6:30 pm for you to drop off completed packets.
Check out Mrs Saperstein's 2nd Grade Class Webpage! She will be updating it with great resources for her classroom students.
You can find it here => https://goo.gl/ARvgzv
Willits Unified Schools has extended the Modified School period through Friday May 1st. All the Mendocino County Schools will be under this extension. We will be monitoring the situation. I look forward to returning to school as soon as it is safe for staff and students to be together.
Even in the midst of trying times like this, good things can still happen. Today we received the fourth new bus from grant funds. This is a huge savings to the district and has significantly upgraded our transportation department. Can’t wait for us to get back on the road.
This is a column that I posted in the Willits Weekly and Willits News.
We have been using this program at grades 3-5 for the past two years. Based on the situation we are in, I have expanded the use of it and added Language Arts, Science and Social Studies. If you have a student in grades 3-5 they know all about it.
IXL has grade Level Math, Language Arts, Science and Social Studies. (Science and Social Studies start at 2nd grade). The program is linked to California State Standards for all areas and is set to work in conjunction with the Math book series we use in grades K-5.
This is new to the K-2 teachers, they will be able to see your child's progress and what the struggle with. The 3-5 Grade teachers already know who to use it and will now be able to use it for Language Arts as well. If you go to the district website and click on the Modified School Information Button you will see a video named IXL to watch.
DOWNLOAD the App for tablets, Ipads, Iphone and smartphones https://www.ixl.com/apps
Login Websitie https://www.ixl.com/signin/willits
Username Firstname lastname @Willits (Example: johnsmith@willitsPassword abcd1234 ( you can change it if you wish once your are up and running. )
Thank you for all your efforts at home.
Hello Brookside Families. We will be doing an independent study packet exchange today, Monday March 23rd from 8:30-12:30 and 4:30-6:30. Please bring week 1 signed by you and your student and we will give you weeks 2 and 3. This will be a drive through process. Please do not park; stay in your car and follow directions to drive through the parking lot. Please be very patient in line. In addition to the option of picking up independent study packets at school tomorrow, you can choose to download and print packets at home. Here is how... 1. Get the Willits USD app (it’s green with a redwood tree) 2. In the app on the left side, is a list of options. Click on the bottom option, ‘Modified School Instruction.’ 3. You will see the 8 weeks of modified assignments our school has available. Use Weeks 4, 5 and 6. Download and print Weeks 5 and 6 if you wish, or you can pick them up at school tomorrow. You can save the completed packet 1 and turn it in with packets 2 and 3 when we return to school.
Thank you very much.
Hello Brookside Families. We will be doing an independent study packet exchange on Monday March 23rd from 8:30-12:30 and 4:30-6:30. Please bring week 1 signed by you and your student and we will give you weeks 2 and 3. This will be a drive through process. Please do not park; stay in your car and follow the car in front of you. Please be very patient in line. We are hoping to be quick and efficient. Thank you and stay safe.
Remember that we have breakfast and lunch pick up at WHS from 8-10 AM and 11-1 for lunch. If you can't make arrangements to get in please call 707-459-5314 and leave a message.
The best way to contact staff is through email. All district emails are first and last name @willitsunified.com. For example markwesterburg@willitsunified.com Important information for WUSD is located on the district website under the Modified School Information link. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/19avYBzh8L5XfvixXwXPz6-Yg23G08uyF
Mendocino County will be going into a shelter in place at 10 PM tonight. Based on that all buildings will be closed on Thursday until further notice. The phones will be monitored and checked remotely. Student food pick up at WHS will continue as scheduled.
I have put together a folder of information to share with parents and students during this non-classroom instruction time. It is my intent to continue to add to this as we go through the weeks. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/19avYBzh8L5XfvixXwXPz6-Yg23G08uyF?usp=sharing
Let me tell you what I saw today on the first day on non-traditional school for WUSD. https://drive.google.com/file/d/179V-ymN3MUqEwGKiAo7HeEmePOVhLJZN/view?usp=sharing