PLANS FOR RETURNING TO SCHOOL FOR THE 2020-2021 SCHOOL YEAR

July 23, 2020

Dear Parent/Guardian,

This email is an update on the last email you received. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

As we had communicated with you previously, we had planned and prepared for a return to in-person school with a hybrid-distance learning component starting Tuesday, August 18, 2020. By now we all know that on Friday, July 17, Governor Gavin Newsom gave guidance that altered that plan. The plan says that students in public and private schools located in counties on the state’s monitoring list due an increase in coronavirus infections will begin the school year with distance learning. Of the 33 counties that fall within those of the state’s monitoring list, Los Angeles County is in the red alert zone of the watchlist. We are therefore affected by the Governor’s mandate for distance learning. The Southern California Conference of SDA Office of Education in a Principals’ Council meeting on July 22, 2020, decided that “schools in the Southern California Conference will abide by the governor’s mandate and reopen the school year with distance learning until LA County is off the monitoring list for 14 consecutive days.”

Because of the Governor’s mandate and the need to safeguard the health of our students and faculty members, Glendale Adventist Academy will be starting the 2020/2021 school year with distance learning. We will not have an in-person school to start the school year. We are prepared for in-person school, but have to defer that option and go to the distance learning option.

As part of the strategy to get the best outcomes from our online (virtual) distance learning school experience, the Offices of Education of the Southern California Conference and Southeastern California have organized a teachers’ in-service training that focuses on Distance Learning and Effective Teaching Strategies scheduled for the first week of school upon returning. Instruction for students will start on Monday, August 24, 2020, even though the school year starts Tuesday, August 18, 2020. Therefore, mark Monday, August 24 as the first day of instruction for your students in the distance-learning format. We will have a parent orientation for distance learning during the week of August 10 to 14, 2020. We encourage you to avail yourself of the materials that will be sent to you for that purpose. The teachers for each grade level will communicate with the students and parents of the specific grade. Kindly be on the lookout for the information.

ANTICIPATION AND PREPARATION FOR IN-PERSON INSTRUCTION/SCHOOL

We all believe that the challenge with the COVID-19 pandemic will soon be behind us and we will be able to return to in-person instruction. As a school, we have invested a great deal of time, effort, and money into preparing for our in-person school reopening experience. These include the following:

The purchase and installation of hands-free faucets for the bathroom sinks.

The purchase and installation of hands-free soap dispensers.

The purchase and installation of hands-free sanitizer dispensers.

The purchase and installation of hands-free paper towel dispensers.

The purchase of HEPA filters for our air-conditioners.

The purchase of Owl video conferencing devices for virtual classrooms.

Our OSHA certified custodial services have done a detailed disinfecting of the school. They will do another school cleaning before the school year starts.

The purchase of the CDC recommended peroxide disinfectant.

Our goal is to make the school safe and as virus-free as humanly possible before the return of our students for in-person instruction and interaction at a later date. In addition to what we stated above, we reaffirm our commitment to getting the school ready for the safe return of our students as communicated to you on June 29, 2020.

Kindly feel free to contact us if you have any questions:

Israel Olaore - High School Principal:
[email protected] or 818-244-8671 ext 104

Jenefel Stafford - Elementary School Principal:
[email protected] or 818-246-4867 ext. 251

Blessings,
Israel Olaore
For Administration