Angels Camp – “Based upon the statements from Governor Newsom and the letter from State Superintendent of Public Instruction Thurmond on March 31, 2020, we are looking at the reality that school campuses will not be reopening for standard operations for the remainder of the school year. It is important to understand we are not “closing” schools, school buildings are closed. Educational and social-emotional opportunities and supports will be continue to be provided with the new distance learning models,” said County Superintendent of Schools Scott Nanik. The Calaveras County Office of Education and School Districts are here to help students and families navigate this path ahead. To be clear, the school year is not over, it has just transitioned from classroom instruction to distance learning.

Our schools are working hard to contact all students and to provide instruction and meal services. At this time, our schools are transitioning around spring breaks. The staff in the districts of Vallecito, Bret Harte, Mark Twain Union, and Mountain Oaks will start spring break next week, while Calaveras Unified staff will return from spring break on Monday, April 6th.

We are enhancing ways to stay connected with students, at a distance, and address concerns about the social and emotional well-being of all our students, especially our seniors. Seniors have been looking forward to celebrating promotion and graduation ceremonies and are very concerned about missing out on these momentous celebrations. Please know that district leaders will be planning how they can offer these experiences in different formats and/or at a later date. In the coming days and weeks, districts will provide their families with information regarding how grades, graduation, transcripts, scholarships, and continued distance learning instruction will be handled.

We ask for patience and understanding as we are all quickly transitioning into a new way of teaching and learning to meet the health and safety impacts of COVID-19. It’s challenging to many educators and our families to learn and communicate in a very new world, but working together we can and will meet this challenge. Teachers and school staff continue to rise to the challenge in times of adversity with an unwavering dedication to students.

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