Covid-19 Operations Written Report

Audience: LEA Community
Purpose: Provide community with a broad overview of practices put into place for school closure/ COVID emergency
Response no more than 300 words for each prompt

Local Educational Agency (LEA) Name: Vaughn Next Century Learning Center
Contact Name and Title: Heather Yoshioka & Sadie Edemann
Email and Phone: directorsofinstruction@myvaughncharter.com
Date of Adoption: June 10, 2020

Descriptions provided should include sufficient detail yet be sufficiently succinct to promote a broader understanding of the changes your LEA has put in place. LEAs are strongly encouraged to provide descriptions that do not exceed 300 words.

Provide an overview explaining the changes to program offerings that the LEA has made in response to school closures to address the COVID-19 emergency and the major impacts of the closures on students and families.

Vaughn NCLC stopped face-to-face instruction on March 13th, 2020. Between March 13th to April 13, students were provided instructional packets of school work to complete at a distance as teachers checked in with students remotely. During the interim plans were made to distribute devices to any students who were in need and to plan for distance learning ensuring that expectations were clear for both students, families, and staff. On April 13th, we rolled out distance learning plans where teachers deliver asynchronous instruction virtually to all students. We have provided opportunities for families to check out Vaughn Chromebooks and Wifi hotspots to ensure all students are 1:1 with technology in the home. While Google Classroom has been used as a central platform, teachers are creatively integrating multiple modes of instruction through VTC, SKIES, Class Dojo and other virtual learning platforms. Every week we take attendance through each student’s core classroom/advisory and track attendance data to ensure all students' needs are being met socially & emotionally as well as academically. At times, leadership and support providers (counselors, social workers, case managers) have done one on one check-ins with individual families as well as home visits. Every week, teachers meet virtually in collaborative teams as well as with site leadership to reflect on the learning needs of the community, learn new strategies for student support and plan next steps for academic instruction. Our special education department has been checking compliance reports regularly and has been working with site leadership to schedule all necessary IEPs virtually as well as provide services and supports in conjunction with outside service providers to all students with special needs as indicated in their IEP. Every week, site and district leaders meet virtually to reflect on current progress and next steps needed to support student achievement.

Provide a description of how the LEA is meeting the needs of its English learners, foster youth and low-income students.

Teachers provide explicit language development instruction during distance learning using our ELA/ELD curriculum. Technology, images, and videos are being incorporated to teach new vocabulary. All of our teachers implement effective research-based strategies to promote and develop oral language and vocabulary development. Our EL’s access all student content of our ELA/ELD curriculum online. English Learners that need extra support receive targeted intervention services by our intervention team. All English Learners have been provided a chromebook to access the online piece of our distance learning plan. As of March 16th, SWDs were supported via specialized work packets, phone check-ins, and virtual conferences. Since then, Vaughn has arranged the provision of related services (LAS, OT, BID/BII, PC, APE, DHH) via teletherapy. Currently, students are receiving instruction via Zoom through group and individual support, depending on need. SPED staff do regular (daily or weekly) phone check-ins or conferences for students with low participation and/or work completion challenges. Students are also invited to their virtual IEP meetings so they can provide input on their experience and needs with distance learning. Providers include supplemental supports such as continued work packets, access to educational software, learning manipulative kits, and links to videos for students that need more practice or those showing inconsistent virtual participation

Provide a description of the steps that have been taken by the LEA to continue delivering high-quality distance learning opportunities.

As a school we realize that access to technology is a key component in ensuring access for all students, teachers, staff and families. We have made technology available to any stakeholder who has expressed need. We have distributed over 2000 Chromebooks and over 250 Wifi Hotspots to ensure that all individuals are connected to virtual platforms. Additionally, we are providing an internet and phone stipend for staff. Daily announcements are sent to the entire Vaughn community updating students, staff, parents, teachers, and leaders on school-wide planning, community resources available, and upcoming events. We have updated our website to have a COVID-19 page as well as Distance Learning pages for each school site with expectations clearly outlined for all stakeholders. Specific school sites hold weekly parent meetings virtually to show them how to best support their child at home, walk them through online learning platforms, and to give feedback and answer questions. Secondary sites have hosted students surveys to conduct polls on needs and celebrations that guide next steps for instruction and social emotional supports. Through frequent leadership meetings all leaders collaborate on specific family needs and quickly provide individualized supports when needed, especially for families in crisis. We have had 95%+ attendance rates every week since beginning distance learning and this is due to the ongoing support and outreach of all teachers, leaders, office staff, and support providers at Vaughn. Teachers provide weekly opportunities for students to check in through virtual office hours. Asynchronous schedules were created with our students in mind as the needs of each child differ widely. For many of our students a consistent schedule is challenging to follow, so students are able to access all learning at any time of the day. Our support staff stays connected with community partners to provide the up-to-date resources available to our families.

Provide a description of the steps that have been taken by the LEA to provide school meals while maintaining social distancing practices.

Vaughn Next Century Learning Center Food Service Department is practicing the following steps to provide school meals while maintaining social distancing.

Vaughn Next Century Learning Center Food Service Department is practicing the following steps to provide school meals while maintaining social distancing.

We are providing the community with meals once a week to reduce daily contact.

We are serving grab n go meals with 6ft tables between Food Service Staff and the community. The families will get off their vehicle and take bags set at the end of the table, while Food Service Staff stands at the other end of the table, maintaining social distancing.

We have placed 6ft markers on the ground for those community members picking up food that have to stand in line. We also have a 6ft table for those that are walking to maintain social distancing.

The staff works in a large area to ensure social distancing while mass-producing meals. They are placed 6ft apart and work in smaller groups.

The team is required to wear face masks at all times, along with gloves while working. Gloves are changed out often, and hands are washed frequently.

We stop throughout the day to clean and sanitize frequently touched areas such as doorknobs and cart handles.

Provide a description of the steps that have been taken by the LEA to arrange for supervision of students during ordinary school hours.

Vaughn Next Century Learning Center is not currently providing on-site childcare. Internally we polled essential staff to determine childcare needs and it was determined that in order to ensure the safety of all that supervision would not be provided at this time. We have been referring stakeholders to the following community partner to connect families to childcare as needed, California State Portal (MyChildCare.ca.gov). In our most recent Covid-19 Parent Survey we found that in response to the following question, What childcare/after school support will your family need in the fall? 67.3% of respondents indicated no need for childcare, 12.6% of respondents indicated they would need daily supervision from 7a.m.-5 p.m. , 8.2% indicated they would need Daily supervision from 7 a.m.-3 p.m., 7.7% indicated they would need childcare a few days a week from 7 a.m-5 p.m., and 4.1% indicated that they would need a few days a week from 7 a.m.- 3 p.m. We will continue to evaluate our options for providing supervision as new information is collected and safety guidance is solidified.

California Department of Education

May 2020