Announcements

ISP Update

April 3, 2020

Hello all,

Well it has been finalized that we are out for the remainder of the school year. :(

I truly didn't think I'd be missing heading into work each day but I do. And of course, I do miss seeing each of you as well and I hope you are all handling this time safely and productively.

I will be making some changes to our weekly schedule and procedures to make it more effective for everyone. The following changes will begin after our "Spring Break." They are:

1. Texts with your Weekly Assignment & Work information will be sent out on Mondays before 11:00 A.M. for everyone in ISP.

2. Phone calls to discuss #1 will begin at 12:00 P.M. on Mondays for everyone in ISP.

3. Tuesday by 10:00 A.M. I will have any copies needed to the cafeteria and ready to be picked up during the times previously posted.

Please do not hesitate to call or text if I can explain further or if you have any questions regarding these changes. These changes are meant to give everyone the same access to picking up whatever they may need printed and to save me from making multiple trips out of my home during this truly unprecedented time in our lives.

My wife is on the kidney transplant list and is more susceptible to this virus then most others so I must take as many and all precautions as possible. Thank you for your understanding.

I will, as I have been, be available by phone call and text each and every day. Your success is still my priority.

Freshmen, Sophomores, and Juniors, want to start your summer break early? Be sure to ask me in our phone call after spring break.

Seniors, I believe you already know how to start yours... :)

Stay safe & vigilant everyone!

Mr. Haley

ISP Update

March 26, 2020

Hello,

I hope you are all surviving this "shelter-in-place" time. I believe it is important for everyone that can to stay at home to do exactly that so our medical services don't become overwhelmed and filled to capacity. If that happens this inconvenience will become nightmarish. I myself have only been to school, Costco and Bel Air. Make the best of it... Right? Earn those credits. :)

Due to the number of people coming to school for packet pickup, they have moved the packet pickup location to the Cafeteria. The office was too small and does not provide the appropriate social distancing. They will be adding an additional day as well.

Tuesdays 10:00 - 1:00

Wednesday 10:00 - 1:00

Thursdays 10:00 - 1:00

I've also been hearing, but no official statement as of yet, that we will most likely be out through April...

Well, stay healthy and happy.

Mr. Haley

ISP Update

March 23, 2020

Hello,

Hope this finds you coping well with being sheltered in place... How are you passing the time? I've been watching too many movies... but I have also completely cleaned out and reorganized a storage shed and plan on hitting our garage next.

I've not seen any new updates from the district but will put them on here when I do.

You should be able to work as normal with the exception of testing as discussed in previous update. Please reach out to me ASAP if you are not.

It is my understanding from my conversations with admin that there is not a plan or even a discussion of "giving" credits... and you all have the same expectations and work situation as before so I would argue ISP students should not be eligible if such a situation were to happen. Sorry. You must complete work just as before and pass exams to earn any credit.

I will be reaching out to each of you on our normal meeting day with a facetime/phone call. If I can't reach you I will then try on the next school day but also reach out to a parent as well. I want to do all that I can to ensure that you all earn the credits you need and stay on course with your goals.

Wishing continued wellness and safety,

Mr. Haley

District Update

April 23, 2020

@ 6:19 P.M.

UM Update & Progress Grades

Good Evening UMHS Families –

I hope all of you are staying healthy and doing well during this historic and unprecedented moment for our nation.

Our staff understands this is a difficult time for many families and distance learning poses a number of challenges for our students. To that effort, we are working hard to provide as much academic support as possible. This week, Progress Grades were submitted to provide parents with information regarding their students’ academic progress. Please take a moment to review the following information regarding grading.

GRADES

Students may choose to receive letter grades for the semester, or they may choose to receive a Pass/No Mark grade for the semester. The option for letter grades will be available to students who choose either distance learning option (online or paper packets). Universities and colleges are developing admissions policies for students earning pass marks instead of letter grades. While the District does not control college admissions processes, it is our belief that colleges will develop policies that do not discriminate against students who receive pass marks instead of letter grades during the closure. UC and CSU campuses will not require a letter grade for the mandatory a-g courses taken in high school this year (2020) in winter, spring or summer. Families may choose the Pass/No Mark option anytime during the semester up until May 22, 2020. By mid-May, the District will receive written notification from most colleges as to their updated admission criteria.

The Pass Mark may be issued for any grades earned for the semester from A to D. F grades will be awarded “No Marks” for the semester. Students receiving “No Marks” will not earn credit. The Pass or No Mark will not be averaged into the students’ GPA.

Please use the following link if you would like your son or daughter to receive “Pass/No Mark” grading in any of your classes. Grading Link - https://forms.gle/NWdSi7Vr5tGzEZnR6

Progress Grades

Mark 7 Progress Grades are being loaded into the Aeries Parent Portal on Friday. Please go on to the Parent Portal to see your student’s academic progress. Please note, there are only five (5) weeks remaining in the school year.

If your son or daughter receives a “No Mark,” that means they have not completed enough work to adequately measure their academic progress. A “No Mark” (NM) is an equivalent to an “F.”

If your son or daughter receives a “No Mark” on their progress report, they will need to contact their teacher immediately to determine their missing assignments (time is running out) and work to complete enough assignments to earn a “Pass” or letter grade by the end of the term. If they are unable to complete the assigned work and receive a “No Mark” at the end of the semester they will receive no credit for the course. As a result, they will need to retake the course. The ramifications of not passing a course or taking a “No Mark” will have a lasting impact on their future academic success, impact their ability to enroll in higher level courses and prevent them from being eligible for athletics in the Fall.

Please reach out to your teachers if your student needs academic support and we will develop a plan to meet their individual learning needs.

ATHLETIC ELIGIBILITY

In order for students to be eligible for Fall Athletics in 2020-21 they must complete 15 units (3 courses) with a letter grade of “C or better” or “Pass.”

AERIES – PARENT PORTAL ACCESS

Report cards will be available by logging in through the Aeries Parent Portal found here: Aeries: Portals as well as on the Aeries Mobile Portal available through the Apple App Store or Google Play.

To help ensure you are able to easily access your student’s report cards, we ask that you take a moment to login in to your Aeries Parent Portal and confirm your contact information, including email, is correct. If you forgot your password, please click on the “Forgot Password?” tab to reset your account password. If you need assistance creating a new account, please refer to the document attached to this message.

Once in the Aeries Parent Portal, you will be able to locate your student’s report cards by clicking the “Grades” tab at the top of the screen and selecting “Report Card History” from the drop down menu.

Instructions Parent Aeries Account.pdf

CAMPUS HOURS - (Packets, Chromebooks, Library Books, etc.)

The Cafeteria is open on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 10:00 am – 1:00 pm for packet pick-up, to turn-in completed assignments, Chromebook checkout and returning library and textbooks.

All overdue fines on library books will be waived. For lost and/or damaged library books, please contact Mrs. Hamilton directly at vhamilton@eduhsd.k12.ca.us.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email or call.

Thank you and stay healthy,

Mr. Neville

District Update

April 9, 2020

@ 10:00 A.M.

EDUHSD Grading Policy During the COVID-19 School Closures

Dear El Dorado Union High School Community,

The national health emergency caused by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) has led to extended school closures across the nation. Continuing the education of California’s students is deemed an essential service under the statewide shelter in place gubernatorial order. The Administration and staff of the El Dorado Union High School District understand that distance learning creates many challenges for families. Because students’ futures are so important, the District shall strive to provide students the opportunity to continue to develop college and career ready skills.

The El Dorado Union High School District shall provide distance learning for students through June 2, 2020. Students are provided with two distance learning options for most courses:

1. Online

2. Printed packets

Students may choose to receive letter grades for the semester, or they may choose to receive a Pass/No Mark grade for the semester. The option for letter grades will be available to students who choose either distance learning option (online or paper packets). Universities and colleges are developing admissions policies for students earning pass marks instead of letter grades. While the District does not control college admissions processes, it is our belief that colleges will develop policies that do not discriminate against students who receive pass marks instead of letter grades during the closure. UC and CSU campuses will not require a letter grade for the mandatory a-g courses taken in high school this year (2020) in winter, spring or summer. Families may choose the Pass/No Mark option anytime during the semester up until May 22, 2020. By mid-May, the District will receive written notification from most colleges as to their updated admission criteria.

The Pass Mark may be issued for any grades earned for the semester from A to D. F grades will be awarded No Marks for the semester. Students receiving No Marks will not earn credit. The Pass or No Mark will not be averaged into the students’ GPA. Counselors are finalizing the process by which families notify the District of their students’ grading option choice by course (letter grade or Pass/No Mark).

To prevent undue academic harm during the school closures, the Board of Trustees is considering lowering the elective credit graduation requirement from 240 to 220 for the Class of 2020. Students in the Class of 2020 are expected to meet all graduation requirements, but would only need a total of 220 credits instead of 240 to earn a diploma. Special circumstances may exist for students with disabilities and Individual Education Plans (IEPs), Federal 504 plans, English learners, homeless youth, foster youth, pregnant and parenting students, migrant students, former juvenile court students, and children of military families that prevent them from succeeding in distance learning. Therefore, a Board waiver process is being developed to allow such students in the class of 2020 to waive local Board graduation requirements beyond the state mandated graduation requirements due to challenges presented with distance learning.

In addition, there may be situations where certain elective courses cannot be offered remotely, for example, a Teaching Assistant (TA). For any semester elective class that cannot be continued, students will earn 2.5 credits for the work completed for the third quarter at EDHS, ORHS, PHS, and IHS. UMHS is on a 4 x 4 block schedule, so the partial credit situation is not applicable because the UMHS second term first semester ended with students receiving full academic credit. Counselors will notify families of courses that will not be offered via distance learning.

Teachers will communicate with students and families the minimum requirements to earn a passing mark using both distance learning options (online and print packets). Teachers will also update their syllabi, as needed, to explain changes to their letter grading policies. It is the intent to provide students with flexibility and understanding during the closures.

School Administration and staff will work to the best of their abilities to support students and communicate effectively during the closures. Families should also work to the best of their abilities to support students with the distance learning options (online or print packets). The Pass/No Mark option takes into consideration that distance learning is difficult. For students in the 9th, 10th and 11th grades, the District will revisit the graduation requirements for those students at a later date, once the full impact of the school closures are realized.

For questions about course expectations, please email teachers directly. For questions about how to obtain print packets, please email or call school administration. Each school has developed a packet distribution plan for families, including those with hardships regarding transportation. For questions about college eligibility and grading, please email your guidance counselor.

During these unprecedented times, the District is striving to provide your student with the opportunity to progress academically and obtain college and career readiness skills needed for post-secondary transitions.

Sincerely,

Dr. Ron Carruth

Superintendent

District Update

April 1, 2020

@ 6:05 P.M.

Schools Closed Through End of Academic Year

Dear El Dorado Union High School District Community,

Thank you for your patience as we work our way through this unusual moment in history.

Earlier today at his Press Conference, Governor Newsom stated that we will not be returning to school this academic year. In a decision coordinated with all of our local school districts and our County Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Ed Manansala, students will not return to school this semester. We take this action with the concurrence of Dr. Nancy Williams from El Dorado County Public Health.

It is very important to note, school is not out as we fully intend to continue to pursue learning opportunities for our students through our last day of school, Tuesday, June 2, 2020.

There are a great number of details we will work through together in the coming days and weeks, but we wanted you to know as soon as the decision was made.

We will put all of our energy into strengthening our delivery of education through distance-learning for students. We ask for patience and understanding as we are all quickly transitioning into a new way of teaching and learning. Working together, we can find ways to meet this challenge.

We know that many students, especially our seniors, are looking forward to graduation ceremonies and are very concerned about missing out on these important celebrations. Please know that we will be planning how we might offer these experiences in different formats or at a later date if necessary.

In the coming days and weeks we will provide our families and students with information regarding how grades, graduation, transcripts, scholarships and distance-learning will be further enhanced.

We are preparing a large number of Chromebooks that will be available for checkout at the schools as needed during the week of April 12, 2020 and are working on resources for free or greatly reduced and very affordable internet connections. More details will be coming from each respective school site.

Thank you again for your patience in these extraordinary times and please watch for further communication from our teachers, schools and the District.

Sincerely,

Dr. Ron Carruth

District Update

March 26, 2020

@ 3:19 P.M.

Dear Members of the El Dorado Union High School District Community,

We want to keep you up to date on the latest developments regarding our schools and what we anticipate ahead.

We are operating school remotely through our Spring Break and are currently scheduled to return to school on Monday, April 13, 2020. We realize that this is a rapidly changing environment in which many school districts are postponing students’ returning to class until May, with others canceling through the end of the school year.

We are working closely with all of our El Dorado County Superintendents, County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ed Manansala, and the County Health Department to determine if extending our current closure date is warranted. We plan to make a decision in the early afternoon on Thursday, April 2, 2020 as to whether or not to extend the closure, and will message you at that time.

All of our schools are offering distance learning opportunities through online or packet pick up for distance learning. It is very important that parents/guardians continue to work with their students and teachers to ensure that they progress in their learning and submit work to teachers as requested. We are working to provide the best educational program feasible under the circumstances. No work will be given over Spring Break from April 6-10, 2020.

Additionally, we want to give members of the class of 2020 the assurance that they will graduate, including both the ceremony as well as diploma, whether we are back in school later this year or not. It’s critical that we celebrate this milestone. We will see if our current schedule holds or if we need to reschedule that date. It is important that seniors complete their work so that they continue to make the academic progress needed to earn credits and a diploma.

We will continue to distribute meals (see attached) for students through a reduced Spring Break schedule and until school resumes. More details will be sent out next week. We know that many families have members who have been laid off from work and we are here to help.

Finally, thank you for your continued patience as we all stay home to slow the spread of this virus. If there are things we can do to assist you, please feel free to reach out to our sites or the District Office as we have staff ready to help address any needs you may have.

Sincerely,

Ron Carruth, Ed.D.

Superintendent