School Choices

For those who completed the parent survey in early June regarding distance learning feedback and input for school opening, thank you. Forty-six percent of our families responded. Based on that response, I want to make sure parents are aware of all the options available for your child’s education. 

While I certainly don’t want to lose any of our Lake Panthers, I also have to be realistic that the school closure experience may have you thinking of other schooling options. Some comments from the survey indicated that if we were to go into distance learning next year, you would choose to homeschool. First, we will do everything we can to NOT go that route. We are planning a full return to school at this time. Modified schedules and distance learning are not suitable substitutes for in-person teaching and learning at Lake Elementary. I do realize, however, that some parents enjoyed the homeschool environment and now may be considering other options. That is a trend we are seeing across the state, and it is not surprising. 

With that, I want to make sure that parents have all the information to make a well-informed decision. Although Glenn County is small, there are several options that parents can choose from for the education of their child: homeschool, private school, public charter schools, and public schools like us. I’ve outlined the local options below, all of which are located in northern Glenn County. 

Homeschool: Parents who opt to privately educate or “home school” their children must first properly file a Private School Affidavit (PSA) with the CDE (Education Code (EC) Section

33190). By filing an affidavit, the owner/head (parent) of the school acknowledges, under penalty of perjury, that the (home) school meets all statutory requirements for a full-time private school, such as keeping a record of attendance, which includes noting all absences of a half day or more, grade reporting, and providing instructional materials. Parents who file the private school affidavit to privately educate their children must select and provide all curricular, instructional, and other materials. For more information, check out CDE’s “Schooling at Home” web page located at https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/ps/homeschool.asp, which includes information about filing the PSA as well as educational resources.

Private School: Located right on Highway 32, Providence Christian School provides a faith-based education for students ages 4-18 (through high school). Over the years, a handful of our Lake graduates have gone on to attend Providence High School. For more information regarding Providence, you can check out their website. 

Public Charter School: As I shared earlier in a blog post, we authorized a charter school last year, Lake View Charter School. Lake View enrolls students TK-12 grades. This environment would be similar to the distance learning you may have experienced this past year. Unlike homeschool in which the parent is responsible for curriculum, attendance and grade reporting, families work with credentialed teachers to design a learning plan that best supports the child’s learning style. Additionally, the credentialed teacher tracks attendance and grading, taking some of that responsibility off the plate of the parent. Another public charter school in our area is William Finch Charter School. I consider this charter school a “blended learning environment” or “hybrid model” some of you mentioned in your comments. William Finch is a viable option for those looking for a hybrid of classroom instruction and independent learning at home. They serve students in grades K-12. 

Public School: A review of the area schools would not be complete without including Orland Unified School District. Most of our families live in the Orland District and choose to come to Lake. Likewise, over the past few years, a handful of our families have returned to their home district, looking for a larger school setting than what we can offer. I understand that our small school environment is not for everyone. And that is okay. But for those who thrive and excel as a Lake Panther, find comfort in knowing that we will continue to provide a rigorous and well-rounded education in a safe and supportive environment. 

I have shared a lot of information. Should you find yourself considering other options, please feel free to email me any questions you may have regarding school choice. At the end of the day, I want you and your child to be happy in the educational environment that best fits him/her. 

Focus for 2020-21

There is a lot of information from a lot of resources - online and otherwise - regarding how schools will reopen in the fall. I have been involved in several meetings and webinars, as well as visiting with other administrators, near and far, on how to best plan for the school year 2020-21. I feel the best advice I have received thus far is it is just too early to make a concrete plan for the start of school as things seem to change very quickly. However, what I do want the Lake community to know is that the staff and I have had, and will continue to have, significant conversations about how to best educate students when they come back to us on September 2. Outlined below are some of the areas that we are discussing in order to help us provide focus for 2020-21.

Health and Safety

At the forefront of every year is the health and safety of all Lake Panthers - staff and students alike. The health and safety of students has been my top priority every year, regardless of a pandemic. Obviously, we will continue with this focus in the fall. In the meantime, Shannon has met with representatives from Hillyard Industries, manufacturers and distributors of cleaning and hygiene solutions. We have used their products for years. They have developed sustainable cleaning plans for schools. We will continue to meet with them throughout the summer to develop a plan that keeps our facility a clean, safe, and healthy learning environment.

To assist in creating a healthier atmosphere, we have or are in the process of implementing several facility improvements: 

• Not long after the school was closed in mid-March, we placed an order of an electrostatic sprayer that will allow us to decontaminate classrooms, furniture, and various classroom items more efficiently and effectively than before. 

• We have replaced the carpet in the main building classrooms with epoxy flooring. Epoxy floors create a seamless surface that is easier to clean than carpets and will not harbor bacteria or mildew. It is our long-term plan to replace all carpeted classrooms.

• All classrooms will have sinks for increased hand washing.

In addition to physical improvements, we plan to hire an additional part-time custodian/maintenance person to ensure we remain vigilant on cleaning and maintaining the school facility - new and old. Additionally, we are considering adding 5 minutes to the instructional day to allow for more time hand washing so that the time does not take away from the academic day. If implemented, it would mean a 3:00 p.m. dismissal time instead of 2:55 p.m.

Social-Emotional Learning

I have been reading many articles and attending webinars regarding the concern the pandemic has on the social-emotional health of children. After several years of implementing our social-emotional program, Toolbox, we feel we are well-versed in meeting the psychological needs of all our students. In addition, we have made connections with resources in the county such as mental health counseling and school-based counseling. We will continue to rely on this network of support in order to meet the needs of all our students.

Addressing Learning Gaps

I addressed this in a previous post, you can review it here. Rest assured, we have already been discussing the academic needs students may have when they return to us in the fall. We feel that children are resilient and we will meet them where they are academically. Teaching is what we do best and we are excited to get back to the classroom to do it! 

Budget

You may have heard that the governor's budget cuts funding for schools. While it is still unclear how much we will be impacted, we are planning for a 10% cut to our revenues. This is not great news, however, we have done a good job over the past several years of not overspending and have resources in place to weather this storm. I meet with our CBO (Chief Business Officer), Dusty Thompson, on a weekly basis to continue to monitor the budget. We should know by June 15 the status of the cuts, if any, as the legislature is proposing no cuts to education. This timeline allows us to approve a budget at the June 30 board meeting, with a clearer picture of funding for 2020-21.

Community Engagement

As the state continues to share information regarding school reopening recommendations, I will share these updates with our Lake community, specifically the impact they will have on the school environment. Communication with Public Health as well as feedback from parents will help guide us in how to continue to uphold our Lake values and culture during this time. Lake is a community built on a foundation of close connections and family values with a deep passion for doing what is best for kids. This will never change. These characteristics that make us unique will always remain in the forefront of our approach to returning back to school this fall. 

Lake View Charter School

I believe it is safe to say that the last few months have taken us all by surprise. Parents suddenly found themselves teaching their children under the guidance of classroom teachers. While this certainly was not our preferred environment, we are extremely proud of our parents for providing the best learning environment despite the situation. I have heard from many of you that you will be glad when Distance Learning comes to an end and you can turn the teaching back over to the experts. At the same time, I know that Distance Learning has been a positive experience in which some may want to continue. After measures have been put in place to start the 2020-21 school year, and you feel the home-school environment is a better fit for your family, Lake View Charter School may be an option for you. Did you know we authorized a charter school last year? Lake View Charter School is a K-12 personalized learning charter. You can check out the link here for more information. 

Parent Survey

Update as of Friday, June 19, 2020. The parent survey has closed in order to tabulate data for the June 30 school board meeting. If you missed providing feedback to Distance Learning and input into next year, please email Mrs. Baker at nbaker@lakeschool.org. Thank you.

Our Focus for 2020-21 is not complete without feedback from the Lake community, specifically our parents. Please take a moment to complete this survey in order for us to have a better understanding of your expectations of returning in the fall. 

The survey is divided into two parts: Part I is feedback regarding our implementation of Distance Learning. Should we be required to close our school in the future and return to Distance Learning, we want to make sure we meet the needs of our families the best we can. Part II is intended to garner information from our families of what your expectations are regarding coming back to school. This input will help us align the Public Health Department’s recommendations with our families' expectations. Thank you in advance for completing the survey. 

It is an understatement to say we are living in interesting times. I am honored to be part of a district that met our current challenges head on. Together, we remain and will always be a strong Lake Panther family.