A Moment with Doc Ervin
Superintendent Doc Ervin introduces members of his executive cabinet. |
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Future in Focus
Quick tips, brief updates, and reminders about what’s coming up to help families, employees, and our community make the most of our schools. |
Kindergarten Enrollment for 2022–2023 School Year Starts Next Week
Registration for kindergarten and transitional kindergarten starts
November 8 at your local District elementary school and Enrollment and Placement Services.
Children who will be 5 years old by September 1, 2022, are eligible to enroll in kindergarten for the 2022–2023 school year. Transitional kindergarten (TK) is available for students who will turn 5 years old from
September 2 to December 2, 2022.
Transitional kindergarten is a free, half-day program staffed by credentialed teachers who help prepare students for kindergarten by teaching age-appropriate social and academic skills. TK is offered at more than 25 SBCUSD
elementary schools.
For more information, contact Enrollment and Placement Services at (909) 889-7576 or visit www.sbcusd.com/enrollment.
COVID-19 Vaccine and Students
November 1, 2021
Dear San Bernardino City Unified School District Families:
Now that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted emergency approval of the COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11, families may have questions about the impact on students in the San Bernardino City Unified
School District (SBCUSD).
This federal announcement of emergency authorization does not activate California’s school vaccine mandate and there is no immediate impact on SBCUSD students. The state’s vaccine mandate does not go
into effect until vaccines for students are fully authorized by the FDA. Once the vaccines are fully approved, students will have until the next term to complete their vaccinations so they can attend school in person.
State officials have said that July 1, 2022, is the earliest the mandate is expected to begin.
While encouraging vaccination, SBCUSD supports parental rights and believes that vaccinations are an important medical decision that families should make for their children. The Governor’s order allows for broad
categories of exemption which the District is currently evaluating to help families navigate the mandate.
Our number one priority continues to be keeping students, staff, and families safe, healthy, and able to attend class in person each day. The California Department of Public Health strongly recommends that all persons
eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine receive them at the first opportunity. SBCUSD will work with state and local public health agencies to provide information and to hold vaccination clinics in our schools at no cost to
families in the future.
As a reminder, you play a vital role in helping our schools remain open for teaching and learning. Thank you for continuing to monitor the health of your children each day before sending them to school. If your child
is sick, please keep them home and call the school office.
Sincerely, Doc
Ervin
Superintendent
Weekly Bulletin Board
Are you interested in learning more about the Local Control and Accountability Plan and how funding benefits Special
Education students? Be sure to attend the next Community Advisory Committee meeting at 1 p.m. on November 18.
State Test Scores Now Available
This past spring, students in SBCUSD and across California took state tests during distance learning, and
test scores are now available through the Aeries Parent Portal.
Log in to Aeries and look in the 'Student Information' tab, then select 'Student Documents'.
Some students may have also taken a portion of the spring CAASPP assessments. Those results are also available in the Aeries Parent Portal, in the 'Test Scores' tab, then select 'State Test Scores Reports'
tab.
For more about accessing test scores, please see the Quick Reference Guide: Accessing STAR Report.
If you have additional questions, please call your child's school. |
Highlights of the Week
Highlights of key news from the week that will help you stay in the know.
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Students Honor Dia de los Muertos with Colorful Projects
Continuing with what has become a yearly tradition, students at some SBCUSD schools created colorful class projects to commemorate the lives of loved ones who have passed away. Celebrated on Nov. 1 and 2, Día de los Muertos,
as it’s called in Spanish, is a rich tradition that finds its roots in ancient Maya culture. Although Day of the Dead is observed in several Latin American countries, it’s most closely associated with Mexico.
Norton Elementary Principal Honored for Ensuring Students Have Nutritious Meals
Seasoned principals like Norton Elementary School’s Elizabeth Cochrane-Benoit
know that students depend on healthy meals to fuel their learning.
Since Norton students returned to in-person instruction in August, Cochrane-Benoit has allowed children to eat breakfast and lunch in their classroom. Her efforts have earned her status as a School Breakfast Hero, a designation
given to her recently by No Kid Hungry California. Cochrane-Benoit received the award at the November 2 Board of Education meeting.
Cochrane-Benoit collaborated with the District’s Nutrition Services Department, teachers, and custodial staff to ensure students were getting the nutrition they needed to focus and learn while sustaining a safe,
sanitary and COVID-ready kitchen.
“We discovered through serving breakfast in the classroom, all students are able to start the day with a healthy meal that nourishes their bodies and enables them to focus on learning,” she said. “Every
child should have the opportunity to nourish their bodies for learning.” Since starting breakfast in the classroom, Norton Elementary has seen a reduction in the number of students going to the health office for
stomach aches. Read more about Elizabeth’s efforts here.
Hazel Health Brings Virtual Healthcare to SBCUSD Schools
SBCUSD continues its partnership with Hazel Health to offer virtual mental and physical health services
for students from the convenience of school or home at no cost to families.
Families are urged to sign up now at my.hazel.co/sbcusd to connect children enrolled in SBCUSD schools to virtual mental
and physical health services for concerns like stomach aches, headaches, sprained ankles, asthma concerns, and everything in between.
Hazel Health, based in San Francisco, is an innovative model that offers students a virtual health clinic that connects them to health care providers who assess them in a matter of minutes— regardless of insurance
or immigration status.
Families are encouraged to sign up for Hazel Health now so that students will have access to fast and convenient medical care when they need it. Learn more about Hazel Health services here.
To access services now and for the remainder of the school year, SBCUSD asks families to:
1. Fill out a Consent to Care form to ensure access when your child needs it most.
2. Create an account to discuss your child’s health concerns today.
San Andreas High Career Pathway First in U.S. to Earn Industry Stamp of Approval
A career pathway that prepares San Andreas High School students for careers in agriculture and the hospitality industry is now certified to sell produce grown on campus.
San Andreas High is the first farm-to-table school program in the country to become a Primus Certified Site, earning the highest level of industry certification by participating in USDA-funded training on food safety
management, indoor agriculture, and harvesting practices.
Superintendent Ervin has been meeting with people throughout the District for the past several months gathering input about what makes SBCUSD great. As he wraps up his Listening
& Learning Tour, we'd like to give anyone who wants to share your thoughts about what is best about SBCUSD and our schools. What are the things we should hang on to
as we move forward into a new chapter. Please take sometime to enter your thoughts and rate the thoughts of others who participate in this open forum.
What about the San Bernardino City Unified School District makes you most proud?
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Superintendent Doc Ervin wants to know what you believe is the most important work for SBCUSD to do in the next three years. He will be leading a collaborative planning process
to define the next chapter for our District and your ideas about how we should do to achieve the next level of excellence so all students can be successful are important. Please
add your thoughts here about what we should consider as priorities moving forward.
What is the most important work for San Bernardino City Unified School District to do in the next three years? |
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SBCUSD in the News
Lawmakers hear from tribes and educators about gaps, successes in Native American curriculum
San Bernardino school district to hold drive-through job fair Oct. 30
SBCUSD Drive-thru Job Fair October 30
Highlanders participate in Great ShakeOut |
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Superintendent Doc Ervin to Join U.S. Department of Education Secretary to Talk About Student Mental Health
Superintendent Doc Ervin will join Secretary of Education Dr.
Miguel Cardona on Friday, November 12, 2–3:30 p.m. ET, for a webinar about student mental health hosted by The Kennedy Forum.
The webinar, titled School-Based Mental Health: A National Priority, will explore how education systems across the country can address the immediate mental health needs of students and integrate mental health instruction long-term.
Topics of discussion will include innovative approaches to engage youth, best practices for program development and assessment, strategies for addressing common challenges, and more. Ervin will join U.S. Education Secretary Miguel
Cardona, Ed.D., who served as the Commissioner of Education in Connecticut during COVID, and other panelists.
Founded in 2013 by former Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy (D-R.I.), The Kennedy Forum leads a national dialogue on mental health by uniting advocates, policymakers, educators, and others around a common set of principles. The
organization is dedicated to advancing quality mental health programming in schools that benefits students, families, and educators.
Ervin, a strong advocate of student mental health, will share his expertise and insights about the role that mental health literacy and social-emotional learning play in student success.
“The social and emotional well-being of our students has always been important. Now more than ever, social-emotional learning needs to be an integral part of our education system,” Ervin said. “That’s
why I am proud of the work we are doing in San Bernardino City Unified to help our teachers, school leaders, and families develop the skills they need to support our kids in reaching their full potential.”
For more information and to register for the free webinar, visit The Kennedy Forum. |
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| Produced and Distributed by the SBCUSD Communications/Community Relations Department |
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