With the coronavirus pandemic having already wiped out much of the school year, Vallejo City Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Adam Clark sent out a message Wednesday afternoon updating anxious parents on issues such as graduation, summer school and the upcoming fall schedule.
Clark says that Vallejo, Jesse Bethel and John Finney Continuation High schools, as well as Vallejo Regional EC, will have virtual graduation ceremonies on the school’s original scheduled date and times. John Finney will have its ceremony on Wednesday, June 10 at 1:30 p.m., while Vallejo will have its own later that afternoon at 6:30 p.m. Bethel will celebrate on Thursday, June 11 at 1:30 p.m., while Vallejo Regional EC will have its own at noon on Friday, June 12.
“High school staff have collected input from their graduating seniors regarding what should be included in the virtual ceremonies,” Clark says in the statement. “We will do our best to create a memorable experience that families can view and celebrate!”
On Thursday Clark told the Times-Herald how important it is for the Class of 2020 to have something special.
“Being a past high school principal and a also a father of three where all three graduated, I know how important this for the students,” Clark said. “It’s basically a rite of passage, right up there with prom. It’s a big deal for the seniors and if this was a regular school year this would have been a big deal. As we are constructing these ideas we know we are making this a big deal for them.”
Clark said that he has spoken with the district’s principals and leadership committees on the best way to hold a virtual ceremony.
“They’ve all been working with the students,” said Clark. “And one thing you have to understand is that sometimes when dealing with 18-year-olds, they will have a grand idea on paper, but the time, resources and availability to gather material aren’t there. The big thing everyone seems to want is to walk across a stage.”
On Monday and Tuesday of this past week, Benicia High students reported to Drolette Stadium at a scheduled time with up to four family members. When there, the students were filmed walking across a stage while wearing their gap and gown, having their name announced while receiving their diploma cover. The videos will then later be made available on YouTube on June 6.
Clark said representatives and Vallejo students were at Benicia to gather information.
“We’re not going off just one idea,” said Clark. “We are also looking at other schools in other districts and getting ideas for what we could do. How do we want to do this? Zoom? Google Hangouts? Will we broadcast it on VCAT or somewhere else? Those ideas are being worked on and constructed right now.”
In the same message sent out to parents, Clark addressed concerns about transcripts and graduation requirements. VCUSD has reduced the graduation requirements for John Finney and Farragut Academy students from 180 credits to the California State minimum of 130 credits. Clark said what this means is taking off the majority of electives.
For middle School and kindergarten promotions, Clark wrote that VCUSD is not providing a formal event, but that the individual schools site administration “has the autonomy to provide a celebration experience.”
Clark also announced that VCUSD will hold summer school for students who need to make up credits from June 22 through July 30. Any high school student who failed a core class will have the opportunity to enroll in an online course credit recovery system, Odysseyware.
The registration process begins online at vcusd-ca.schoolloop.com/registration.
Finally, Clark said that as of now the district has not changed the 2020-21 scheduled start date, which is Aug. 17. Whether or not that start date begins with distance learning or face to face classes is still up in the air. The superintendent said that although there has not been official guidance from the California Department of Education, Solano County Public Health Department or Solano County Office of Education regarding what free and appropriate education will look like, VCUSD is preparing for multiple scenarios.
“What my goal was with that was to reduce some anxiety from parents who may have heard that Governor Newsom said schools had the option of starting earlier. As of right now, we are not planning on doing that and I wanted parents to know that,” Clark said. “Parents have a great deal on their plate right now and we don’t want to be an added burden to them. We want to serve and support them.”
Clark said that due to the closing of Franklin Middle School and Beverly Hills Elementary School, five elementary schools will expand to house sixth-grade students. Those schools are Federal Terrace, Highland, Patterson, Pennycook, and Wardlaw. If a parent currently has a fifth grader at one of those schools, those students will automatically roll up to sixth grade at their current school.
“The transportation department has sent a communication through ParentSquare to determine the need for transportation services in 2020-2021 to families of current Cooper and Lincoln fifth-grade students to attend Hogan; current Franklin sixth/seventh-grade students to attend Hogan; and current Beverly Hills TK-4 students to attend Glen Cove,” Clark wrote. “The district will then evaluate the need to determine the final level of transportation services.”
