All middle and high school students need to understand that my message about moving up to the next grade level, means that you will go to the next grade. However, if you are not doing your work, you will be repeating those required classes and be credits short that you need to make up. Regardless of your grade credits are required to graduate.
Reminder regarding graduation status! Those seniors who meet the state graduation requirements will receive diplomas. Those seniors who don't complete the coursework, we will continue to work with you even into July and August. We are only a few weeks away from the end of the school year, so now is the time to finish strong.
June 5th is still currently the date of graduation
The school district is going to wait until we have specific guidelines from the state or county health department that covers the time period of June 5th or beyond, prior to announcing any graduation plans.
Mark Westerburg
Is your student enrolled in a Mendocino College class? They may qualify for a $250 cash grant! Click the link to learn more about the grant and how to apply: https://mendovoice.com/2020/04/mendocino-college-foundation-offers-emergency-grants-to-students-contributions-sought/
It certainly appears that we will not be returning to normal classroom settings for the remainder of this school year. All school sites have made plans to continue with modified school instruction through the end of May. The first week of June will be used for students to turn in all assignments and for teachers to assign grades. All students will be moved to the next grade unless discussions about retention have already taken place.
Although very unlikely- if it is possible before this school year ends to bring back a limited number of students, the District would consider the following: Brookside grade 2 only, Blosser Lane grade 5 only, BGMS grade 8 only and all seniors at WHS. In regards to graduation our preference is to wait it out, meet as a group and make it happen. As I have stated before, we can do it in August if necessary. I prefer this idea over a virtual ceremony.
Middle school and high school campuses are planning to hold a summer school session from July 27th through August 14th. WUSD is willing to provide support to all other summer session programs which use our facilities so they may become operational.
In regards to the governor's comments about starting school July 1st. There are more problems with that Idea than good. A major issue for a third of our students is transportation, can they get on the bus, with such a confined space we would have to limit buses to 12 students and this is a problem. Another large issue is the heat in July, only about 40% of our facilities have air conditioning and classrooms would be very warm. Along with this are summer jobs, summer school, cleaning facilities, adding 20+ days to teachers' work year, new teachers who won't be here yet, plus all the added cost for operations for a month and half. Although we are anxious to all be together again an early start is not the best plan. When all the students come back in August we will all work aggressively to get back on track.
I commend all of our parents and staff for working through this situation, hang in there. My biggest concern in coming back together is the health of our adult staff, the impact from the virus can be harsh and we have a small number of substitutes available. The need to social distance even with a small group is very tough with young kids. If we do have to create A and B days for students to limit the exposure we will do so. Bus routes, siblings, teachers, children and creating off day work for students will be a challenge but we will do it if necessary.
In conclusion, we are waiting it out and hopeful that summer will get us a little closer too normal. Our goals for Willits Unified are to finish the year in distance mode, have a graduation ceremony, provide whatever educational services we can in the summer and get ready for next school year.
Mark Westerburg
Does your student want to take college classes this summer? In-person registration 11-1 pm today. Click the link to search for classes. Classes will be online only. Contact your student's counselor for help with K-12 Agreement form. https://service.mendocino.edu/student/courses
Link Crew is recruiting for next year! Must be a Junior or a Senior for 2020-2021. Go to the WHS Link Crew website to learn more about the program. The application is at the bottom of the page. Deadline to apply is 5/15. http://willitsunifiedca.apptegy.us/o/whs/page/link-crew--7
Tomorrow is the deadline to drop Spring Semester Mendocino College classes with a 'W' or 'EW'. Click the following link then "Drop/Refund Policy" to learn how to request an 'EW' (recommended if planning to drop) & the steps to drop. https://www.mendocino.edu/announcements
Is your student enrolled in a college class? Is it working out? The deadline to drop college classes with a 'W' or 'EW' is Sun 4/24. Please click the following link then "Drop/Refund Policy" to learn how to request an EW & steps to drop. https://www.mendocino.edu/announcements
I have attached a link to the CENSUS 2020. It is very important for school funding to have an accurate census for the district. Federal funding inTitle Programs, food service and grant opportunities come from census data. It is very quick and easy to do. https://my2020census.gov/
WUSD April 15, 2020 School Board Meeting Video
https://youtu.be/dOmTXIUzBlU
Uniform Turn in. With the unfortunate circumstances facing our nation, our baseball season has been cancelled! My heart goes out to all of our players, coaches and parents , but especially our seniors, this is not fair at all!
So now comes the hard part. We need to collect all baseball uniforms, varsity pullovers, jerseys and pants.
The coaches will be at the front of the high school this Thursday at 6pm to collect everything. Now keeping the current 6ft distance please just pull into the bus line and we will have container out just simply show what you have and drop them off out the window . If for some reason you can’t not make it to the high school, please get a hold of Coach Travis or Coach Jim and we will make arrangements.
Thank you
Whs baseball coaching staff
Willits Unified Schools has extended the Modified School period through Friday May 1st. All the Mendocino County Schools will be under this extension. We will be monitoring the situation. I look forward to returning to school as soon as it is safe for staff and students to be together.
Even in the midst of trying times like this, good things can still happen. Today we received the fourth new bus from grant funds. This is a huge savings to the district and has significantly upgraded our transportation department. Can’t wait for us to get back on the road.
This is a column that I posted in the Willits Weekly and Willits News.
Are you concerned about your student's mental health? A mental health resources page has been created to help provide information. Please check it out: http://willitsunifiedca.apptegy.us/o/whs/page/mental-health-resources--18
Could your family use $200 in cash assistance during this time? Check out this opportunity from Scholly for parents or students to apply for: https://myscholly.com/relief/?fbclid=IwAR1C6Ai1SHKg8BhWZrW6GdJaCCGLhlNIWVkfJkGDhjla0FP5Guo7HZ661GA
Remember that we have breakfast and lunch pick up at WHS from 8-10 AM and 11-1 for lunch. If you can't make arrangements to get in please call 707-459-5314 and leave a message.
The best way to contact staff is through email. All district emails are first and last name @willitsunified.com. For example markwesterburg@willitsunified.com Important information for WUSD is located on the district website under the Modified School Information link. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/19avYBzh8L5XfvixXwXPz6-Yg23G08uyF
Mendocino County will be going into a shelter in place at 10 PM tonight. Based on that all buildings will be closed on Thursday until further notice. The phones will be monitored and checked remotely. Student food pick up at WHS will continue as scheduled.
I have put together a folder of information to share with parents and students during this non-classroom instruction time. It is my intent to continue to add to this as we go through the weeks. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/19avYBzh8L5XfvixXwXPz6-Yg23G08uyF?usp=sharing