December 6, 2020: Update from Mrs. Hanson

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Good evening, Caleb families!

Thank you to all of you who were able to join me for our parent information session about the district’s proposed Fiscal Recovery Plan last week, and for all the action you have already taken to advocate for our program and for fiscal reform for our entire district. 

This week’s SCUSD Board Meeting on Thursday evening, which you can watch live, will teach us a lot about how the Board intends to proceed with the Fiscal Recovery Plan. Note on the Board Meeting Agenda that the FRP discussion is not slated to begin until about 8:30pm, however just prior at 7:45pm, there will be a presentation of the district’s first interim budget report and an update from the Financial Crisis Management Team that you may find of interest as well. The accompanying Board Agenda Packet contains impact statements from every impacted site and program. with discussion of the FRP beginning on page 354 and the Caleb Impact Statement on pages 399-400. 

Kit Carson Principal, Santiago Chapa, is holding an information session for parents regarding the impact of the FRP on Kit’s IB programs on Tuesday evening at 6:30pm. Click here for more information. 

Parent Conferences are in full swing. Please check class schedules carefully to ensure your child is present and engaged during all expected learning times. And parents, please double-check your parent-teacher conference time slot and be on time to the Zoom so your child’s teacher can share as many details with you as possible during your allocated time. If you’d like to have a conference and don’t yet have one scheduled or don’t remember when you signed up, please reach out directly to your child’s teacher. 

As we continue our focus on being Principled Participators in December, I encourage you all to educate yourselves about our district’s current financial strains and thoughtfully consider the facts in order to take action. Last week’s parent information session, accompanying documents, including links to independent agency analyses of the situation, can all be found on our website. As I told our community last week, the sky is NOT falling and these decisions are not final, but these proposed cuts are a reminder of the vulnerability of our program, district and students and are certainly a call to action. Let’s make this about more than just our corner of Sacramento. Yes, we need to advocate for our program and students, but every child in our district deserves a quality school and access to programs and supports that meet their needs. The way to ensure equitable access is for our district and labor leaders to reach an agreement that resolves our structural deficit and eliminates the likelihood of a state takeover. Your voices, and the voices of our children, matter. 

Be sure to check out this week’s Cougar Video Message and IB PYP Newsletter. Save the date for our live school-wide Human Rights Day Event on Wednesday, December 16 at 1:15pm. More details to come on that. 

Take care, and as always, please reach out if you need anything. 

Principal Erin Hanson