Westlake Weekly – July 19, 2020

First day of School, August 12th, Level 1: Distance Learning: We were notified by the Sacramento County Office of Education and the Sacramento County Department of Health Services that they have determined schools should open in August through September with a distance learning model.  With this guidance in mind, Westlake Charter School will begin the 2020-2021 School Year on August 12th in Level 1: Distance Learning.  

Westlake has developed calendared checkpoints to communicate with families when we may be able to move to Level 2: Orientation. Based on the guidance WCS will remain in Level 1: Distance Learning until at least September 11th.  As this date approaches, we will look to our local health officials to determine the viability of our next steps.

Distance Learning Redesigned: Our Westlake Charter team is working in collaboration with teachers to develop a robust Distance Learning plan as we enter the 20-21 school year.  These plans include:

• Daily attendance
• Daily live interaction with staff and classmates
• Increased engagement through a mix of digital and physical content
• Utilizing grade level instruction that combats academic learning loss and social-emotional isolation
• Monitoring student academic progress on standards and report cards

For more information on our Level 1: Distance Learning plans, see page 17 of our Return to School Family Handbook. For more information on returning to school in the the Fall visit our Return to School website. 

BASE Availability During Level 1 – Distance Learning: As we start the school year in Distance Learning, we’re exploring how to provide child care through our BASE program to help support our community.  As we consider how to provide this support, the health and safety of students, staff, and our community remains our top priority.  In the coming weeks, our goal is to be able to answer questions including: the operating days/hours of BASE, if pre-registration will be needed, if there will be any program capacity limits, and how students will be grouped to maintain social-distancing standards.  If you have additional thoughts you would like the school to consider, please email [email protected]. 

Technology for Distance Learning: We are preparing chromebooks to distribute to the families who indicated they need a device on the Summer Survey. If you haven’t taken the summer survey, click HERE to complete it as soon as possible. If you already completed the survey, but need to change your response, please email [email protected]. For families needing increased support, our Technology Help Desk will re-open during the week leading up to August 12th – our first day of school for the 2020 – 2021 school year.

Student Support Services: We want to ensure our families that all students who are served by our Student Support Services team will continue to receive high quality support throughout each level of our Return to School Plans. During Level 1: Distance Learning students will have access to the supports, services and accommodations outlined in their IEP or 504 plan.  When school begins, your student’s case manager will be reaching out to your family to begin collaborating on the best ways to support your student this year. In the meantime, if you have any questions you can reach out to Sabrina Jackson, Student Support Services Coordinator via email at [email protected].

Start and End times: We are excited to provide you with WCS’s 2020-21 school start and end times to support your family’s planning for the upcoming school year! These start and end times apply to Levels 3-5 when students are on campus. The start and end times were designed to meet the required number of instructional minutes, while ensuring social distancing and allowing for the smooth flow of students on to campus.  You will see these updates reflected on Page 19 of the Return to School Family Handbook.

School Day Start & End Times:

• Kindergarten 9:00 a.m – 12:45 p.m.
• 1st-3rd grades 8:45 a.m. – 1:15 p.m.
• 4th-8th grades 8:30 a.m. – 1:15 p.m.