Community Update

December 7, 2021

Choose Joy This Holiday Season

On behalf of all five members of the School Board of Trustees, I would like to wish you a truly joyous holiday season. We have had a fantastic start to the school year. Students are engaging with their teachers and support staff. We have already seen a dramatic improvement in student achievement, both academically and in extracurricular activities such as band, drama, athletics, and various clubs. In just four months, we have had over one hundred individual students receive awards. We have had individual schools receive awards and district recognition for our continued commitment to students at the center of all that we do for our community. This revitalization of learning and achievement is made possible by our esteemed team of teachers and support staff districtwide. We would like to thank every teacher and support staff for their commitment to students and families. It brings us great joy to announce that we have reached a tentative agreement with both of our employee groups on a much deserved raise. This raise demonstrates our commitment and respect for every teacher, instructional assistant, secretary, custodian, bus driver, administrator, and all other staff members for their hard work, dedication, and talent. The raise also serves to keep our district competitive in salary and compensation within the county and state so that we may retain and attract the very best teachers and staff for our students and families. Each employee group will be holding internal ratification votes and then the School Board will be voting on the details of the raise during the December 14, 2021 Board Meeting.

We would also like to thank all of the parents and family support providers for their patience, grace, and understanding as we work together to re-engage students and staff in our passion for high quality educational experiences.

The board members and I have chosen the word joy purposefully, because we feel that it is essential that all of our students are surrounded by people who can create an environment of joy and happiness. If we are to address the social and emotional impacts of the pandemic on our students, we must keep as our collective focus the importance of joy in inspiring learning and growth for all students.

With this spirit in mind, the Board of Trustees and I would like to extend our most sincere holiday greetings and a happy new year. Please have a restful, safe holiday break with your family. We look forward to seeing all students back to school on January 11, 2022.

School Safety and Security Is Everyone’s Responsibility

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It is deeply disturbing to us all to learn about the gun violence that took four young lives in Michigan last week. Our hearts are heavy, and our thoughts are with the families and the community of Oxford Township. We are indeed facing difficult times throughout the United States as it relates to violence and the trauma that follows. Vista Unified remains steadfast in our commitment to creating and maintaining safe and secure learning environments for all students and staff. Starting at the beginning of this school year, we launched a comprehensive trauma-informed support professional development series for all administrators and social/emotional support staff. Just three weeks ago, we reviewed with all site principals the procedures for maintaining a safe, secure campus in the event of a possible threat. Immediately after learning about the incident in Michigan last week, we met with all principals to discuss emergency response plans. We have confidence in our security procedures and the effectiveness of our security staff, including our strong relationships with the Vista Sheriff Department and the Oceanside Police Department. We are also working closely with the San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) to identify resources that our teachers and staff may use to support our students as they learn about traumatic experiences that have been happening nationally. SDCOE has created a Guidance for Parents, Educators Following a Shooting that offers information from mental health experts on effective ways for school staff members and parents to talk with students following traumatic events. It also includes links to training and support related to school safety, school climate and culture, and student mental health and well-being.

The safety of students and staff remains our top priority. In order for our school district to be as effective as possible, we need your help to keep our campuses safe. Please continue to encourage your child to inform a trusted adult (parent or school staff member) any time they hear, see, or read something they believe may not be safe. Administration and law enforcement investigates each concern of this nature to determine if there is a credible threat. Our response to any threat will be immediate.

Our district uses an anonymous reporting tool called PSST World. Using PSST World, students and families can anonymously report any range of concerning behaviors and incidents that they have seen, heard, or experienced. When a report is made, a message is immediately sent to our safety team and site administrators for follow up.

Vision Setting Process is Taking Off

On November 4, 2021, we held the first official session of our district wide vision setting process with students called the Student Summit. The event was a huge success with over 160 student leaders from every middle and high school in the district participating. During this collaborative session, we captured students’ thoughts, aspirations, and recommendations for the future of learning in Vista Unified. This valuable feedback will serve as the foundation of our work resetting our vision and strategic plan.

Next up, we have the Guiding Coalition set for our first session on December 10th and 11th. This is a group of over 100 community representatives including students, parents, teachers, staff, administration, community leaders, and more who will work together to design our graduate portrait, adult portrait, and systems portrait that will guide our work for the next decade.

Student Achievement Across the District

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Elementary students have completed the first trimester of this year with progress reports and parent conferences in November. Teachers assessed students using our universal screener (Fastbridge) in order to gauge student readiness skills in reading and math and are tracking progress throughout the year. Students who need extra support are given the opportunity to work with a site Learning Support teacher to hone their skills. Plans are being made to hold several parent workshops beginning in January, which will focus on assisting students at home with early literacy and overall reading skills.

High school students are preparing for final exams, which will occur on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday (December 20-22) for VHS and RBVHS and Tuesday and Wednesday (December 21-22) for MVHS. This will complete all of their work for the semester, and we look forward to continuing the upward trend of improved grades that we saw in the fall. We are also excited about our new partnership with Intellispark, which will support our assessment of the care, connection, and wellbeing of our middle and high school students. As we roll out this platform, we will be able to receive up to date information about each student, collaborate to support their needs, and collect school-wide data that will inform programs, interventions, and support.

Health and Safety Remains a Central Focus

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With news of the Omicron variant in our state and nation, Vista Unified remains strongly committed to the health and safety of its students and staff. Although our district COVID numbers have remained steady over the past few months, we are prepared in the event of an uptick in positive cases and understand the need for easy access to a testing site when a student or staff member is symptomatic. Both our state and local health agencies are analyzing the Omicron variant, including how it spreads and how it infects individuals. Please visit the CDPH website to access the Omicron Variant Fact Sheet. The health professionals recommend that Californians can take the following actions to protect against the new variant:

Get vaccinated
Wear masks while indoors
Get tested if you have symptoms

COVID-19 testing sites can now be found throughout our community with the newest locations at Rancho Buena Vista High School and Mission Vista High School. As a service to the Vista community, we will continue to offer testing through the holiday season; however, hours and days may be limited.

Testing Sites Details:

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Being fully vaccinated continues to be the best way to combat the COVID-19 virus. Now, everyone five years of age and older is eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccination. This past week, over 220 students, ages 5-11, received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at our two-day event co-sponsored with Costco. The next opportunity for this age group will be December 21 and 22 at the Vista Innovation Center. For those 12 years and older, vaccinations and boosters are available every day. We encourage those who are interested to take advantage of this opportunity to “Get Vista Vaccinated.”