8/28/2020 5:10 pm

August, 2020

Dear Cornell Families,

Welcome, new TK, Kindergarten, and 1st through 5th families joining Cornell this year! And Welcome Back, to all of our returning Coyote families! We hope that you have been able to enjoy the summer and are ready to get back to school remotely.  I know that Cornell students, teachers, and support staff would undoubtedly prefer to come back to school in person, and we look forward to the day when we can do that safely! 

Teaching and learning remotely this past spring offered many valuable lessons and Cornell is preparing to offer our students a robust remote learning program.  As teachers and administrators are still in the planning phase, more detailed information will be coming in August.  In order to receive all updates, please make sure your Aeries information is correct.

Aeries Data Update:  Starting on August 3, the Aeries portal will be open for parents to update their contact information.  Please make sure that phone numbers and email addresses are current.  We will use the information in your Aeries account to send emails, text messages, and phone messages. If your information is not correct, you will not receive updates and important information about school opening plans.  Please follow the process of granting permissions and reviewing documents all the way through to the end.  Your classroom teacher assignments will not be visible until you have completed the entire process. For those unable to troubleshoot any online challenges, please be sure to contact the district office now, or our school office, which will open on August 17th by appointment only. Please reach out to Cornell secretary Janice Ough at jough@ausdk12.org with any questions.

New School Requirements:  SB 98 requires schools teaching remotely to provide instruction and to take attendance daily.  Instruction can be synchronous (live) or asynchronous (pre-recorded videos, assignments, etc.) Throughout each week students will have a combination of synchronous and asynchronous instruction.  The following is the 2020-2021 California State required minimum daily instructional minutes: TK-K 180 minutes, 1st-3rd grades 230 minutes, and 4th-5th 240 minutes.

Class Assignments:  Classroom teacher assignments can be viewed on Friday, August 21 after 1:00 pm in your Aeries Demographic screen.  Early/Late Bird assignments for 1st-3rd grades can be seen now in the Demographic screen.  At this time, we are still formulating class schedules.

Weekly and Daily Schedules: Currently, I am working with district administration and Cornell teachers to create our remote learning schedule. This will be shared once it is complete.

Learning Pods and Class Placements:  Cornell teachers and I acknowledge the significant burden on families when children are not able to attend school in person and we understand parents creating small "pandemic pods" to help manage the demands of this time. Our primary goal is to ensure welcoming and inclusive classrooms for all AUSD students. Considerable time and effort has been spent creating balanced classes for the 2020-2021 school year. Grade-level teams are collaborating regularly to align their instructional program. So, with equity as our focus, we will not be grouping students in classes based on pandemic pods or parent preference. We will work closely with teachers and the district to be sure families have the materials and resources needed for learning at home.

State Guidelines For Opening Schools:  For updates on school closure/reopening protocols, please refer to the AUSD website for the most current information. www.ausdk12.org  

Home/School Partnership: Our dedicated community makes our school a wonderful place for students.  We are so fortunate and grateful to have the support of our fabulous PTA and I encourage you to contribute and to be an active PTA member. Thank you!

Over the past several months many factors have necessitated significant changes in education, including the global pandemic, increasing awareness of racism in our society, and budget cuts.  We remain, however, undeterred in our dedication to adapt to our changing circumstances and in our commitment to serve all students equitably and to the very best of our ability.  

I look forward to sharing another school year with you!

Sincerely,

Liz Reimuller

Cornell Principal

ereimuller@ausdk12.org