The Ventura Unified School District (VUSD) Board of Education voted unanimously on Friday, July 17, to move to a full distance learning model for the entire Fall 2020 semester citing stability and safety as their main reasons. The Board considered input from staff, parents, and local and state officials when making this decision. This week it was announced that many Ventura County Districts were moving to distance learning for the start of the Fall 2020 semester and Governor Newsom announced that schools must stay on a distance learning model until the county they are in has remained off of the state monitoring list for at least 14 days. VUSD will begin online on August 18, 2020. The District has also moved to a 1-1 technology environment ensuring that every student will receive a District device.
“We have learned from past experiences that providing stability to our families for long term planning rather than switching between models each time a surge happens in our County was important to us,” stated Board President Sabrena Rodriguez. “The Board does reserve the right to make a change to this decision if there is a dramatic turn of events that would allow students to physically return to our campuses safely and according to state and local guidelines.”
“We understand the hardship this may cause some of our families. We will do everything we can to assist our families in providing connections and resources to help our VUSD community’s various needs. We have worked diligently over the last few months, redefining our distance learning plan based on feedback from staff and families, training our teachers on our new platforms, and allowing them time to build courses to prepare for this scenario. We are ready,” stated Dr. Roger Rice, Superintendent.
