Manhattan Beach Schools Update: Waiver Submitted; No COVID Spread

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA —

Good morning,

Here are the latest developments that impact MBUSD and our five-phase reopening plan:

• TK-2 Waiver Status: While I have not heard back from the County Department of Public Health on our five waiver applications, I do know that about 150 were received by the County as of Friday, October 23. I will let you know when I hear more about MBUSD’s status.

• TK-2 Hybrid: Last Friday, I sent out an email to all of our elementary school parents describing a three-phase hybrid program, and asking parents to select what method, in-person hybrid or distance learning, that they wanted for each of their children. There have been many questions, so over the weekend, cabinet members and I looked through the questions and provided answers on our FAQ page. We hope to collect all survey responses from our parents by this Wednesday, and then we will begin putting the puzzle pieces together as we create schedules that meet the educational, health, and safety needs of our stakeholders. One of the emails I received over the weekend stated that I had succeeded in making the simple complex. Part of that is true. This hybrid schedule, especially when combined with keeping a distance learning model for those who need it, is very complex. But in no way do I believe that any part of providing instruction during this pandemic is simple. This has been remarkably challenging for all of us. I am looking forward to bringing our youngest students back on campus, and doing it as safely as possible.

• COVID Cases To Date: MBUSD re-opened to students on September 16 when we began our child care program. We then added our athletic training program on September 29, and our High Need Hybrid the week of October 12. Since that time, we have had four (4) cases of on campus students or staff who tested positive for COVID. In three of those cases, there was interaction with other students or staff that necessitated a 14-day quarantine (the procedures are described in our health and safety protocols document) for all of those who were potentially exposed. We followed up with all of the quarantined individuals, and, to date, there are no cases where the positive case resulted in a transmission to others. We are in the process of creating a COVID Dashboard that keeps track of all of the cases by site, and I hope to be able to share that with you next week.

• Secondary Student Survey: Last week, I met with our two student board members from Mira Costa High School. I plan to send out a survey to MBMS and MCHS students tomorrow, asking a series of questions about academics and life during distance learning. I plan to provide preliminary results to our Board at Wednesday night’s meeting, and more full information in my message next Monday.

• November 3, 2020 - Election Day: It looks like there will be a record turnout in this year’s election. That’s a healthy sign for our democracy. My older son and I have debated some of the propositions, and my younger son turns 18 just a few days after the election. I’m sad that he can’t vote this time, but that is not stopping us from discussing the election as a family. I have strong feelings about who I am voting for, but I have even stronger feelings about the strength of our Constitution and my respect for the democratic process. It’s a time of great anxiety, which can trigger quick and angry reactions, when actually what is needed is thoughtful responses. A friend of mine recently shared a quote from Victor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning, where he stated, “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” May we all exercise that power and thoughtfully choose our responses.

Thank you for your efforts and support,

Mike Matthews
MBUSD Superintendent