This is a friendly reminder to select the preferred academic model of your choice by Wednesday, July 22 at 5 p.m. Your selection will enable IUSD to allocate resources and staffing for each academic model. Additionally, when health conditions change and Orange County is removed from California’s COVID-19 watch list, IUSD will be able to pivot quickly and re-open our classrooms and campuses to students, whose families selected in-person options. Absent this process, IUSD would have to disband existing classes and establish new classes with different teachers and students upon return to in-person learning.
To make your selection, login into the Parent Portal and follow the instructions. Please note, if a model is not selected, students in elementary will be enrolled in the traditional model and students in middle and high school will be enrolled in the hybrid model.
Per the Governor’s order, issued last Friday, OC schools cannot physically re-open for in-person instruction until our county is off the state’s list for 14 consecutive days. Unless conditions change, IUSD will begin the 2020-21 school year with online instruction on August 20.
Academic Model and Teacher Assignment Process
As the academic model selection deadline approaches, we know that some of our families have questions about the difference between starting school in the IUSD Virtual Academy (IVA) versus the in-person option. We have also received questions about teacher assignments and keeping students together from the same schools and grade levels. Below is a flowchart, which includes the following:
- The selection process and next steps for beginning the school year.
- To the greatest extent possible, elementary and middle school students will be in cohorts by grade level and by their neighborhood or assigned school (including IVA students). While IUSD will try our best to keep high school students together, it may be more challenging due to course sequencing and schedules.
- In addition, teachers will be assigned to students from their schools (including IVA students) to the extent feasible. This may change in some instances based on enrollment and need.
- It is possible to change academic models at the end of the semester/trimester. Our schools will work with families as needs arise.
- Just as our Virtual Academy will provide rigorous, high quality differentiated instruction, distance learning will also provide rigorous, high quality differentiated instruction and teachers in our traditional and hybrid programs will be able to access the curriculum and resources offered through our Virtual Academy. With the time to plan and learn from our Emergency Distance Learning experience, we can ensure that Distance Learning will provide tightly structured and standards aligned lessons, with frequent synchronous (live) learning, individualized support, peer-to-peer collaboration, and an infusion of new learning resources. Regardless of the format, IUSD students will receive the rich instruction, support, and connection they need from highly trained and skilled IUSD teachers and staff.
FAQ and Additional Resources
To view the above flowchart online or to download it, click here.
IUSD’s FAQ has been updated with additional questions we have received from our families. Click here to access the FAQ and please continue to visit our COVID-19 resource webpage and our 2020-21 Opening and Safety Planning webpage, which we continue to update.
The California Department of Public Health’s guidelines for California schools, on which the Orange County Department of Education has based its guidelines for OC schools, have been updated to reflect the Governor’s new mandates.
Please take a moment to review these resources, which provide a vast array of information that may be helpful to your family’s selection process and in preparing for the start of the new school year.
We are Here to Support You
We understand that this is a time of great uncertainty and the stress a decision such as this may cause some families. Please know that we are here to work with you and we remain committed to providing our students with the highest quality educational experience we can envision. For questions related to your school, please contact your school directly and to submit additional questions to the District, please visit our FAQ online submission form.
Thank you for your partnership and patience.