• 2020-2021 RUSD HEADLINE NEWS 

    June 9, 2021
    It has taken our ENTIRE RUSD village to reach the finish line of this school year which was the nexus of education and the global pandemic – WE DID IT!!!

    June 2, 2021
    The countdown is on for that last day of school. As we're rounding the corner of one of the most challenging years, we can all say that working together has made our RUSD community much stronger and resilient as we've faced the unexpected. I have had the pleasure of working alongside our staff and community as we weathered the storm. It hasn't been easy at times, but everyone came together to ensure that we made this the best possible school year for our students.

    May 26, 2021
    Last Monday, RUSD followed Public Health guidelines for private outdoor events, (with 98% of staff fully vaccinated) to come together for our annual Celebration of Education event. Our team had not met together since January 2020. Attendees were ready to celebrate the wonderful accomplishments of their peers as a school community in this most challenging and unusual year. In honor of my retirement both the Foundation for Reed Schools and PTA introduced the first inaugural “Dr. Nancy Lynch Diversity and Inclusion in Teaching Award”. The first to receive this award is Bel Aire teacher, Jim Sanchez.

    May 19, 2021
    RUSD third through eighth grade students are in the process of taking the annual Smarter Balanced Assessment. The English language arts and math sections are broken into smaller parts, so students take the assessments over multiple days. We encourage students to try their best on this test in order to accurately measure their achievement on the California State Standards. We use these results as one of the data points considered when informing and designing instruction for the following year.

    May 17, 2021
    We are excited to announce that in anticipation of a regular school schedule for the 2021-2022 school year, we are now selling annual bus passes for next school year. This year’s yellow bus program will operate in accordance with the Marin County’s Home-to-School Transportation Guidelines. Current guidelines require:

    May 13, 2021
    Please see the information and attached links below pertaining to now available Pfizer COVID-19 vaccinations for 12-15 year old children.

    May 12, 2021
    We are thrilled to regain a bit of normalcy in the past month. We have come so far in the last year with everyone working together to overcome an extremely challenging time in our lives and the world around us and it is a joy having students on campus for almost full school days every week in the traditional program.

    May 5, 2021
    Every year during this week, RUSD celebrates, recognizes and shares appreciation for district staff for their excellence, dedication and support of our students and their families. This year it is even more important as employees have been faced with so many obstacles and challenges as a result of the pandemic.

    April 28, 2021
    It's that time of year for our RUSD families who have children entering 3rd or 6th grade to provide proof of residency. Proof of Residency Requirements For Currently Enrolled Students Who Are Entering 3rd or 6th Grades in 2021-2022.

    April 21, 2021
    It has been pure joy seeing students in the traditional program begin Phase 4, our final phase of the school year. Students are following the protocols to ensure safety for themselves and others when engaging in lunchtime at school. There will be no additional schedule adjustments or changes to the student day.

    April 14, 2021
    I hope you were able to have some down time over the Spring Recess. We are very excited for the transition to our final reopening phase next week! We greatly appreciate that families who may have traveled or gathered are spending this distance learning week at home to meet the self-quarantine requirements.

    April 6, 2021
    Please see the message from Bel Aire Principal Lexie Cala regarding her new position as Superintendent of the Bennett Valley Union School District.

    March 31, 2021
    There have been so many challenges to overcome in the past year living in the midst of the pandemic. It has changed so many aspects of our lives, including daily routines, working remotely, gathering with others, enjoying celebrations, and how students attend school by following new protocols and procedures.

    March 24, 2021
    Yesterday, Marin Public Health announced some very helpful updates to the guidelines for reopening schools that I am excited to share with you today. I am incredibly proud of the RUSD team and community for continuing to focus on student learning and well-being while following the ever-changing guidance and science pertaining to COVID-19.

    March 17, 2021
    Greetings to your families this week as I want to express my sincere appreciation to you for your above and beyond partnership this year. We are hopeful that this Spring we can have some reimagined celebrations to acknowledge the remarkable efforts everyone has put forward.

    March 10, 2021
    I am so pleased to share some exciting news with you today! Through abundant collaboration and work with our administrative teams and staff, we have completed plans to transition to Phase 4 on Monday, April 19th.

    March 3, 2021
    I hope this message finds you and your family well. I am excited to share with you some exciting news about our planning for Phase 4 and the progress we are making as a community to facilitate vaccinations and maximize in-person learning for our students.

    February 24, 2021
    Welcome back from mid-winter break as we are greeted by blue skies and warmer temperatures. We look forward to students returning for in-person instruction again next week. We have not yet determined if the week following Spring Recess (April 5-9) will also be scheduled for distance learning.

    February 10, 2021
    From the Board Room: This is a new section added to Headline News on the Wednesday following a Regular Board meeting. The content is written by two Trustees to update you on what was discussed or approved at the meeting.

    February 9, 2021
    We were informed yesterday that two additional Del Mar students have tested positive for COVID-19 (totaling four students between two 8th grade cohorts in the past week). Families of students in the classes have been notified and will continue their distance learning while in quarantine. At this time, information indicates there was no transmission at school.

    February 4, 2021
    Important Update: A second Del Mar student has tested positive for COVID-19. Families of students in the class have been notified and will begin their distance learning while in quarantine. There was no school transmission since the students were from different cohorts and contact tracing indicates outside of school gathering.

    February 3, 2021
    This week I am sharing some updated resources for your reference as we are now in the Purple Tier 1 designation in Marin county pertaining to the COVID19 level. Please find the link to the new Tier 1 decision tree here.

    January 27, 2021
    I am so grateful and proud of the joint efforts that have led to our school campuses reopening more fully than others in our region and across the state during the continually changing environment of this global pandemic. We accomplished this by everyone working together and doing their part to ensure our schools minimize the risk of the spread of COVID-19 so that our campuses can remain open. 

    January 20, 2021
    We are so happy to see students in our traditional program back on campus each day. It has literally taken our entire village to make this shift to Phase 3 happen. I extend my heartfelt thanks to our administrators, teachers, support staff, parents and students for working together to develop and follow structures and protocols that greatly reduce the risk of COVID-19 spread!

    January 13, 2021
    Welcome to Phase 3 for families in the traditional program. I had the opportunity to visit each of the schools this week and to feel the excitement in the air as everyone was doing their best to follow the protocols and practices which are a mainstay for this year.

    January 6, 2021
    I’d like to welcome you back from the Winter Holiday Recess, hoping you were able to share some special moments with your family during this most unusual and challenging holiday season. I know this has been a long haul for everyone as we continue to navigate the pandemic, and now during the Stay at Home order.

    December 18, 2020
    As outlined in my December 16 Headline News, we have again secured the services of PMH Laboratory, Inc. to provide RUSD Staff and the district community with COVID-19 testing on our RUSD campuses January 5th through 7th.

    December 16, 2020
    As we prepare to enter the Winter recess and the holiday season, I wish you a time of joy and celebration with your family and the opportunity to engage in reflection as we end a very difficult year. I hope that 2021 will bring us all some sense of normalcy accompanied by silver linings that we have gained along the way.

    December 9, 2020
    I want to acknowledge the disappointment that students and families have experienced hearing the news that we would not be transitioning to Phase 3 this week.

    December 4, 2020
    Schools To Remain in Phase 2 Through December We have become accustomed to the rapidly changing environment and distribution of information pertaining to COVID-19. 

    December 2, 2020
    I hope you were able to enjoy a low-key, small and safe Thanksgiving break with your family. Our unusual pandemic circumstances may have resulted in some new traditions that you may have decided to carry into the future.

    November 20, 2020
    As we move into the week of Thanksgiving, I want to again express my gratitude for your partnership as we progress through this school year. So many things in our lives have been challenging over the past eight months as we have lived, worked and participated in school during the pandemic.

    November 18, 2020
    Please make sure to read the IMPORTANT INFORMATION contained in this letter. As we move through the continually changing landscape of the pandemic, we are often making decisions in real time, so I want to communicate news as quickly as possible.

    November 13, 2020
    We understand that there is a group of parents in our community who are insisting that RUSD allow students to remotely Zoom into the classroom to join students in core classes that are being taught inperson.

    November 12, 2020
    The safety of students and staff is our main priority. We want to inform you that we received confirmation today that two sixth-grade students at Del Mar have tested positive for COVID-19.

    November 10, 2020
    As we continue living in the frequently changing environment of a global pandemic, I know that families want to experience some sense of normalcy. With the Thanksgiving holiday coming up in a few weeks, we ask that everyone continue to demonstrate COVID-19 best practices of wearing a face mask, maintaining physical distance, and frequent hand washing.

    November 4, 2020
    Thank you for your patience and support as we make the necessary plans and facilities adjustments at our schools to thoughtfully enter Phase 3. We appreciate your time and effort as our partners in the education of students during the pandemic and this transitional period. 

    November 3, 2020
    We are currently investigating allegations that a student in our Del Mar community made threats to a local business via Instagram yesterday. The statements expressed in the posts do not align with the mission and vision of the Reed Union School District and do not meet our expectations for how members of our school community should behave or communicate.

    October     29, 2020
    We have received some important health and safety announcements from Marin Public Health this week that I wanted to share with you, as well as some additional updates from our District. 

    October 27, 2020
    I wanted to provide an update on the progress that our District is making at this time to meet the educational needs of all of our students and to address the key action items that are needed to transition from Phase 2 to Phase 3 across each of our campuses.

    October 21, 2020
    As we continue on our path for returning students to campus during this pandemic, I want to thank you for your time, patience and engagement in making this a safe and successful process. We greatly appreciate how you have supported your students and our schools by adjusting to the many different schedules, guidelines and protocols that have enabled us to bring students back safely.

    October 13, 2020
    I am thrilled and yet cautious to announce that we have successfully transitioned into Phase 2 of our School Reopening Plan. It was such a treat to see the students when they returned to campus last week. The feedback and support that we received from families that returned was overwhelmingly positive, which was appreciated by all of our staff that worked tirelessly to make the safe return to campus a success.

    October 5, 2020
    I would like to thank you for taking the survey that was sent out last week to assess the interest by families to continue in a program that looks similar to our current Phase 1 Distance Learning program for the remainder of the year.

    September 30,     2020
    RUSD Phase 1 (Distance Learning) is scheduled to end on Friday, October 2. We have heard from many families that given the success they are experiencing in Phase 1 and concern about returning to in-person learning, they would like to see an option to continue in a program similar to Phase 1. 

    September 25, 2020
    I know this has been a very busy week for all of you, but I wanted to reach out before the weekend to provide more information to those of you who may be concerned about having your child return to in-person instruction beginning the week of October 5th. 

    September 24,     2020
    Student and Family Handbook for COVID-19.  As we prepare for the reopening of our school campuses, I would like to take this time to remind you that if you haven't had an opportunity to review the Student & Family Handbook for COVID-19 Health & Safety, please add it to the top of your list.

    September 23, 2020
    I hope this message finds you well as we all continue to navigate our way through living with the continued presence of COVID-19. I am sure that I am not alone in craving for some sense of normalcy. 

    September 16, 2020
    I am grateful that we are able to experience a clearer sky and improved air quality this week. Hopefully this is a good sign for more good news to come!

    September 8, 2020
    Please see the news release below that outlines the delay of Marin County moving into the Tier 2 (or the Red phase) of reopening schools and businesses. The expectation was that Marin County would enter Tier 2 by today, September 8th, which would mean that schools would have the ability to reopen by September 22nd if they are prepared to open and have met the required reopening criteria. 

    September 2, 2020
    We are now into our second full week of school, and I hope that you and your families are finding a structure and rhythm for school that is working for you in this distance learning model.

    August 27, 2020
    As we enter day 4 of the new school year, I want to take this opportunity to thank staff and parents alike for your incredible efforts in supporting our students in successfully engaging in learning as we embark on another unusual year. I know we all had hoped to start our year in person, and we look forward to conditions that make that possible soon.

    August 19, 2020
    We are excited to begin the new school year on Monday, August 24th. Students will be welcomed into their virtual classroom with activities and lessons that will resemble a typical first day and week of school. These activities will include building community, setting norms and rules for their class, and starting lessons that meet their new grade level academic standards.

    August 14, 2020
    We are all looking forward to our students returning to school on Monday, August 24th. We will be starting in a distance learning model through at least September 8th, as per Marin Public Health requirements, although we are eager to see your students’ shining faces as teachers will be meeting with them live (virtually) in meaningful ways five days per week to provide interaction, instruction and progress monitoring.

    August 7, 2020
    As we prepare for the 2020-2021 school year, I understand that families have been waiting to hear specific plans for our reopening beyond the information I have provided previously. Now that plans have been formally approved by the Board of Trustees on July 27 and August 6, I am able to share a number of documents with you that provide an overview of what our reopening will look like.

    July 29, 2020
    RUSD is such an active and engaged community where there is such a collective priority placed on the growth and education of our children. We had a record number of people attend the Board meeting on Monday which exceeded 250 people!

    July 24, 2020
    Although it is only July, we have been working continuously over the summer in preparation for the upcoming school year. It is understandable that parents and students are experiencing a lot of anxiety surrounding the opening of school in August while the positive cases of COVID-19 continue to increase in Marin and across the United States.

    July 16, 2020
    Recognizing the ever-changing landscape of the spread of COVID-19, Marin Public Health issued new guidance last night to delay in-person instruction to start no sooner than September 8.

    July 14, 2020
    I want to provide you with an update on our progress with school reopening plans for August. The safety of all students and staff is our highest priority and balancing that safety while still providing full educational opportunities for all students is our goal.

    July 9, 2020
    I hope this letter finds you well and enjoying your summer while maintaining physical distancing guidelines, wearing masks when in public, and handwashing like you have never done before. We must continue to be vigilant in these practices to ensure we are doing everything possible to keep ourselves and others healthy and to reduce the spread of COVID-19.