PVUSD Students: Learning Online

Following the updated Santa Cruz County “shelter in place” order, schools in the Pajaro Valley Unified School District are expected to remain closed the rest of the school year, and will be expanding online education.

Learning via computer was slated to begin March 23, with the district loaning Chromebooks and hotspots to students accompanied by a parent or guardian. Students can use a personal or family computer if they wish.

Parents can take advantage of Charter’s offer of free Spectrum broadband and Wi-Fi access for 60 days to households with K-12 and/or college students who do not already have a Spectrum broadband subscription. The installation fees will be waived for new student households. To enroll with Spectrum, parents may call 1-844-488-8395.

Comcast’s Internet Essentials Program, which typically costs $10 a month for families who meet income guidelines, is providing 2 months free for new accounts: To sign up, go to https://www.internetessentials.com/

As of Monday, March 23, students in transitional kindergarten through second grade were given packets of instructional materials compiled by their teacher. Packets will be available on Mondays from 8-10 a.m. and 3:30-5:30 p.m. at the school site. Students are to submit their completed packets each time they pick up a new packet.

During spring break from March 30-April 3, there will be no packets and no food distribution. A new packet will be available at the school sites on Monday, April 6.

Here is the March 20 letter from Superintendent Michelle Rodriguez:

Dear PVUSD Parents and Community,

We recognize that this continues to be a challenging and unprecedented time with constantly changing conditions. The health and safety of our students, families, and community remain at the center of all decision making.

Yesterday, Governor Gavin Newsom issued a statewide Shelter in Place order to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). This order does not change directions previously issued to Santa Cruz County residents, but rather only directs other California counties to adhere to the same restrictions. The Governor has not specified an end date to the order, but anticipates school closures to continue into the summer months.

It is our responsibility as a school community to be prepared for the possibility of a long closure.

TK-Grade 2

Starting Monday, March 23, students in TK-2nd grade were issued packets of instructional materials compiled by their teacher for student learning. Packets will be available for distribution each week of school closure on Mondays from 8:00-10:00am and 3:30-5:30pm at your student’s school site.

Students will submit their completed packets each time they pick up a new packet. Alternate ways to receive the instructional packets are being explored for upcoming weeks. Please note that instructional packets will not be provided during the week of spring break from March 30-April 3, 2020.

After break, remember to get your new instructional packet on Monday, April 6, 2020.

Starting the week of March 23, 2nd students will begin to receive their Chromebooks so that they too can engage in digital learning online. Additional information will be provided by the individual school sites.

Grades 3-12

If you have children in grades 3rd -12th, they should have already picked up Chromebook from their school site.

During the school closures, teachers may be utilizing Google Classroom to create assignments and provide educational resources online for your students. Please go to classroom.google.com to access your child’s classroom. Log in with your student’sPVUSD username and password to see their classes; your student should be able to help with this. If you need more support, watch this video: tinyurl.com/studentgc.

Below you will find step-by-step instructions:

1. Go to https://www.pvusd.net/
2. Click on the “students” tab
3. Click on “student links” https://www.pvusd.net/studentlinks
4. Click on “Google Classroom” with the green chalkboard-looking icon

Logging in to your online account & Google classroom:

1. Enter your log-in email: [student ID #]@pvusd.net. BE SURE TO INCLUDE @pvusd.net Also make sure that anyone else other than the student’s email aren’t already filled in — this will bring you to their google account, not yours
2. Enter your password: Enter personalized password or, if one has not been established, enter the first two letters of your birth month (first letter capitalized), your birth date, your birth year

Example: a student who was born on May 25th, 2007 would enter: Ma252007

Once you are in:

1. Check the classroom “stream” tab for updates and general posts from your teacher.
2. Check the “classwork” tab to find current assignments.
3. Parents AND students check google classroom daily to ensure you are not missing any important information and assignments from your teacher.

Parent Tech Help

All students should be accustomed to using their Chromebook as they do so daily in their classrooms. We do however recognize that this is a new experience for parents. For additional support, we have created a PVUSD Community phone support line 1-831-786-2493, which goes live Monday, March 23 at 8:00 am. Please be patient as we assess the appropriate staffing level for this phone line.

Keeping You Informed

Information and communication is updated frequently on PVUSD’s website under the COVID-19Info tab. This tab is also located on each school’s website. Families can find additional home resources under the Parent tab.

During school closure, office phones are not staffed. Should you have questions, other than those related to technology, which has a dedicated number listed above, or not answered on the website, to ensure timely response you may contact either the office of Secondary Services as 786-2395 or Elementary Services at 786-2133.

We are working diligently to ensure our website is updated regularly with the most accurate information from public health authorities. For additional information online, you can visit the Centers for Disease Control 2019 novel coronavirus website at: https://www.cdc.gov/COVID19.

For ideas on how to talk with your children about COVID-19 please visit: http://sccoe.link/talking_about_COVID19. For local information, residents may visit www.santacruzhealth.org/coronavirus, call 211 or text “coronavirus” to 211211.

The COVID-19 pandemic is a new experience for all of us, both personally and professionally. We are poised to make a positive impact on our students, families and community when we need to be connected most.

Please take time to read the accompanying letter from the Santa Cruz County Office of Education that is signed by all Superintendents in our County.

I appreciate and value your role as parents and caregivers for your students during this challenging time.

We must continue to work together to support each other and our community each day and in the weeks ahead.

Click Here for the April 1 letter to families about the closure of campuses for the remainder of the school year.