Dear Headstart/EMCSD Child Development Community,
First and foremost, I hope this email finds you and your families well. It has been a year
since we physically closed our campuses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These times
have been unprecedented, and our goal has always been to be able to reopen our
campuses for our students when it was safe to do so. You may have heard that our
Director of Child Development, Rosa Lopez, has resigned effective March 19th. During
our transition into new leadership, I want to let you know that I will personally be
overseeing the department ensuring that we are able to reopen and that the program
continues to run efficiently and effectively, serving the needs of our youngest children
and families.
Our decision to reopen our schools was based on multiple factors, including, but not
limited to: health and safety upgrades made to our campuses, the expansion of access
to a vaccine, and LA County entering the Red-Tier. We believe we have developed a
reopening plan that best addresses our school community’s needs.
Parents will have the opportunity to choose whether their children will either remain in
Distance Virtual Learning or elect to return to school for in-person instruction. Per LACOE
(Los Angeles County Office of Education) and CDE (California Department of
Education) guidelines, we will be prioritizing children for in-person instruction in the
following order: children who are transitioning into kindergarten (4 and 5-year-olds);
4-year-old children with an Individualized Education Plan (IEP); 4-year-old children
without an IEP; 3-year-old children with an IEP and 3-year-old children without an IEP.
Headstart and CSPP (California State Preschool Program) will have a STAGGERED
opening beginning Tuesday, April 20, 2021.
April 19th - Virtual Opening (Teachers will share classroom virtually with students)
April 20th - Rio Vista, Columbia, and Cortada
April 22nd - LeGore and New Lexington
April 26th - Potrero, Wilkerson, Gidley, Cherrylee, and Shirpser
Your Child Development Supervisor will be sending you a link to a townhall presentation
from your school site principal to review reopening and safety guidelines. We
encourage you to attend. These recorded presentations will also be available on the
school websites.
Please click on the link below to indicate your preference for the remainder of the
school year that will assist us in setting up and planning for reopening.
For the families attending classes in the Jeff Seymour Family Center, please be advised
that the classrooms are currently undergoing renovation. Children attending classes
there will remain in Distance Virtual Learning. If your child attends the Jeff Seymour
Center, and you would like them to participate in in-person instruction, please contact
your assigned Family Service Associate. Diana Suarez (626) 452-9164 ext. 3139 or Susan
Rivas (626)452-9164 ext. 3137.
We are looking forward to opening our sites once again to our children and families. I
personally look forward to meeting you in person once we are able to do so.
Thank you for your ongoing support and for allowing us to continue serving your
children. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact our office at (626)
452-9164.
Sincerely,
Virginia Castro
Assistant Superintendent, Educational Services