FORT IRWIN, Calif. — Leaders from the Silver Valley Unified School District provided updates for the remainder of the current school year, as well as a preview of the upcoming school year during an Education Summit at the Sandy Basin Community Center on April 6.
“About a year ago, the worldwide pandemic, COVID, hit and I’m just really proud of how Silver Valley answered that challenge for the community,” district superintendent, Jesse Najera said.
School leaders said they had exciting initiatives to share with the community.
“You hear a lot in the news about schools ‘gearing up’ to get into in-person instruction,” Najera said. “I’m proud to say that Silver Valley, since the end of October, has had students on campus for in-person instruction. We’ve had our elementary hybrid going on five months now really successfully.”
The 7th – 12th grade students began the hybrid model on April 5, attending four days a week. Najera said that’s unlike 95 percent of the districts in California and also unlike districts across other installations. About 185 kids are attending in-person school for four or less days a week with the high school hybrid model.
Before getting into the 2021-2022 school year, school leaders reflected on the past year.
“One of the obstacles, right away, was technology— something that we knew we needed to get in the hands of our families,” Najera said. “So, I’m proud to say that every Silver Valley student got a laptop, to make sure that they could have access to distance learning. And not only that, any family who struggled with internet connectivity, we went out and got internet hot spots, made sure that everybody had access to the internet and the speed at which that happened was incredible.”
Najera said the district quickly closed that digital divide.
“It’s something that Silver Valley is committing to,” he said. “From now on, we’re a one-to-one district. Every student, no matter what program from transitional kindergarten to adult ed, will have the technology they need, a computer in their hands, courtesy of the district to make sure that they can access the programs we’re doing.”
Najera also praised the food and nutrition team, which has served 100,000 meals from March through June, including 5,000 at Fort Irwin every week.
“Another critical issue that needed to be addressed was making sure our families were fed through the pandemic,” he said. “It didn’t matter whether or not you were a student—anybody 18 years or younger could come get breakfast or lunch and that continues and we’ve committed to that going forward.”
What’s Next?
Principals of Lewis Elementary, Tiefort View Intermediate School, Fort Irwin Middle School, Silver Valley High School and the Alternative Education Center spoke about what parents and students could expect next school year, highlighting their current and future offerings.
Jeff Youskievicz, assistant superintendent of education services provided information about how the district will continue to adapt to a virtual environment.
“One of the things this past year has allowed us to do in our district is expand the learning opportunities for our students to meet their needs and the needs of their families and we will be continuing these efforts next year,” Youskievicz said.
“We will offer virtual learning for K-8th grade students. These students will be assigned to a Silver Valley Unified School District teacher here in the district. They will provide a high-quality and rigorous program where students will receive daily, live instruction from our teachers.”
The distance learning offerings kindergarten through high school will include project-based and hands-on learning. Students will be able to connect to their home school, meaning they will still be able to attend the field trips, assemblies, sports, after-school activities, enrichment/tutoring programs, clubs, etc.
High school students have the option of a long-term, independent study program or attending Options Academy virtually but still having access/support from Silver Valley High School teachers and administrators.
SVUSD offers more than 25 clubs/extracurricular activities, including deep sea fishing and mountain trips.
High school principal, Michael Sullivan touted the school’s successful graduation rate, saying, “In 2019-2020, we had a 100 percent graduation rate. For 2021, it looks like we’re on track for that again—highest rate in the county.”
Graduation/Athletics
The hot-button question was surrounding a graduation date and how it will be conducted.
Leaders say graduation is May 25 and just announced details (see Page 9).
When it comes to sports, SVHS assistant principal, Michael Meyers said, “We did successfully complete a Cross Country season and we had great performances by our student athletes.”
The football team played its first game on April 16 and the girls soccer team has also been playing. The baseball and softball teams are practicing and their first games were slated for April 29. The first track meet was April 21. The high school is still looking for members to participate.”
Last day of school is May 27.
“Of course with the pandemic, we don’t know exactly what next year will look like,” Najera said. “We have every expectation to be in school fulltime. That’s our hope. We continue to follow our safety protocols; you’ll see everybody in Silver Valley masked and social distanced.”
School leaders look to continue bringing a high-quality distance learning program. “Every district had to go to distance learning,” Najera said. “I believe our program was better than most out there.”
Here is the link to the SVUSD presentation: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BJdif80D0h-BwqtzADlfOLEaL00GFq0U/view?usp=sharing