Dear Parents, Guardians, Staff, Students and Community Members,
Welcome back to school!
Welcome back after a well-deserved summer break. I hope you had an opportunity to relax and enjoy summer with your family and friends.
I would like to thank teachers, staff, administrators, parents and students for the very smooth start to the school year. Our leadership team and school board members visited our campuses on the first few days of school and reported happy, smiling students, and educators and staff ready to support student academic and social emotional success.
Access and opportunity for all students continues as front of mind awareness so that all students may reach their full potential. As I start my second year as your superintendent, we will continue to build on our focus of diversity, equity and inclusion, belonging, curiosity and empowerment. Adding to this foundation, I have set six priority areas for this school year. Priorities include transformative approaches, guaranteed viable curriculum, reclassification, special education, maintenance and fiscal services. This video provides an overview of these priorities: https://bit.ly/SMMUSDpriorities2425
More than 1,000 staff members joined together on August 19 for professional development and personal growth opportunities at our annual convocation. All staff, whether an administrator, teacher or classified employee understand their value and importance to our school community and system. This year’s theme was “Many Pieces, One Team.” Using LEGO Education programming, our staff understands how important they are to what we are building. I encourage staff to remember the importance of collaboration, creativity and play. These are not just activities for our students; they are essential for us as educators and staff. When we take the time to learn through play, explore new ideas, and collaborate with one another, we strengthen our ability to inspire and engage our students.
The SMMUSD family is excited to educate, support and mentor our students toward greatness, both academically and social emotionally, and help them appreciate and honor their story to empower them. Here’s a short video from convocation that captures the spirit of the day: https://bit.ly/Convocation2024Highlights
Educators will entwine this approach in their day-to-day programs, and families will see this throughout the system in other departments including special education, visual and performing arts, athletics and other curricular and extracurricular programs.
Our District’s work is guided by our three goals developed through our Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP):
Goal 1: All students will be college and career ready through socially just pathways rooted in curiosity, belonging, and empowerment.
Goal 2: Multilingual Learners will become proficient in English while engaging in a rigorous, culturally and linguistically responsive, standards-aligned core curriculum.
Goal 3: All students and families feel connected and informed, engaging in safe, well-maintained, and culturally responsive schools that support future-ready learning.
Parents are part of this broad community effort and will learn about our plans and goals through back-to-school nights and PTA meetings. We strongly encourage parents, teachers and staff to join PTSA at your school site. We are fortunate to have an engaged and supportive parent network at every site, along with our SMMPTA Council. Find your PTSA / PTA webpage on your school website, or visit: www.smmpta.org. We encourage all parents, guardians, staff and secondary students to join PTSA! Grandparents, relatives, friends, neighbors and other supporters or our schools are encouraged to join too.
We are thankful for our Santa Monica Education Foundation and the new Malibu Education Foundation, also supporting our priorities. Your support to these two foundations is critical to funding school programs that benefit all students. Please donate generously and often and share with your friends and prospective corporate partners. It takes a village!
School safety
The health and safety of our students and staff are our top priorities. Let’s all work together to create a safe and secure environment for everyone. If you see or hear something of concern, please say something. Students should report concerns to any adult on campus. In an emergency, call 911. Any threats of crime, vandalism, harm, threats, drugs, may be reported anonymously: 1-800-78-CRIME or online at www.wetip.com.
Facility readiness and new spaces
Our facility teams worked all summer preparing classrooms, offices, and other indoor and outdoor spaces for the return of students and staff. Our campuses look fantastic inside and out and I appreciate all the effort that went into cleaning and preparation. At some of our schools we have opened new spaces, playgrounds and facilities. Thank you for your support of bond measures that make these facility and technology improvements and modernizations critical for student learning possible.
Indoor Air Quality
SMMUSD has installed new heating, air conditioning and ventilation (HVAC) systems in the majority of our indoor spaces over the past six years that did not previously have air conditioning. More than 85% of our HVAC equipment now have MERV-13 filters installed, with regular cycles of filter replacement as recommended by the manufacturer. Systems with slightly lower MERV ratings are installed where the system may not handle a MERV-13 filter. The ventilation system fan should be on when the spaces are occupied. Teachers have control of the thermostats in their classrooms to ensure comfortable temperatures regardless of the weather outside. For the heating and air conditioning to work most efficiently, windows and doors must be closed when heating and cooling are used. Our room ventilation is excellent with hourly air exchange that exceeds the minimum standard. We are confident in the air quality in our indoor spaces. Our technicians are working on repairing any HVAC system that is experiencing a problem.
Illness prevention
Illness prevention is a daily practice and includes practicing good hand hygiene, covering the nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing, and staying up to date on all recommended vaccinations. The District has limited supplies of masks available for staff and students. Please check with your site. We can prevent the spread of many illnesses when everyone does their part. We continue to encourage frequent hand washing or sanitizing to help prevent the spread of illness.
Stay home if sick
The greatest deterrent to the spread of any illness is for students and staff to stay home when sick. Individuals should stay home if they have symptoms of illness and take a COVID test. As of January 2024, our illness guidelines have changed based on updates from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LACDPH). Please visit these links for more detailed information on when students may be sent home and when they can return to school after illness: English / Spanish. Health authorities have recently revised guidelines for COVID-19 to align with acute respiratory illnesses. If your student has COVID-19 or acute respiratory illness, they should stay home until they feel well enough to attend school and follow these guidelines: English / Spanish. If your student was sent home ill or did not attend school because of one or more symptom(s) of illness, please alert the school site attendance clerk and follow the above guidelines. Contact a health care provider if your student needs medical care. The best defense against Covid is to be up-to-date on Covid vaccines. For information about where to get vaccinated visit the LA County Public Health How to Get Vaccinated webpage.
Stay connected = stay informed
Visit the district website (www.smmusd.org) and school websites for important information and what’s happening throughout the year. Stay opted in on Finalsite Connect messages from your school and district. This is a main communication connection to your school and what is happening. Please “like” us on Facebook and Malibu Schools Pathway; “follow us” on X (Twitter) @smmusd and @MalibuPathway, LinkedIn and Instagram: smmusd_official. I also have a X (Twitter) you may follow: @Dr_AShelton. We provide Peachjar digital flyers submitted by our non-profit partners with opportunities for students and families that parents receive via email.
Together, let’s make 2024-25 a great school year!
Parents, guardians, staff, students, community members, let’s make this school year one of growth, innovation, and joy—both for our students and for ourselves. I look forward to all of us working together to strengthen a sense of belonging for our entire SMMUSD family, and continue to instill a sense of curiosity and wonder in our children and empower each and every student to come to school as their best version of themselves, ready to learn, grow and develop the skills and knowledge they need to be successful now and in their futures.
Sincerely,
Dr. Antonio Shelton
Superintendent
