April 24, 2020 - Staff Digest

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Dear SFUSD Staff:

So much good work is going on now in spite of our many challenges. Thank you for everything you are doing to make sure our students are supported and engaged. Your resourcefulness, flexibility and commitment are greatly appreciated. 

As we head into the weekend, I hope you are able to rest and regroup. Please continue to take care of yourselves and each other as best you can. 

Invitation for Submissions to SF Loves Learning TV Show

Stronger Together! SF Loves Learning has successfully launched as a television show on weekdays from 2-3 pm on KTVU Plus. It is reaching San Francisco Bay Area young learners, particularly PK-2nd graders and their families. The SF Loves Learning team would like to showcase some of the creative ways our district educators (and their students) might engage, support, inspire, and educate our young learners.

Each episode of SF Loves Learning includes a daily lesson, wiggles & dance, a read aloud, music, social emotional learning, and more. Each week has a theme (Families, Feelings, Transportation, Friends, Food, Traditions) and some days integrate languages other than English. You can view past episodes at sfusd.edu/sfloveslearning.

We are looking for video submissions of any length up to ten minutes that might increase belonging, teach a skill or relevant content, entertain, inspire, or connect our students with the world around them. If you are interested, please review these submission guidelines and submit one or more forms for each idea or video. If anyone under 18 is in the video, please have a parent or guardian sign and email you this release form from their phone or email before you submit the form.

We may not be able to air all of the submissions. If you have any questions or suggestions, please email: sfloveslearning@sfusd.edu. We will contact you by email if we use your video. Thank you for your help with supporting our young students learning from home.

Google Drive and Sensitive/ Personally Identifiable Information:

Keep privacy considerations at the forefront by never sharing sensitive or personally identifiable information (PII) beyond the intended and authorized audience. All student records and PII from those records is private and confidential, and it cannot be shared with anyone other than the parent/guardian, except under certain defined circumstances.

As many of our records and communications now live within Google Drive, please review the Google Drive Sharing and Permissions guidance in order to ensure your documents and folders have the most secure settings. To learn more about this topic, visit the Student Privacy and Continuity of Learning FAQs.

Family Resource Link

The SFUSD Family Resource Link is a new service that helps families navigate SFUSD resources and questions during distance learning.The Family Resource Link does not replace existing phone lines and emails to reach district departments. 

Families with questions can access the Family Resource Link in three ways:

• Email a request to familylink@sfusd.edu

• Go to familylink.sfusd.edu to complete an online request form

• Call 415-340-1716 (Hours of operation for the phone are Monday through Friday from 9 am - 1 pm). Callers can leave a voicemail at all hours. Translation services will be provided, as needed. 

While this link is a great new option for families who need help, it doesn’t replace our shared commitment to service. I encourage every staff member to answer questions they receive from families directly if they are able to. 

Food Resources

Beginning Monday, April 27, grab & go meals will be limited to a maximum of 4 bags per person in order to serve as many children as possible. Please remember that adults are required to wear a face covering while waiting in line and picking up bags. 

Pickup times and locations for SFUSD meals: sfusd.edu/schoolfood. City information on where to get food resources. You may also call 311.

How & Where to Share Links to Virtual Meetings

While you should never post Meet or Zoom links publicly, there are many other great places to share meeting links with your attendees:

• Emails or messages sent through Synergy to students & families
• Google Classroom or Seesaw posts
• Meeting agendas and/or slide decks with appropriate sharing settings
• Google Calendar events & invitation

Lastly, be careful of accidentally sharing your Meet or Zoom links when making resources for students and families, such as videos or screenshots -- you should blur out or cover up any Meet or Zoom links to keep them private. Learn more about how to safely facilitate virtual meetings in our Guides for Meeting Online with Staff and Students.

Digital Tools for Distance Learning - Webinars and Office Hours

Looking for some direct (live, "in-person") support as you integrate digital tools into your distance learning plans? Join the Department of Technology's Digital Learning Team during Office Hours to ask individual questions and get support with digital distance instruction, facilitation, and tools.

Visit the Webinars and Professional Learning webpage and explore the webinar calendar to find weekly Office Hours listings with days, times, and links to meetings. Drop in to the Meet link at any point during posted Office Hours to chat with our digital learning thought partners.

Virtual Website Training Available

Your school website is an important tool to communicate with your families - especially now. Reminder - all district website content should be built on our SFUSD community website by August 2020 (limited exceptions).

Virtual Drupal website training options are available. Learn more and sign up today:

• School website training options
• Central office content website training

555 Franklin Remains Closed to Public

New protocols have been implemented for the SFUSD Central Office at 555 Franklin as of April 22, 2020. The building remains closed to the public outside of laptop distribution days and times posted at sfusd.edu/device. 

Access is restricted to employees with fobs assigned to 555 Franklin or 601 McAllister. All other employees will need to arrange access when they make an appointment.

Reminder - Volunteers still needed to support Chromebook distribution

• Sign up to volunteer if you can support with distribution.

Virtual Meeting Resources

Families can find information on student norms for online learning and how students and families can use district-approved conferencing tools (Google Hangouts Meet and Zoom) on this Virtual Meetings page. 

Reminder - School Closure Digest moving to Wednesdays only 

Starting next week, April 27, the School Closure Digest will be shared with the SFUSD community once a week every Wednesday evening. SFUSD will continue to share new updates online, through social media and other channels. We invite you to reach out if you have questions. Staff may email staffingquestions@sfusd.edu and families may email familylink@sfusd.edu or call 415-340-1716. 

Reminder - No staff or students allowed in schools at this point

Interested in learning more about family partnership? Want to better understand how to connect with and support SFUSD families during school closures? Check out Dr. Karen Mapp’s Family Partnership webinar series. The next webinar takes place on Wednesday, April 29. Email us at familypartnerships@sfusd.edu to subscribe to our Family Partnership newsletter. Our next issue goes out on Thursday, April 30

The moments before we fall asleep and the first moments we spend out of bed are great opportunities to set healthy habits and maintain a consistent rhythm to our life. Some suggestions:

• Prepare the night before. Place a glass of water by the bed to rehydrate the body upon waking. In the morning, reflect on how you slept and share dreams with each other.
• Eat a healthy breakfast together with protein and whole grains.
• If there is time, meditate, stretch or jog together around the block. Avoid technology, if possible.
• Before you start the rest of your day: take a couple of minutes to jot down your primary goals and to do’s for the day, then help your child write down their goals. This can help maintain a sense of peace as the rest of the day transpires.

Our TV show SF Loves Learning ends with the Goodbye Song, which has caught on with many of our young viewers. Some families have reached out on social media to share their child’s performance of the dance, and I hope this brings you a moment of joy as it did for me! 

Warm regards,
Superintendent Dr. Vincent Matthews