HomeMy WebLinkAbout04.01.20 Email from BCOE & Casey Hatcher - Announces In-Person Closure for Remainder of the School Year
From:Hatcher, Casey
To:Alpert, Bruce;Bennett, Robin;Clerk of the Board;Connelly, Bill;Cook, Holly;Lambert, Steve;Lucero, Debra;
McCracken, Shari;Ring, Brian;Ritter, Tami;Rodas, Amalia;Sweeney, Kathleen;Teeter, Doug
Subject:BCOE Announces In-Person Closure for Remainder of the School Year
Date:Wednesday, April 1, 2020 4:35:13 PM
Attachments:MEDIA 4.1.2020.pdf
Good afternoon.
Please see the attached release from BCOE.
Thanks
Casey
EOC, Liaison
Casey Hatcher
Deputy, Chief Administrative Officer
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
APRIL 1, 2020 4:00 P.M.
PRESS RELEASE
(OROVILLE, CA) –This afternoon, after ongoing discussions with district superintendents and charter
leaders, as well as Butte County Public Health, and at the urgingof our State Superintendent of Public
Instruction, Butte County Superintendent of Schools Mary Sakuma announced her decision to extend the
closure of school campuses in Butte County for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year, while
focusing on distance learning for students.
Yesterday afternoon State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond sent a letter to County
Superintendents making a strong recommendation to close school campuses statewide for in-person
instruction through the remainder of the school year. Superintendent Thurmond stated:“The need for
safety through social distancing warrants that we continue to keep our school campuses closed to
students during this pandemic.” He further stated, “…it currently appears that our students will not be
able to return to school campuses before the end of the school year.”
Today in a press briefing with Governor Newsom, Superintendent Thurmond reiterated his statements
and the Governor expressed his thanks and support of the message that schoolcampuses will not reopen
but classes are in session.
Sakuma stated: “To be clear, the 2019-2020 school year is not over, it has just transitioned from
classroom instruction to distance learning. Distance learning is taking place in different ways throughout
our county and we encourage you to contact your students’ teachers and administrators for confirmation
of specific plans. Distance learning can and will look differently for each school and each district. We
ask for patience and understanding as we are all quickly transitioning into a new way of teaching and
learning to meet the health and safety impacts of COVID-19. It’s challenging to our educators and our
families to learn and communicate in a very new world, but working together, we can and will meet this
challenge. As Superintendent Thurmond stated, “Wehave to rise to the challenge for our students! We
are stronger together!”
Butte County educators are also very concerned about the social and emotional well-being of all of our
students and are working on ways to stay connected even at a distance.In the coming days and weeks,
districts will provide their families with information regarding how grades, graduation, transcripts,
scholarships, summer school, and continued distance learning instructionwill be handled.”
Once again I want to thank our families for being our partners in education and for your ongoing support of our
schools.