Dear Families,
Please complete this very important survey so that we can effectively plan for staffing and programs for the 2021-22 school year. We need a response for each student in your family.
Thank you for your timely response to this survey!
Survey for 2021-22 School Year
Sincerely,
The SVUSD Administration Team
Dear Scotts Valley Community,
We are pleased to announce that the state has approved our waiver request for the instructional days that were missed due to the CZU Lightning Complex Fires. Please note that the final student day will be Wednesday, June 9th. This will be a minimum day schedule at all sites.
Sincerely,
Tanya Krause, Superintendent
Dear Scotts Valley Community,
We are excited to report that we have been able to facilitate providing vaccinations to high school students 16 and up in Santa Cruz County for those who are interested in receiving one. Throughout this past week, we were able to provide vaccinations to local high school students at 3 locations: Soquel High, Scotts Valley, and PVUSD. We were very pleased to be able to provide this opportunity at local high schools. Please see linked superintendent letter.
This week we opened for full in-person instruction at the elementary grades! As you know, we sent out a survey prior to Spring Break and had assumed that our survey results would be consistent with the last 3 to 4 surveys which yielded a 70% average wanting in-person instruction and 30% wanting remote. This time, the survey results yielded closer to 77% wanting in-person instruction, so we needed to hire an additional teacher in one week in order to adhere to the spacing requirements of 3 feet. Vine Hill needed to hire an additional teacher and Brook Knoll needed to re-roster students and staff. It certainly felt like another new start for all, but it was wonderful to see students back on campus and we are pleased that we have been able to accommodate the new requests.
Additionally, both sites had asked for parent volunteers to be able to best assist in this transition, and unfortunately not enough parent volunteers completed the volunteer process in order to fill the holes needed. Schools have had to scramble a bit this week with this expanded in-person schedules and the distancing requirements, for additional adult coverage. If you have the availability to assist with outdoor supervision, please contact the elementary school site and review the district website for volunteer requirements.
On Monday, secondary schools will be expanding in-person learning to four days a week on campus. High School athletics are in their next season of competition and student activities are occurring, and there are more being planned. It is exciting to see that more student activities are able to be allowed.
We will be sending out a parent survey in May inquiring about the fall of next year and families’ intent to return to full person instruction, with our current understanding being that we will be able to open full-time in person without social distancing (masking may still be required). Of course, there could be other unanticipated changes. Please complete the survey when sent as we will need this information for staffing and program planning.
We are receiving a lot of questions about whether or not we will have to extend the school year based on the waiver request we made to the state due to the beginning of the school year fires. Keep in mind that we are 1 of 8 districts in this county that have submitted a waiver and have still not received a response. We continue to inquire with the state and our last message back from them looked promising. However, even if we have not received written confirmation from the State of California by May 1, I will make a decision and it will be publicly announced.
As previously mentioned, the next parent training is on Wednesday, April 28 with an expert presenter on Unconscious Bias. Cornell Verdeja-Woodson has presented to the Trustees, administrators, and staff and he will be providing training via Zoom for parents. This information is on our district website and is linked here as well. The training has been recently advertised for us by Robert Aldana as well from all of our school sites.
I am very pleased to share that this week we were informed that Christie Danner, SVHS Counselor, has been named Santa Cruz County Counselor of the Year! She will be recognized at the May SCCOE Board meeting. Congratulations Christie - well deserved!!
Sincerely,
Tanya Krause, Superintendent
SVUSD
The USDA waivers have been extended through the end of the 2020-2021 school year. Meals are available for pickup at Scotts Valley High School between 10:00am and 1:00pm daily.
Mission: Scotts Valley Unified School District will provide each student with quality educational and social opportunities needed to thrive in a modern world.
Vision: Our students will be socially responsible, pursuing their full potential in intellectual, social, and physical development, and be engaged, ethical and effective citizens.
Core Values and Guiding Principles:
- Our role is to develop academically capable, culturally attuned and socially responsible students.
- There is strength and value in diversity of thought and experience.
- District decisions, at all levels, should be thoughtful, equitable and transparent.
- We value commitment and collaboration from our engaged students, families and the community.
- We value trust, respect and teamwork from our highly skilled and dedicated team.
- We are accountable to our public for setting clear expectations and optimizing resources to meet our goals.
Quick link to the SVUSD Distance Instruction Resources
All staff timesheets for the May 2021 pay period are posted on the Business Department webpage under:
Visit the district’s Help Desk page for resources and weekly drop-in support hours. In addition, our District’s SVUSD Website has a live online Chat with an SVUSD Tech.
School Board Information:
Note: Until further notice, SVUSD school board meetings will be remote (access the public agenda page below for the link to the current meeting).
Measure A Exemption Form
(for Senior/SSI parcel tax exemptions)
Measure A Exemption Application
This form is for the 2021-22 tax year. Please complete the form and submit the form and requested documentation to the District (contact information is on the form).
Quick Resources
About Us
Scotts Valley Unified schools are ranked as some of the highest performing public schools in Santa Cruz County. We are proud of the high quality education we provide to approximately 2500 students year after year.
Please look around to see what we do so well here at SVUSD. Be sure to visit the individual school web sites to see what's happening at Brook Knoll Elementary School, Vine Hill Elementary School, Scotts Valley Middle School and Scotts Valley High School.
