Emergency Operations & Communications

Dear Savanna Families,

Thank you for your ongoing patience and support as we work to effectively address health and safety concerns associated with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

As you know, Governor Newsom issued an executive order calling for California residents to stay at home, with exceptions for attending to essential needs.  We sent a letter to you on March 21 indicating that student dismissal in the Savanna School District will continue until such time that it is deemed safe for our students to return to school. With the announcement by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond earlier this week that it appears students will not be able to return to school campuses before the end of the school year, we are continuing to monitor the situation and make an informed decision based on the spread and/or containment of the Coronavirus. The district is working closely with state and local authorities, as well as our county partners, throughout this emergency.  I understand that many districts around us have extended the dismissal of schools through the remainder of the 2019-20 school year; however, we would like nothing more than to have our students return to classrooms this school year, however brief that may be and are therefore not providing a date through which school campuses will remain closed. We will reevaluate and give you updated information by April 10.  We’ll continue the school dismissal for now but will continue to monitor and it’s our hope that students will be able to come back before the end of the school year. Nevertheless, we will not do so until it is safe for our students, staff, and parents to assemble in groups and return to school campuses. We will continue to monitor conditions associated with COVID-19 and update our families regarding any changes to the student dismissal period in the Savanna School District. 

I must say that I continue to be extremely proud and humbled by the work of our students and teachers throughout the past few weeks as they’ve jumped into Distance Learning. Thanks to all of you and our fantastic Savanna teachers who have truly embraced the Governor’s Emergency Declaration that we must continue delivering high-quality educational opportunities through other options, distance learning and independent study. The resiliency students and staff have shown throughout this crisis is nothing less than heroic! I can’t thank parents enough for their help in assisting their young learners as we’ve navigated this distance learning together. 

I know you’ve heard stories of companies stepping up to provide free Internet access and devices; unfortunately, these are being deployed to rural areas and not to our District. We also understand the incredible challenges this dismissal has created for families that may not have multiple devices or dedicated devices for children to complete work, or even those struggling to print documents. In an effort to assist children and families in keeping up with classroom work in a Distance Learning format, we will be providing English Language Arts and Math materials for each student, based on what each teacher will be asking students to complete over the weeks to come. Completed materials will be returned to school when in-class sessions resume. Packets will be distributed in a drive through packet pick-up, on Tuesday, April 7 from 3:00 to 5:00 pm in front of each school. If you cannot make it to your child’s school during this time frame, please ask a friend to pick up the materials for you. We are asking you to print the student name, teacher name, and grade level of each student you’ll be picking up a packet for on a single sheet of paper and place it under your windshield wiper blade as you arrive at the school. Packets will be collected based on this information and placed in the trunk of your car.  In order to ensure the safety of everyone, please do not exit your vehicle.  If your child has a school library book to return, you may drop it off at the packet pick up. Please place books in sealed bags prior to dropping them off.

As always, we will continue to provide our school community with timely district updates as new information becomes available. In the meantime, we urge families to abide by the Governor’s Executive Order and to do their part in observing social distancing and following other important guidelines provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Orange County Health Care Agency.

Dr. Johnson