Marin Schools: a Prescription for Covid Recovery*

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By August 1, 2022 the Marin County Superintendent of Schools and all Marin public school districts should convene a countywide Lost Learning Task Force to rapidly develop lost learning recovery models that are available for implementation by all of Marin's public school districts. Response: This recommendation has not yet been implemented, but will be implemented in the future. Our County Office of Education has for many years facilitated countywide curriculum and program teams, such as the Transitional Kindergarten Working Group, the Innovative Learning Team, Elementary and Middle School Principals Networks, and the Marin County Schools Wellness Collaborative, along with a number of others. These existing groups and structures were in place before the pandemic and were used during the COVID response to leverage collaboration on developing and implementing plans for learning loss mitigation to some degree throughout the pandemic, with the clear understanding that remote learning is not effective or accessible for many students. Annually, our County Superintendent of Schools schedules a monthly meeting of Marin County School District Superintendents to coordinate efforts and share best practices for supporting student learning and success. These meetings were wisely scheduled weekly through a majority of the pandemic, and included the regular participation of the Marin County Public Health Office and/or Deputy Public Health Officer. Through these meetings and additional opportunities among the group to share best practices, superintendents were able to learn from each other and then work with their districts to implement robust student and staff mental health and wellness supports. Miller Creek Elementary School District, like all Marin County school districts, applied for and received the Learning Loss Mitigation Funding (LLMF) to support pupil academic achievement and mitigate learning loss related to COVID-19 school closures. In order to accept those funds, all school districts were required to create learning continuity and attendance plans. The Miller Creek Elementary School District plan was adopted by trustees on April 13, 2021 and then submitted to the California Department of Education. It is our understanding that the Marin County Office of Education will position the Innovative Learning Team (ILT) to serve as the Lost Learning Task Force, and will agendize learning loss mitigation to rapidly develop lost learning recovery models that are available for implementation by all of Marin's public school districts, and provide updates on best practices to the Superintendents. Recommendation:

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By August 1, 2022 the Marin County Superintendent of Schools and all Marin public school districts should also call on the Lost Learning Task Force, as a second but vital priority, to develop and recommend protocols and policies for minimizing the length of emergency school closures during future disruptions. Response: This recommendation has been implemented. This recommendation has been implemented, although not in the exact name of a Lost Learning Task Force, but clearly in purpose and function. The impact of the pandemic will be felt for some time and this work will be ongoing. Prior to COVID, Miller Creek Elementary School District, along with others experienced school closure days due to wildfire, flooding, air quality, winter storms and PGE Public Safety Power Shutoffs. Closures in one district impact other district, such as for staff with their own children attending in another district or Miller Creek parents with high school age students having their children in more than one district. There has been strong consensus among all Marin County public school leaders that continuity of school operations and in person learning is a critical priority. Tools to support this priority through recent experiences have been developed in collaboration with Marin County Public Health and the Office of Emergency Services, including an air quality chart that identifies appropriate indoor and outdoor activities at school to support health and safety depending on changing air quality indicators, systems of communication and planning for potential closures, and many districts taking the step of adding additional potential instructional days (similar to snow days in the mountainous areas) in the event of a closure. When the first shelter in place and suspension of classroom activity was ordered in the Spring of 2020, immediate steps were taken by Marin County Office of Education in coordination and collaboration with Public Health to design protocols and procedures for a safe return to site-based classroom instruction, resulting in the development of the Marin County School Guidelines (30 Point Plan) first issued June 18, 2020. These guidelines have been revised and updated multiple times through May 3, 2022, including a transition to a 32 Point Plan on August 18, 2021, and more recently to the Marin County SMARTER Schools Plan on March 24, 2022. Public Health is continuing to work with all Marin County public, private, independent and parochial schools in planning and preparation for the 2022-23 school year including the development of a COVID mitigation strategies chart, similar to the air quality chart, to help schools continue implement best practices and procedures aligned with changing COVID-19 transmission levels and risks due to future variants and uncertainties. This work is ongoing and represents the shared priority of keeping students in site-based classroom instruction at school. Miller Creek Elementary School District Responses to the 2021-2022 Marin County Civil Grand Jury Report Marin Schools: A Prescription for COVID Recovery