Brownell Happenings

Dear GUSD staff and families—

I’m sending you all a virtual high five for making it through a very tough week.  I am so proud to be a part of the Gilroy community and the Gilroy Unified School District.  Our staff has been working around the clock to provide opportunities for our families through these uncertain times.  I want to send a special shout-out to our incredible food service staff members who have provided meals for over 7,600 Gilroy families since Monday.  These employees epitomize the heart of our GUSD community, as they prepare meals for our families, welcome visitors into our seven school sites so they can pick up food, and offer an abundance of smiles and love to all those they interact with.  I am so grateful for all of the good work they are doing to support our families.

Going into the weekend, I hope you all find some rest and relaxation.  I want to encourage you to get outside and move your bodies.  Exercise is good for the mind and the soul.  There are some great walking and biking trails in our community that you may want to check out.

Here are some updates from our school district:

Meal distribution at seven school sites

There are seven school sites in our school district providing food for Gilroy children, ages 0-18, including:

• Solorsano Middle School (7121 Grenache Way, Gilroy)
• South Valley Middle School (385 IOOF Ave, Gilroy)
• Antonio Del Buono Elementary School (9300 Wren Avenue, Gilroy)
• Eliot Elementary School (475 Old Gilroy Street, Gilroy)
• Glen View Elementary School (600 W. Eighth Street, Gilroy)
• Rod Kelley Elementary School (8755 Kern Avenue, Gilroy)
• Rucker Elementary School (325 Santa Clara Avenue, Gilroy)

Food is provided between 10:00 am and 1:00 pm, weekdays, through April 3, and as of this week, children do not need to be present for adults to pick up meals on their behalf.  Click here for a quick tour of how the food distribution works, and the safety precaution our team is taking to make sure our families are served and safe.

Supplemental Learning Materials

Beginning Monday, March 16, the Gilroy Unified School District is providing supplemental learning materials for students in all grades.    Supplemental learning is available online or through hard copy packets, that can be downloaded or picked up from any of the seven school sites providing food for Gilroy families, during the same hours.  ** Note that students must use their gilroyunified.org email addresses to access online learning. ** Access codes for each grade level Google Classroom can be found here. Hard copy packets can also be printed at home.  Please note: all supplemental learning will not be graded and is not mandatory.  Answers to frequently asked questions can be found here, and more information on supplemental learning opportunities can be found on our website.  In addition, our Ed Services team has provided an online document with more available resources for parents and students.

Packets with new assignments will be available online and at our school sites for the next two weeks, on Tuesday March 24 and Tuesday, March 31.

As the week has progressed, I understand that a number of teachers have reached out to their individual classes to provide work specific for their classrooms.  Please don’t worry if that hasn’t happened for your student yet.  Our teachers are working hard to provide curriculum using a number of available tools.  I encourage you to have your child continue to check their Google Classroom accounts, and other platforms like Class Dojo for specific information from teachers.  Some of our teachers are also messaging their families through Aeries.  Please continue to be patient as we work through this process.  I assure you that we are doing all we can to serve our students in the best way we are able.  This process will continue to evolve over the next few weeks, and I appreciate your patience and we move through all the uncertainty.

Items left at school sites

In the last five days, we’ve received some questions about items left at school sites (musical instruments, athletic equipment, etc.) and if those items are available to be picked up.  For now, the answer is no.  In accordance with the directive issued by Governor Newsom and the Public Health Department to shelter in place, our campuses will remain closed for the duration of the order. 

If your child has prescription medication that was on campus when school closures occurred, our District nursing team will be reaching out to your family to make arrangements to pick-up the medication.  Please be patient as our nurses inventory and organize the existing medication to be returned as quickly as possible.

When are GUSD Schools Reopening?

In our original announcement, our District indicated that we would reopen our schools following Spring Break on April 13.  Based on direction from Governor Newsom, we are uncertain if that date is still an accurate timeframe.  In his address on Tuesday, March 17, the Governor indicated that school closures throughout the State of California may extend through a later date.  We continue to take our guidance from him and will update our families accordingly as we are able.

Find Your Happy

As we close, I want to share with you a few things that have brightened the days for me this week.  We are excited to launch a new program called GUSD Reads! where our teachers and staff have recorded themselves reading stories for our students as a way to stay connected during this time.  Look for the debut of the program on Monday, March 23, in the early evening.

I have loved seeing all of the online learning suggestions shared with me but this live webcam of a giant panda sanctuary in China makes me especially happy.  Take a moment to watch them interact and play, and it will surely bring a smile to your face. 

In closing, I am proud of all of us for working so hard to minimize the impacts of this virus in the Gilroy community, the state of California, and our country.  I applaud your efforts to remain socially distant from your friends, and to encourage your children to do the same.  Please continue to stay at home whenever possible, maintain six feet of separation between you and your neighbors, and wash your hands with soap for at least 20 seconds, many times throughout the day. 

Take care of each other,

Dr. Deborah A. Flores,

Superintendent, Gilroy Unified School District