Scotts Valley High School

Dear Scotts Valley Community,

We are pleased and excited to start school with students on campus, Wednesday, August 11, for full-time, in-person instruction.  Teachers return from their summer break on August 9th to prepare for another school year and they are eager to see your students arrive in their classrooms. School sites will be sending out their bell schedules this week.

The State of California and the California Department of Public Health have put forth reopening guidance for schools to which Scotts Valley Unified School District will adhere.  CDPH Guidance, August 2, 2021 and County Superintendent’s Letter, August 2, 2021

Students, staff, and all visitors on school campuses will be required to wear masks when indoors. Mask wearing outdoors will be optional in most situations. The current guidance requires universal indoor masking in lieu of required distancing in the classrooms. Parents, staff and students are requested to adhere to passive screening prior to coming onto school campuses (daily symptom checking and temperature taking).  As of this writing, current travel restrictions are set by states and are dependent on where people are travelling to and from, but school districts do not have to adhere to monitoring any travel.

For families who do not want to participate with the full-time, in-person instruction program this year, the alternative option will be full-time independent studies.  If you are interested in this program, or want to explore if it is an appropriate fit for your child, you can find details on the district website on the Independent Study Page.  

For parents who are interested in volunteering, we still need parent volunteers but for outdoor supervision and activities only at this time.  We are requesting that parents who choose to volunteer, be vaccinated. Please contact the school office for more information.

Last spring, I initiated conversations with community partners with the intent to provide after school care at our elementary sites this upcoming fall.  So many local entities and organizations are experiencing staffing and funding challenges.  Even with that, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Santa Cruz County in partnership with the City of Scotts Valley and SVUSD, have collaborated together to be able to provide an afterschool program for both Brook Knoll and Vine Hill elementary schools.  This week, an official announcement will be made with more specifics about this afterschool program.  We are very pleased and appreciative of all of the efforts that have been made in order to provide this service to our students and community.

We have received inquiries over the summer about whether SVUSD will be offering Early Transitional Kindergarten (ETK) in the upcoming school year. We will not be implementing that program in the 2021-22 school year. The state legislature approved a progressive process with full implementation in the 2024-25 school year which the District will be following. The District will be discussing and planning for this program in the upcoming year in preparation for initial implementation of the ETK program in 2022-23. 

Over the summer, we have had some significant staff changes and a lot of new hires. One of our areas of focus this year districtwide is on social emotional health and academic restoration. The District continues to make efforts towards increasing staff to provide those services.  

The main areas of focus this year for our District: 

1. Connection and Community - Restoration 
2. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion 
3. Environmental Literacy and outdoor learning opportunities 

Also this summer, the District began its efforts to improve our internet speed, reliability, and security by installing structured cabling and upgrading network equipment. We expect these projects to be completed early this Fall.

On July 22, parents who already have students registered in our District received a communication regarding new online registration through our new student information system called Synergy. You may recall me mentioning last spring that the student information system that we were using, Illuminate, was no longer going to provide their service, so we were forced to make a transition. Our team has worked hard over the summer and is available to answer questions that you may have regarding the new system.  If you are experiencing issues with this new system, please visit the Synergy Help Page on the district website , utilize the chat feature on the district website (www.scottsvalleyusd.org), or email help@scottsvalleyusd.org 

While we prepare to return to in-person instruction with the current guidance as outlined above, we are also keen to the possibility of additional upcoming changes. As guidance or regulations change as they relate to schools and school related activities, the District will certainly be providing updates.  As of this time, school districts have yet to receive updated CDPH guidance for sports or extracurricular activities. We were informed we would have received it by now.  As soon as we do, we will respond accordingly. 

As you know, last year created many life-changing events for so many, not only for schools, and this period of time will not easily be forgotten.  On a positive note, a lot of learning did occur, and a lot of positive new experiences were had. We are in awe of the resiliency of our students and staff.

I look forward to a positive year where people come together to support one another, be gentle and kind, and continue to keep our focus on what is best for kids.  I’m genuinely looking forward to seeing our students soon and hearing the pitter patter of feet and the laughter of children playing on our campuses.

As mentioned, we have several new staff starting in our District - please join me in welcoming them to SVUSD!

Sincerely,

Tanya Krause, SVUSD Superintendent

 

New Employees 2021-22

District Office:

New Administration

Alexandra Friel, Director of Curriculum and Instruction

Sandi Reimer, Interim Director of Student Services

Lori Gentile, Promotion to Director of Business Services

Jennifer Rasmussen, Promotion to Food Service Manager

Certificated

Juliet Drumm, School Psychologist, DO

Caroline Norton, Speech Language Pathologist

Katrina Schickenberg, Program Specialist

Lisa Tripp, School Nurse

Classified

John Northington, Groundskeeper

Maren Peduto, Acct. Payables/Payroll

Tanya Phillips, Promotion to Lead Data Specialist

Mallory Sainsbury, Promotion to Accountant

Andrew Savoy, Promotion to Lead Network Specialist

Kelsey Warthemann, Occupational Therapist

Scotts Valley High School:

Certificated

Matt McHan, Art

Elijah Stone Rosenblum, English

Mikayla Heffner, Biology

Lacey Coenen, Band/Choir

Cheryl Ruyle, Education Specialist

Emese Erdos, Math

Kanani Thomas, English

Classified

Jennifer Beasley, Food Service Asst. II

Brynna Williams, Food Service Asst. II

Scotts Valley Middle School:

Certificated

Alexandria Schrader, Math

Andreas Wessels, History/English

Heidi Petruzzi, PE 

Lacey Coenen, Band/Choir

Cheryl Ruyle, Education Specialist

Classified

Jennie Gilbert, School Secretary

Brook Knoll:

Certificated

Michelle Ponos, Teacher

Bonny Ryan, Teacher

Tira Schindler, Teacher

Travis Tobiassen, Teacher

Remi White, Teacher

Classified

Melissa Lima, Library Clerk

Vine Hill:

Certificated

Marni Call, Teacher

Joseph Castillo, Teacher

Cristina Losada, Teacher

Classified

Amanda Boynton, Instructional Assistant

Nancy Gomez, Attendance Secretary/Registrar

Kim Scalla, Instructional Assistant

We are still hiring and adding to the list!