It’s officially summer for our entire Downey Unified family! I want to start by thanking all of our families as well as our entire staff for their patience, grace and flexibility this past year. I know it was an extremely challenging one and I just want to thank everyone for working together for the betterment of our students. Now let’s get into some end of the school year and summer updates as well as exciting announcements that are set to come when we return in August!

The last week of May was graduation and promotion season across the district. I, along with the rest of the Board of Education, were overjoyed to be able to celebrate our middle and high school students in person. The week of May 24th started off by honoring Columbus High School’s Classes of 2020 and 2021 on Tuesday, May 26th. Nearly 350 students, combined from both graduating classes, came together to be honored and cross the stage. Then all four of our middle schools’ 2021 eighth grade promoting classes were celebrated followed by commencement ceremonies for our Downey and Warren high school students to finish off the week. Due to county restrictions, these high school events included two ceremonies hosted by both schools honoring the Class of 2021 as well as one final celebration on Friday, May 28th, honoring the Class of 2020. Having the opportunity to bring last year’s senior class back to their respective campuses to have an in-person graduation ceremony meant so much to us and we are so thankful for all our students who decided to return and join in on this belated celebration.

As we move into mid-June, our summer school programs head into their third week where more than 8,500 Downey Unified students are being provided with various summer enrichment opportunities. These programs include summer school at each middle and high school, Extended School Year (ESY) programs and elementary STEAMworks. Also being offered over the summer months is an online summer school option as well as self-paced courses for middle school students to take at their leisure. The online learning model, which has over 2,200 students participating districtwide, is similar to the Distance Learning model which recently concluded in May. The self-paced courses are available on Canvas where incoming sixth grade through eighth grade students can access various modules related to different subject areas. Our summer school classes are currently full; however, the online modules are available for students to participate in at any time over the summer.

Also being offered this summer is our Seamless Summer Food Service Program! This program provides FREE breakfast and lunch to ALL children 18 and younger. Whether you’re a student in Downey Unified or not, if you or your children are 18 years or younger, free meals are available to you at any of our meal distribution sites. Meals can be picked up via drive-thru or walk-up at Gauldin, Lewis, Rio Hondo and Unsworth elementary schools, and at Alameda Elementary via walk-up only, Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. until July 2nd. Meal distributions at Stauffer Middle School and Downey and Warren high schools will be available Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., through summer school, with no distribution on Fridays. As a notice to both our families and the community, due to the July 4th holiday, meals will not be distributed on July 5th as our campuses will be closed.

As we look toward next school year, I want to share how hopeful we are in regard to having our students return to full-day, in-person instruction in the fall. With the Governor lifting most restrictions across the state on Tuesday, we are hopeful the guidance for schools will soon be released. As of now, the same mask and social distancing guidelines are in place during our summer school programs; however, once updated guidelines are provided, we will inform our families and continue planning for a successful 2021-22 school year.

With that being said, we are so excited to announce two new programs that will be launched in August! Our new Downey Unified Virtual Academy and Leap preschool program. This new online Virtual Academy begins on August 11th and is a free, online-learning academy available to incoming seventh through 10th grade students who are interested in online and dual-enrollment education as well as extracurricular options. This independent study model will provide students with a 21st-Century education and rigorous curriculum with the added freedom to design their own schedule. There were many lessons learned during the pandemic and although online learning was tough for many, this academy is being launched to focus on serving families and students who felt that this model of learning was a better fit for them. There will be more details to come as registration for our Virtual Academy opens; however, please visit our website, web.dusd.net/virtualacademy to learn more about this program, who it’s best suited to serve and to sign up for email updates.

Next school year, we will also be expanding out educational offerings to younger students through the Leap Program. This early education, fee-based preschool, is a full-day program that will be housed at the district’s Pace Education Center. Leap students will receive instruction Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., in thoughtfully designed and newly installed classrooms. Included in the daily instruction, students will receive breakfast, lunch and snacks. Final details are still being determined; however, interested families should be on the lookout for more information to be shared in July. Applications for the Leap program will soon be open to the community and informational parent meetings will be announced to guide families through the requirements and enrollment process. If you or anyone you know has preschool aged children, please feel free to share this information with them.

In closing, please make sure to follow Downey Unified on social media for the latest district updates as well as new program announcements. You don’t want to miss out on any exciting news or new program registration/application windows! Also, if you have a student in Downey Unified, we ask our families to continue to check your emails as the district will be sharing updates over the summer. I will be sharing another update in mid-July; however, until then, I wish everyone a restful June and a very happy Fourth of July!

D. Mark Morris is president of the Downey Board of Education.