Even as the excitement associated with the first full week of in-person classes in more than a year still was being celebrated Thursday night, Denair Unified School District officials already were thinking about ways to enhance and expand summer school offerings to provide the most help to students.

Typically, summer school has been offered only to high school students who struggled with a particular class and needed to take it again to earn the required credits toward their diploma. Or, it has been a chance for other teens to receive extra help at a less stressful time. 

Those situations will still exist this summer, Superintendent Terry Metzger told board members Thursday. But there are other, equally important reasons that she expects more students of all ages to sign up for summer school after spending much of the past 13 months learning at home via computer because of the pandemic.

“We need to do whatever we can to get kids back on track,” Metzger said. “We also want the kids to have a little fun.”

BID #2021-01

HOME-TO-SCHOOL, EXTRACURRICULAR
TRANSPORTATION/BUS FLEET MAINTENANCE

NOTICE TO BIDDERS

Notice is hereby given that the Denair Unified School District, 3460 Lester Road, Denair, CA
95316, hereinafter referred to as the District, will receive District bids up to but no later than 2:45 p.m. on May 7, 2021.

BID #2021-01

HOME-TO-SCHOOL, EXTRACURRICULAR
TRANSPORTATION/BUS FLEET MAINTENANCE

PRE-BID CONFERENCE, WRITTEN INQUIRIES, ADDENDA

1. A bidder’s conference will be held on May 5, 2021 at 3:00 p.m. in the District
Leadership / Board Room.

2. Attendance at the scheduled bidders conference is NOT mandatory.

BID OPENING

May 7, 2021 at 3:00 p.m. in the Leadership / Board Room.

Link to Denair Transportation Bid Packet

The calendar may say mid-April, but Monday felt more like mid-August – traditionally, the first day of school in the Denair Unified School District. Hundreds of students returned full time to Denair’s four campuses, some of them for the first time in more than a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Everyone — students, staff and parents — is excited to be on campus five days per week, and there was a positive vibe throughout the day,” said Kelly Beard, principal at Denair Elementary Charter Academy, where more than 80% of transitional kindergarten through fifth-grade students attended classes in person Monday. “It was great to see all the smiling faces and hear and see students interact and enjoy being on campus!”

The students whose parents chose not to have them return to campus now will stay on distance learning for the remainder of this school year, which ends in late May.

It’s been six years since the first class of Dual Language Immersion students began kindergarten at Denair Elementary Charter Academy. They’re now fifth-graders. The goal all along was to create a seamless English and Spanish education program that would continue through the Denair Middle School and, later, Denair High School. Now, that time is here.

Though the plan to transition that first class of 26 dual language students to DMS has been in motion for a couple of years, the sense of urgency has taken on a new focus. In August, that first group will begin at DMS.

Principal Amanda Silva promises that her staff will be ready.

“Something we recognize is that all our dual families are invested in the dual program,” she said. “The commitment they made at kindergarten is important to us. The challenge is to read and write in Spanish with the goal of becoming bilingual. Those families are very committed and invested and want to see us do it well. They want to see the return on that investment.”

For Silva, the Dual Language Immersion is more than professional; it’s personal, too. Her son Ezequiel is one of those DECA fifth-graders who will be starting at DMS next school year.

The Denair Unified School District will take another important step toward returning students to full-time in-person next week by expanding the amount of time children spend in class.

About 60% of Denair’s 1,300 K-12 students already receive face-to-face instruction multiple days of the week. Beginning Monday, their school days will be lengthened by 90 minutes at Denair Elementary Charter Academy and by two hours at Denair Middle School and Denair High School. Classes will let out about 1:30 p.m.

The changes were prompted by updated state and federal guidance regarding distancing between desks in classrooms, sanitation and other COVID-related safety precautions, Denair Superintendent Terry Metzger explained in letter to parents sent Monday. The moves also position the district to transition smoothly into full-time in-person instruction for all students on Monday, April 12, when students and staff return from spring break.

“Next week will allow us to work out the bugs so we’re ready for the last seven weeks of the school year after the break,” Metzger explained.
Between now and April 12, parents who prefer to keep their children on 100% distance learning for the remainder of this school year must formally notify the district of their choice. Those wishing to opt out of in-person learning can do so by completing a form https://forms.gle/XVWPyFwvstu7hiJ47
“If they do nothing, we assume their child is coming,” Metzger said.

Parents with specific questions about their child’s schedule, teachers and other plans should contact the administrators at those campuses, or go to their websites or Facebook pages. School officials also will be reaching out to parents with more information.