March 23, 2020
Hello Dunham Families,
I hope you are all doing well in these very abnormal times. I wanted to give you an
update as spring break comes to a close. As you know, last week Governor Newsom
issued a statewide Shelter in Place as a step to slow down and prevent the community
spread of the COVID-19 virus. This includes students staying home from school. We
are unsure how long this order from the Governor will last. So far, there is no end date
assigned to the Shelter in Place order.
Distance Learning:
Distance, or at home, learning is an opportunity for our community’s children to maintain
their skills and continue studying while they are home from school. Like everything else
related to this crisis, this will be flexible and subject to change. No one is going to be
penalized as we all work through the details of keeping our community’s students
engaged and learning.
Teachers will be contacting their classroom families/students over the next couple of
days with more directions. Depending upon the grade level and the amount of digital
content, there will be learning materials that need to be picked up.
Learning Materials Pick Up
On Thursday of this week (3/26), we will be having a “drive through” learning materials
pick up day. We ask that you pull into the Dunham parking lot and stay to the left as if
you were heading towards parent drop off and pick up. Please pull up to the double
doors outside of the Community Room. Once there, roll down your window and share
your child’s or children’s grade and name and we will have learning material to pass on
to you. Please do not get out of your car. Please do not park or let people out of your
car. Please do not use the playground. We are working hard to provide the safest
situation possible. It is a grab-and-go approach.
To prevent overcrowding please follow this pick up schedule:
8:00-10:00 Last names starting with the letters A-H
10:00-12:00 Last names starting with the letters I-R
12:30-2:30 Last names starting with the letters S-Z
Not all students will have materials to pick up; some have already gotten it or will get it
digitally. If your student does not have material to pick up your child’s teacher will let you
know prior to Thursday.
Meals
I want to bring to your attention that there are several community options for meals for
any child ages 0-18. The children do need to be present with the adult picking up the
grab-and-go curbside meals.
You can get these curbside meals Mondays through Fridays, 11:00AM-1:00PM at:
Rancho Cotati High School – 5450 Snyder Lane
Technology Middle School – 7165 Burton Avenue
Lawrence Jones Middle School – 5154 Snyder Lane
Other cities like Sebastopol, Santa Rosa, and Petaluma are offering similar
programs. Please call the Dunham School Office if you would like more information.
Connectivity
Comcast/Xfinity has offered free connectivity to low income families with students during
school closures. The contact number is 1-800-934-6489. Sonic is also offering three
months of free internet access. https://www.sonic.com/cov19
Students with Special Needs with IEPs
We are working to determine the best ways to provide services to students with special
needs. Please be patient with us as we use the next week to develop a more detailed
plan.Using our Schools During Closure
We ask that you not bring your children to campus during the closures. Doing so could
defeat the purpose of slowing the spread of the virus.
All Activities Postponed
Activities like the school wide picture, campus clean up, and our Showcase / Open
House are all postponed.
Unprecedented times
The last couple of weeks have been very challenging for everyone, not just at our
school or in our community but throughout the whole world. We miss your children
already and teachers are anxious to get started working with them this week, even if it is
from a distance. Distance learning is new to all of us. I met with the teachers this
morning via a Zoom conference and was once again amazed at all the wonderful things
they have been working on to help and support our students during these difficult
times. Dunham teachers are truly amazing! Tell your little ones that all of our staff
misses them and we look forward to seeing them soon!
Take care and stay safe,
Daniel Hoffman, Superintendent / Principal
Dunham School District
