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The Monterey Peninsula Unified School District welcomes students, families, and staff back from Winter Break. The California Department of Public Health has released updated guidance regarding COVID-19, and the district will host a Town Hall to provide an overview, as well as address questions from the community.

Superintendent PK Diffenbaugh shares with families the importance of getting tested before returning back to school on Wednesday, January 5. Take a moment to listen to his message, as well as where you and your family can pick up testing kits or to have a test administered at our Cabrillo Family Resource Center.

This email is being sent to all 9th grade parents and students; however, some 9th graders may be taking this in Freshman Seminar: Health and Wellness during Fall 2021 (Semester 1) while some students will be taking the Freshman Seminar: Health and Wellness in Spring 2022 (Semester 2) 9th Grade Families: We want to make you aware that California state law, the California Healthy Youth Act, (CHYA), requires that comprehensive sexual health education and HIV prevention education be provided to students at least once in middle school or junior high school and once in high school, starting in grade 7. Students in 9th grade will be receiving instruction (Health Smart curriculum from ETR publication) as one part of their semester-long Freshman Seminar: Health and Wellness course (depending on your child’s schedule, they may be offered this in the current fall 2021 semester or the spring 2022 semester). Instruction site timelines may vary throughout the year, but we want to ensure that parents/guardians understand they have an opportunity to view the instructional materials and opt out of this specific CHYA instruction in writing to their school principal. Students and parents may opt out of this portion of the course (roughly 4 days) not the entire course. Students who are opting out, may have alternative, personalized assignments during this time. For 9th graders who are enrolled in Freshman Seminar: Health and Wellness this semester, the curriculum covering the CHYA related materials will be provided by their teacher in this course. Students will engage in this material in November- December of 2021. Those students who are in Freshman Seminar: Health and Wellness in the second semester will have this material in April-March of 2022. You may preview the materials through the Health Smart links below. If families desire a K-12 comprehensive look at the curriculum, parents can access a 30-day free trial on the Health Smart publisher website (ETR homepage) and request it. 9th Grade Resources: 9th Grade HealthSmart High School Alignment Understanding the HealthSmart Approach to Health Education - Part 1 HealthSmart: Putting Health Ed Research into Action - Part 2 Teaching Knowledge and Skills the HealthSmart Way – Part 3 HealthSmart Curriculum Overview (Parent Access to Materials) How to “Opt Out” If you have questions or you feel this CHYA curriculum does not align with your family wishes, you can opt out in writing to your principal before instruction no later than October 15, 2021. If you have any questions, or need more information around specific content or materials, please connect with your Freshman Seminar: Health and Wellness teacher and/or site administrator.

MPUSD held a districtwide Town Hall on September 16 with an update on the school year, including COVID-19 protocols, process and communication. The PowerPoint presentation and video archive is available.

Mark your calendars! Parent engagement is critical and we invite your participation and feedback at our 2021-2022 District Advisory Committee and District English Learner Advisory Committee meetings. Our District English Learner Advisory Committee serves in an advisory capacity on English learner programs and services.

Message from the Superintendent on Health and Safety at our Schools: As we close the second full week of instruction, I wanted to express how excited we are to return to in person instruction and how proud I am of our school community's efforts to return to school safely. Your child's health and well being is our top priority, and I want to update you on our current health mitigation efforts, as well as increased support we are working to provide in the coming weeks.

The school year is off to a great start and it has been wonderful to see students and staff back on campuses across the district. As we continue transitioning into our new normal, we are also mindful that COVID-19 is still in our community and that communities are seeing a rise in the Delta variant. Please find information related to COVID-19 protocols while in MPUSD schools and departments.

Assembly Bill 104 includes provisions in the area of student retention, pass/no pass grades, and local graduation requirements exemption. If students and their families are interested in any of these three options, please contact the Education Services Department at 831-645-1200.

MPUSD welcomes students and staff back to school in person, five days a week on Wednesday, August 4. The district hosts a virtual Town Hall on Wednesday, July 28 in English (5 p.m.) and Spanish (6 p.m.) to learn more.

HOT OFF THE PRESS: The Best of Monterey Bay Family Guide 2021-2022 published by the Monterey County Weekly is in the field. Superintendent PK Diffenbaugh engages in a Q & A with reporter Celia Jiménez. (Publication is not available online. Provided is a PDF copy.)

On Tuesday, February 9, 2021, our Board of Education discussed and approved the decision making timeline for the reconfiguration and consolidation of MPUSD schools.  You may recall last school year the district convened a Vision 2025+ Task Force and engaged stakeholders in multiple community engagement meetings and surveys about the future of our schools. One of the key focus areas was whether or not to maintain 6th grade at the elementary school level.

The district offered a Town Hall to the community on the state of the community health, update on future in-person instruction, and reconfiguration/consolidation of elementary schools. PowerPoint and video archive are now available.

Following the recent Central Coast Section statement regarding a start date for practices, MPUSD released the following message to high school families via ParentSquare. Click headline to read more.

We want to make you aware that California state law, the California Healthy Youth Act, (CHYA), requires that comprehensive sexual health education and HIV prevention education be provided to students at least once in middle school or junior high school and once in high school, starting in grade 7. Due to COVID-19, we have incorporated CHYA instruction for the 2020-21 school year for 7th, 8th and 10th grade students. Students in 9th grade will also receive instruction (Health Smart curriculum from ETR publication) as part of their Freshman Seminar Health and Wellness course.

On August 25th, we hosted our first Scholar Athlete Seminar Panel in partnership with CSUMB and GEAR UP. Students were able to engage with former Seaside High School Alum who have gone on to play intercollegiate athletics and gain insight into pursuing an athletic career at the college level.