Dear Cypress School Community,

Our first week of our second summer session of the Adapted Behavior Program has been a smashing success.  Appreciation to the families who participated and the staff providing the daily connection that our students need and deserve.  In particular, I want thank the staff who are leading activities, for putting themselves out there and braving the Zoom spotlight.  Discovering some hidden talent has been a welcome silver lining during this ongoing state of emergency. 

We are excited about our new distance learning plan for the new school year beginning August 18.  We have a schedule of live-instruction opportunities spanning our usual school day.  For those students who can attend even part of a Zoom class, please do your best as live interaction with peers and a credentialed teacher is preferred.  For those that cannot, we will be providing learning opportunities and activities that are self-paced and scheduled to span our usual school day as well.  We are required to provide activities that are equivalent to the instructional minutes.  We do not intend to overwhelm or stress out anyone.  As one parent let me know recently, we appreciate what Cypress is offering, but we are just doing what we can do to keep peace in our house.  I think many parents can relate to that. 

Please rest assured we will work with you to provide a program that fits what is manageable to engage in at home and will collaborate to come up with assignments that work within your home routine rather than disrupt it.  Our goal is to meet the new distance learning requirements from the State and most importantly the needs of our students in a way that is practical, meaningful, and hopefully enjoyable.  In other words, we are trying our best to do remotely, as imperfect as the tools we have available to do that are, what we do so well in person: encourage their curiosity and cultivate their confidence to engage and interact with the world around them. 

We have received guidance from Sonoma County on the waiver process for re-opening while still remaining on the watchlist.  The current waiver applies to grades TK-6.  From California Department of Public Health – “More detailed guidance on conditions under which permissible in-person instruction and services for small sets of students, such as those provided pursuant to an individualized education program (IEP), is forthcoming.”  We look forward to hearing more about that.  Unfortunately, there are issues in the reliability of the data on cases, hospitalizations etc. being reported and updated, which needs to be taken into consideration before a waiver is considered for approval.  Sonoma has informed us we can submit waivers, but they will not be considered until the data issues are resolved.   I will continue to keep you updated on this ever-evolving situation.  As always, please reach out at any time to the Cypress Team for support. 

Sincerely,

Nate Yates

Director of Educational and Behavioral Services