Hello everyone.
I know there are a lot of emails going around but we think that this is an important time to send out this request. The district and board are negotiating plans for returning to schools safely. We have also been in contact with CTA and have asked about what next steps we can take during this process, including the possibility of starting an email campaign to members of the School Board and District Superintendents. CTA gave us ideas for the most effective form of email communication. I am including it below. We are asking you to participate in an email campaign to our board members and district superintendents.
Please note that this is intended for everyone, whether you don’t think the schools are ready to reopen safely, or you think that the schools should open fully. I’ve said this in the past, and will say it again, your voice matters. I am including an email list of board members and district superintendents, along with a template that you can use.
We want this email campaign to be student centric. This means that we should focus on the health and safety of students as the core of our messages. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t express the concerns for yourselves and your families as well. Each message should be personally tailored to your concerns, but with a student centered focus in mind. Try to keep messages short and sweet, think about ways to maybe bullet point your concerns. We can not guarantee that the board members will read entire emails. Here are some example email starters as recommended by our CTA representative:
“I love my students and want nothing more than to return to the classroom for in-person instruction when it’s safe for students, teachers, and our community!”
“Our students deserve the best. Rushing back to in-person while there’s still significant community spread will put our students and their families at risk.”
“I’m worried about the health and safety of our most vulnerable students and families and my fellow educators and their families.”
I am attaching a list of email addresses for the board members and the district superintendents. You can also cc Todd Blanset and Brenda Hensley. This is a great way to get our voices heard while these important negotiations are happening, but also keep in mind that this is about our students too.
Mark France – Vaca Pena Middle School
Board Members:
JOHN JANSEN, PRESIDENT – JohnJansen@vacavilleusd.org
TRACEE STACY, VICE PRESIDENT – TraceeStacy@vacavilleusd.org
MICHELE (SHELLEY) DALLY – SDally@vacavilleusd.org
MICHAEL KITZES – MichaelKitzes@vacavilleusd.org
SHERIE MAHLBERG – SherieMahlberg@vacavilleusd.org
MICHAEL SILVA – MichaelSilva@vacavilleusd.org
SHAWN WINDHAM – ShawnWindham@vacavilleusd.org
District Superintendents:
SUPERINTENDENT JANE SHAMIEH – JaneS@vacavilleusd.org
Ed Santopadre, Associate Superintendent of Educational Services – eds@vacavilleusd.org
Sasha Begell, Assistant Superintendent of Educational Options & Supports – sashab@vacavilleusd.org
Kelly Burks, Assistant Superintendent – kburks@vacavilleusd.org
Chris Hulett, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources -chrish@vacavilleusd.org
Manolo Garcia, Director of Human Resources – manolog@vacavilleusd.org
