Parents/Guardians:

Welcome back to school! I hope you had a nice summer and are ready to join us in supporting your child’s education this year.  We have set ambitious goals as we plan to help students succeed.  These goals can be found on our website at www.uusd.net.  I wanted to highlight a few key changes for 2018/19:

District Back to School Packet: We are working to reduce paper and support our technology goals. As a reminder, you no longer receive a large packet of information from UUSD at the start of the school year. Information can be accessed through the AERIES Parent Portal which is available on our website, www.uusd.net under the Families tab. In addition to accessing the information online, please verify your student’s information and provide any changes in address, phone number, emergency contacts, etc. If you need any help or need access to a computer, please call your student’s school and the Family Community Liaison will be able to assist you.

Educational Benefit Form:  We need every student to complete an Educational Benefit Form (see enclosed infographic). Completing this form helps us qualify for funding that supports critical programs such as music, art, athletic programs, chromebooks, counselors, reduced class sizes and so much more. If you need help completing the form, please contact your school’s Family Community Liaison.

Free Breakfast and Lunch:  We are excited to offer free breakfast and lunch this year to every student thanks to a program offered by the State of California. We hope your students take advantage of this program so they can have healthy, nutritious meals at school.

Communication:  Communication is critical in ensuring a strong partnership with parents and guardians.   We communicate frequently through our website, our Facebook page, through email and through our automated call system. Please make sure you have listed an email address on the Aeries parent portal so you can receive our communications.

Finally, one of our most important goals is student safety. As part of an effort to keep school campuses safe and vandalism-free, we have installed surveillance cameras on every campus (in accordance with UUSD Board Policy 3515). The cameras are intended to deter negative behavior; however, should an inappropriate incident occur, the recordings may be used in disciplinary proceedings or referred to local law enforcement, as appropriate. Cameras are never placed in areas where students, staff, or community members have a reasonable expectation of privacy.

Parent and community partnership is critical to student success. I encourage you to spend time at your child’s school by attending Back-to-School Nights and Open Houses. If you can give more, please volunteer at your child’s school.  To learn more about volunteering at school, please contact your school’s Family-Community Liaison. Let’s keep working together to continue to make Ukiah schools amazing places of learning for our children!    

Deb Kubin, Superintendent