Weekly Superintendent Update, May 21

Weekly Superintendent Update, May 21
Posted on 05/21/2021
Diana Sirko

Dear District 51 Staff and Families,

 

We did it! Today is the last day of school for the 2020-2021 school year! You have all worked so hard this year and I am so proud and grateful to all of you. It is truly difficult to describe how incredible all of your efforts and work has been, facing adversity on a routine basis!! We must still be mindful about the situation around COVID-19 and how it might affect schools in the fall. The D51 Data Dashboard will still be available, but will not be updated over the summer. Please continue to check the Mesa County Public Health site for the latest information about COVID-19 numbers in our community.

 

State of our Schools 

As part of our commitment to transparency and keeping all families, staff, and community members informed about your school district, the district has produced a State of our Schools report that was sent home with students this week and printed in Sunday’s Daily Sentinel and Wednesday’s Sentinel Weekly. If you haven’t had a chance to see it yet, you can find a copy in English here and in Spanish here

 

COVID Summer Updates 

While many of us work year round, it’s always an accomplishment to get to the end of the school year, especially this year! We should continue to do our part to help each other stay safe and healthy over the summer. Here are some summer updates that go into effect on May 25, 2021. 
*
The D51 Data Public Dashboard will not be updated over the summer. 
*
Please continue to monitor themselves for signs of illness. Anyone experiencing COVID-19 symptoms should get tested and stay home and away from others. If needed, take advantage of the free testing sites available through June in the parking lots at Grand Mesa Middle School and Fruita Monument High School.

 

Lunch Lizard service begins June 1

This is the seventh summer in a row that D51 will offer free summer meals through the Lunch Lizard mobile food service program! The Lunch Lizard will run Monday through Thursday June 1 through July 30 (except for the week of June 30). Any child 18 or younger can get lunch and breakfast for the next morning. Children will receive two breakfasts and two lunches on Thursdays.

 

The two Lunch Lizard food trucks will run a Clifton route and a Grand Junction and Orchard Mesa route, and there will be eight curbside meal sites throughout the valley. Visit bit.ly/lunchlizard for schedules in English and Spanish (times and locations are subject to change based on use). 

 

Thanking our Back to School Committee

As we close out a successful year as the largest school district in Colorado to remain open all year, I want to thank the Back to School Committee that helped make this tremendous undertaking possible. The group of physicians, district staff,MVEA members, and community members worked tirelessly last summer to ensure that we began 2020-21 with proper protocols and procedures, instead of heading into another quarter (or more) of remote learning, while still offering an online option. Thank you again for your dedication to students and our community!


I’m wishing you all a happy, healthy, and restful summer!