Bells Are Ringing for 2021-2022 School Year

Yes, those are school bells ringing for the 2021-2022 school year

The 2021-2022 school year begins on Wednesday, August 18. Students and staff return to the classroom ready to learn and grow, in person, five days a week. Current state regulations require that students and staff wear approved face masks while inside. Outdoors, masks may be removed.

Information on individual schools, including bell schedules, can be found on the district website at www.dsusd.us. At the top of the home page is a drop down menu listing individual schools. Also on the home page is a section titled Super Seconds (www.dsusd.us/news/SuperSeconds). Here you will find current information from Superintendent Scott Bailey concerning COVID-19 announcements and news. Parents are encouraged to check both the DSUSD website and individual school websites for the latest information concerning back to school.

Per recent legislation associated with the pandemic (AB 130), the parent or guardian of a student may elect a school district’s independent study (IS) program as an alternative to in-person instruction. Among other qualifying factors, students are now eligible for independent study if the parent/guardian determines that their child’s health would be put at-risk by attending in-person instruction. The DSUSD independent study program is hosted through the district’s new Horizon Virtual Academy. You can learn more about the Virtual Academy by clicking here.

Throughout the 2021-2022 school year all Desert Sands Unified School District students will receive breakfast and lunch through the National School Lunch Program at no cost. Families are not required to complete meal applications in order to receive the free meals. However, families are being asked to complete the LCFF (Local Control Funding Formula) Alternate Income Form. This form assists in providing the maximum state and federal funding to the schools. It can be found in the online registration process in ParentVUE (details can be found by clicking here.)

In the next few weeks, Desert Sands Unified School District will be switching to a new online meal payment portal. Students with a positive fund balance will have those funds rolled over to the new system. At that time, you will be able to create an account and make payments through this new online system. Students may use these funds to select items outside the traditional school lunch program. Please check www.coolschoolmeals.com for updates. Refunds from existing accounts are available upon request. For further information, please contact Jose.Gonzalez@desertsands.us.

All current Desert Sands Unified School District students entering the 7th grade this school year as well as all new DSUSD students entering 7th through 12th grade, must show proof of an adolescent whooping cough booster (called Tdap) to attend school. District officials are asking that students be immunized as soon as possible and present proof of immunization at their school site immediately. The state legislature passed a law that went into effect on January 1, 2016 that all students, other than those with a medical exemption signed by a physician, are required to be fully immunized in order to attend school. Students who are not in compliance are required to enroll in an independent study or home schooling program in order to receive a public school education. Vaccine clinics were held at the Desert Sands Unified School District office earlier this month and additional clinics for both the Tdap and COVID-19 vaccinations are being planned. Dates and times will be posted on our website www.dsusd.us and on our social media sites.

The DSUSD transportation team is returning to a full traditional busing schedule starting August 18. Students will be required to wear masks at all times while riding the bus. The district requires daily cleaning and disinfecting of all buses used to transport students. As an additional safety measure all buses with air conditioning have been equipped with air purifiers. Notification of transportation-eligible students will be provided to the school sites within 48 hours of receiving the request. In fulfillment of the DSUSD Board of Education’s commitment to ensure that the school bus fleet be entirely air conditioned, we will be receiving twenty-one new 81-passenger buses with air conditioning during the 2021-2022 school year.

The level of excitement as we return to full in-person learning can be felt throughout the district. It has been a challenging year filled with extraordinary efforts on the part of every person in the community. Staff at every level both in the classroom and in the offices have found new ways to reach the students in our care. Students already adept at using computers have put those devices to work in an educational capacity. Parents have worked side-by-side with teachers and administrators sharing feelings of both concern and satisfaction with the district. Community members have reached out with support at all levels. Our resilience as a community and our commitment to the children throughout the valley was strengthened by the pandemic and we return to the classrooms for the 2021-2022 school year with a renewed sense of determination to provide our students with the very best in education. Thank you to everyone who makes up the DSUSD family!