William S. Hart Union High School District governing board members Wednesday discussed a potential March 29 start date for junior high and high school in-person instruction, provided the number of L.A. County COVID-19 cases continues to decline.
Superintendent Mike Kuhlman, during the virtual governing board meeting Wednesday night, introduced a reopening plan to the board that would allow for in-person instruction on the first Monday following the date the district becomes eligible to reopen.
However, the board said no action would be taken on the item during Wednesday night’s board meeting, and a March 29 start date would not be set in stone by a board vote during that meeting. Board President Cherise Moore said while it was an informational session only, Kuhlman had already been given the authority last year to use emergency powers to unilaterally reopen schools “when the time was right.”
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Thursday 119 new deaths and 2,253 new cases of COVID-19, with 26,327 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.
This week, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond announced the kickoff for the “California Digital Divide Innovation Challenge,” a global competition that will award up to $1 million to the boldest, most revolutionary proposals to eliminate the digital divide and expand high-speed internet access to all Californians.
Despite many efforts and generous donations through the Bridging the Digital Divide Fund, as many as one million students in California still lack internet connectivity. Superintendent Thurmond is launching this challenge to inspire the public and private sector’s most ambitious innovators, researchers, entrepreneurs, and creative problem-solvers to develop technology and strategic partnerships that will have an immediate and direct impact on students today and remove barriers to success long after the pandemic is over.
Valencia resident Thea-Marie Perkins spearheaded efforts to have the SCV branch of the NAACP approved. Courtesy of Perkins.
The Santa Clarita Valley is now home to a new branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, following a recent vote from the association’s board of directors.
Approval comes after Valencia resident Thea-Marie Perkins spearheaded efforts with more than 100 Santa Clarita Valley residents, she said Wednesday.
“I spent a good amount of time over the past year developing our relationship with the NAACP and calling upon our community and our neighbors, creating a committee of activists to help them rally everyone they knew to join us for membership drives to join a charter,” said Perkins.
It’s not how far you go…it’s what happens along the way! The Incredible Chase, the city of Santa Clarita’s socially distanced take on the hit CBS show “The Amazing Race,” is a brand-new competition taking place in May 2021.
Teams of two are encouraged to register to see if they can complete a series of challenges and cross the finish line first in the month-long race toward the grand prize and Santa Clarita glory.
The adventure competition will feature teams competing against one another in both virtual/remote and in-person/socially distanced challenges in the Santa Clarita Valley. The Incredible Chase is split into eight legs, and teams will be tasked to deduce clues, navigate to certain locations and perform physical and mental challenges that highlight offerings in the city of Santa Clarita.