The deadline for students to submit course selections for next year is tomorrow! Parents, have your student log into their Willits Unified email to access the course selection google form to choose classes! Counselors are available weekdays between 8:00-3:30 to answer questions.
Online registration for next school year 20/21 is now open through the Aeries Portal. You can find the link for online registration on willitsunified.com under Parent Resources. Once you enroll your student through the portal the registrar at WHS will make contact with you.
Did your student miss the deadline to drop a college class? The deadline to request Pass/Fail grading is Fri 5/22. Please click the following link then "Drop/Refund" to learn how to request pass/fail grading instead of a letter grade. https://www.mendocino.edu/announcements
It is time to start planning for next school year! Parents, have your student log into their Willits Unified email to access the course selection google form to choose classes! Counselors are available on weekdays between 8:00-3:30 to answer questions. Deadline to submit is 5/21!
The deadline to drop Spring Semester Mendocino College classes with an Excused Withdrawal (EW) is tomorrow, 5/15! If your student is currently enrolled in a college class & is not completing the work or will most likely fail, have them email their teacher and request to drop.
The deadline to apply for next year's Link Crew team is tomorrow! Must be a Junior or a Senior for 2020-2021. Go to the WHS Link Crew website to learn more about the program. The application is at the bottom of the page. http://willitsunifiedca.apptegy.us/o/whs/page/link-crew--7
To: Students, Parents and the Willits Community
Willits Unified School District is pleased to announce that we have been given approval to host a unique graduation ceremony on June 5th, at 6:30pm.
Details that must be followed:
Maize Field at Willits High School
Each family will be allotted one vehicle, preferably a truck, with the student in the bed of the truck, and family inside the cab of the truck.
Only immediate family members (parents & siblings)
No one is to leave their vehicle - no exceptions
Staging will be in the front parking lots prior to the start, please be on site by 6:10 as we will start the procession at 6:30pm.
Trucks will proceed along the road adjacent to the baseball field (north side)
Trucks will enter the track at the North entrance and proceed around the track, parking as close to the car in front of them as possible.
Students will be announced when they enter the track area
As the trucks proceed around the track, they will pause in front of the WHS sign and be and a photo in Cap & Gown will be taken.
Parents & Students are encouraged to decorate their vehicle in order to celebrate the occasion.
The graduation ceremony will take place once all vehicles are parked along the track.
Once the graduation ceremony concludes, the families will leave by the north entrance and be escorted through town by local first responders along a route that allows the extended families & community to celebrate the achievements of their graduates.
Keepsake banners will be hung along main street, to honor our Willits graduates and will be available for pick up by the families at a later date.
The event will be live streamed on youtube & Facebook live
-If you have a truck to loan for the ceremony or need to request a truck please contact:
Marian Lohne - Assistant Principal at WHS
707-459-7700 ext. 1509
marianlohne@willitsunified.com
Due to Coronavirus (COVID-19), children who are eligible for free or reduced-price meals at school will get extra food benefits. These food benefits are called Pandemic EBT or P-EBT benefits. P-EBT benefits help families in California buy food when schools are closed because of the coronavirus emergency.
Families will get up to $365 per eligible child on their P-EBT card to use on food and groceries.
Families with children who get CalFresh, Medi-Cal or Foster Care benefits do not need to apply. Most will get their P-EBT card in the mail during the month of May. P-EBT cards will begin arriving around May 12, 2020.
It is time to start planning for next school year! Parents, have your student log into their Willits Unified email to access the course selection google form to choose classes! Counselors are available on weekdays between 8:00-3:30 to answer questions. Deadline to submit is 5/21!
The deadline to drop Spring Semester Mendocino College classes with an Excused Withdrawal (EW) is extended to 5/15! If your student is currently enrolled in a college class & is not completing the work or will most likely fail, have them email their teacher and request to drop.
New Shelter in Place Guidelines for Stage 2, now in place.
All middle and high school students need to understand that my message about moving up to the next grade level, means that you will go to the next grade. However, if you are not doing your work, you will be repeating those required classes and be credits short that you need to make up. Regardless of your grade credits are required to graduate.
Reminder regarding graduation status! Those seniors who meet the state graduation requirements will receive diplomas. Those seniors who don't complete the coursework, we will continue to work with you even into July and August. We are only a few weeks away from the end of the school year, so now is the time to finish strong.
June 5th is still currently the date of graduation
The school district is going to wait until we have specific guidelines from the state or county health department that covers the time period of June 5th or beyond, prior to announcing any graduation plans.
Mark Westerburg
Is your student enrolled in a Mendocino College class? They may qualify for a $250 cash grant! Click the link to learn more about the grant and how to apply: https://mendovoice.com/2020/04/mendocino-college-foundation-offers-emergency-grants-to-students-contributions-sought/
It certainly appears that we will not be returning to normal classroom settings for the remainder of this school year. All school sites have made plans to continue with modified school instruction through the end of May. The first week of June will be used for students to turn in all assignments and for teachers to assign grades. All students will be moved to the next grade unless discussions about retention have already taken place.
Although very unlikely- if it is possible before this school year ends to bring back a limited number of students, the District would consider the following: Brookside grade 2 only, Blosser Lane grade 5 only, BGMS grade 8 only and all seniors at WHS. In regards to graduation our preference is to wait it out, meet as a group and make it happen. As I have stated before, we can do it in August if necessary. I prefer this idea over a virtual ceremony.
Middle school and high school campuses are planning to hold a summer school session from July 27th through August 14th. WUSD is willing to provide support to all other summer session programs which use our facilities so they may become operational.
In regards to the governor's comments about starting school July 1st. There are more problems with that Idea than good. A major issue for a third of our students is transportation, can they get on the bus, with such a confined space we would have to limit buses to 12 students and this is a problem. Another large issue is the heat in July, only about 40% of our facilities have air conditioning and classrooms would be very warm. Along with this are summer jobs, summer school, cleaning facilities, adding 20+ days to teachers' work year, new teachers who won't be here yet, plus all the added cost for operations for a month and half. Although we are anxious to all be together again an early start is not the best plan. When all the students come back in August we will all work aggressively to get back on track.
I commend all of our parents and staff for working through this situation, hang in there. My biggest concern in coming back together is the health of our adult staff, the impact from the virus can be harsh and we have a small number of substitutes available. The need to social distance even with a small group is very tough with young kids. If we do have to create A and B days for students to limit the exposure we will do so. Bus routes, siblings, teachers, children and creating off day work for students will be a challenge but we will do it if necessary.
In conclusion, we are waiting it out and hopeful that summer will get us a little closer too normal. Our goals for Willits Unified are to finish the year in distance mode, have a graduation ceremony, provide whatever educational services we can in the summer and get ready for next school year.
Mark Westerburg
Does your student want to take college classes this summer? In-person registration 11-1 pm today. Click the link to search for classes. Classes will be online only. Contact your student's counselor for help with K-12 Agreement form. https://service.mendocino.edu/student/courses
Link Crew is recruiting for next year! Must be a Junior or a Senior for 2020-2021. Go to the WHS Link Crew website to learn more about the program. The application is at the bottom of the page. Deadline to apply is 5/15. http://willitsunifiedca.apptegy.us/o/whs/page/link-crew--7
Tomorrow is the deadline to drop Spring Semester Mendocino College classes with a 'W' or 'EW'. Click the following link then "Drop/Refund Policy" to learn how to request an 'EW' (recommended if planning to drop) & the steps to drop. https://www.mendocino.edu/announcements
Is your student enrolled in a college class? Is it working out? The deadline to drop college classes with a 'W' or 'EW' is Sun 4/24. Please click the following link then "Drop/Refund Policy" to learn how to request an EW & steps to drop. https://www.mendocino.edu/announcements
I have attached a link to the CENSUS 2020. It is very important for school funding to have an accurate census for the district. Federal funding inTitle Programs, food service and grant opportunities come from census data. It is very quick and easy to do. https://my2020census.gov/
WUSD April 15, 2020 School Board Meeting Video
https://youtu.be/dOmTXIUzBlU