Chancellor Judy C. Miner sent the following message via email to Foothill-De Anza district employees.
March 14, 2020
Dear Colleagues,
In light of so many additional developments in the COVID-19 situation, I just wanted to take a moment to assure you that district leadership is continually discussing how to address emerging issues. School closures, municipal restrictions, and emergency declarations are just a few of the many factors that affect how we operate and how our students and employees navigate both personal and professional lives.
During the week of March 16, we will provide more guidance regarding remote work and how more employees can be assisted through so much rapid change. While we have been focusing on instructional delivery, we want to examine ways our support and administrative work might also transition to remote delivery to the greatest extent possible. We look forward to consulting with our classified and administrator colleagues as we juggle multiple concerns on behalf of students and employees. Our guiding principle is mitigating the spread of the virus.
Our Board of Trustees is also looking at ways to hold meetings while implementing social distancing now that the Governor has declared waivers of certain provisions of the Brown Act. We will hold an emergency board meeting in the near future to adopt a resolution that allows us to take advantage of any federal or state funding that may be available during this crisis.
Thanks to all of you who have been sharing recommendations for ways to engage students and each other during this challenging time. One faculty member shared that he will be using the portal to send encouraging messages to his students and suggested we might even have a “studenthood” week to coincide with our professional development week of April 6.
As the days ahead are filled with uncertainty, I encourage us all to think about the current situation as not just a public health crisis but a stressor on our humanity. Let’s be intentional about compassion and patience even though it can be very hard right now. We will never achieve perfection but we can do exceptionally well with everyone’s help!
Virtual hugs,
Judy