October 15, 2021

Dear Inglewood Unified School District (IUSD) Staff, Students, Families and Community:

In our continued commitment to serving our community and providing current information, we have some important updates in this week’s message.

Hispanic Heritage Month
In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, we would like to highlight some of the significant contributions Hispanics and Latin American figures have made throughout history. This week we celebrate engineer and former astronaut, Dr. Ellen Ochoa. Born on May 10, 1958 in Los Angeles, CA, Dr. Ochoa attended San Diego State University, where she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in physics, and a master’s degree and doctorate in electrical engineering from Stanford University. Dr. Ochoa began her career as a research engineer at National Laboratories and NASA Ames Research Center, and became the co-inventor of three patents in areas of optical information processing, which contributes to computer performance. In January of 1990, Dr. Ochoa was selected by NASA to become an astronaut, making her the first Hispanic woman to go into space. She served on a nine-day mission on Space Shuttle Discovery in 1993, where the focus of the mission was to study the earth’s ozone layer. Dr. Ochoa has recorded 1,000 hours in space, working as a mission specialist, payload commander, and flight engineer. According to nsf.gov, Dr. Ochoa has given more than 300 presentations focusing on the importance of a science, technology, engineering and math education. She has six schools named after her, several books written about her, and has been profiled in textbooks and on websites that encourage women to pursue technical careers. Thank you to Dr. Ellen Ochoa, for inspiring our youth to reach for the stars! To learn more about Dr. Ochoa, please click here.

Parent Volunteers
Our District is excited to share that parent volunteers are now allowed back on our campuses! Parent volunteers offer a huge resource and support base for our school community by advancing student achievement, providing support to District teachers and staff, and showing their kids the importance of engagement. Interested parents are required to complete a new volunteer application and follow the application process. Once approved, volunteers will need to submit proof of vaccination or be tested on a weekly basis, adhere to temperature checks before entering any school site, and must wear a mask at all times. Please click here to access the volunteer application, resources and commitment form.

ESSER Funds Survey
Our District is seeking feedback regarding the use of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds. We recently hosted virtual workshops where participants received information regarding ESSER funds, and how they are utilized to address the academic impact of lost instructional time as well as respond to the academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs of all students. As we determine ways to best support our students with these funds, we want to ensure that our school community has provided input, as your suggestions are greatly appreciated and valued. Please click here to complete the survey and share your thoughts.

Real Talk- Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Edition & Paying for College Edition
Real Talk, a virtual college exploration initiative designed to connect African American students and families with African American representatives from universities and college access organizations across the country, is hosting a 2-night event that will allow incoming students to connect with experts about scholarships, financial aid, loans, grants and more! This virtual event will take place on October 27, 2021 and October 28, 2021 at 4:00 p.m. To register, please click here. To view the event flyer, please click here.

Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health Workshops
In collaboration with the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (LACDMH) and United Mental Health Promoters, our District is hosting a series of educational workshops for anyone seeking resources regarding mental health prevention and early intervention. Some of the workshops include, Symptoms and Treatments of Depression, Stages of Grief and Loss, Drug and Alcohol Prevention and more! The next workshop will take place on October 20, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. at the Inglewood Unified Parent and Resource Center. The remaining workshops will be held through February 16, 2022. To view a list of additional dates and workshop details, please click here. For additional questions, please contact Monica Hernandez at (310) 419-2788.

October is College and Career Readiness Awareness Month and Breast Cancer Awareness Month
As we continue to commemorate October as College and Career Readiness Awareness Month and Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I invite all staff and students to participate in our #IUSDPinktober activities, which can be found here. For the week of October 18-22, we are encouraging students and staff to decorate a pumpkin in Pinktober theme to display support during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

In addition, students and staff are encouraged to wear a t-shirt from a university or college to promote higher education on Wednesdays. Share a picture on social media using #IUSDCollegeShirtWednesdays. Please click here for additional College and Career Readiness Awareness activities.

COVID-19 Vaccination Clinics
Our District is hosting vaccination clinics for students, parents/guardians and families and daily COVID-19 testing. We are excited to announce that we are extending our weekly COVID-19 testing to parents/guardians and families, in addition to students and staff. Vaccine Clinics at school sites have begun on a rotating schedule, hosting two vaccine clinics per site. The next first round of vaccine clinics will take place on October 19, 2021 at Morningside High School from 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. For questions regarding the Vaccine Program, please contact Project Coordinator, Marvin Lawton, at (310) 912-9164 or vaccines@inglewoodusd.com.

COVID-19 Testing
Please click here to access our school site based COVID-19 Testing schedule. You may access additional information regarding the vaccination clinics schedule, COVID-19 testing and more here! For questions regarding the COVID-19 Testing Program, please contact Project Coordinator, Jenny Fuentes, at (213) 476-3667 or submit an email to COVIDTaskForce@inglewoodusd.com.

Thank you staff, parents, students, and community members for your ongoing support and commitment to the success of our district.

WeAreInglewoodUnified

Sincerely,

Erika F. Torres, Ed.D., MSW
County Administrator