SANTA MONICA — The Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) announced on August 12 that a memorandum of understanding has been finalized and tentatively agreed upon both by the district and the Santa Monica Malibu Classroom Teachers Association (SMMCTA). The MOU was agreed upon on August 7 and ratified by the SMMCTA on the 10.

The MOU details the expectations for teachers regarding distanced learning, which was announced on July 15 by SMMUSD. The memorandum agreed upon by the SMMUSD and the SMMCTA includes a commitment from teachers to provide between 230 minutes and 240 minutes of live instruction each day.

“Live time” instruction will include whole class and small group instruction; both forms of instruction will be delivered synchronously and asynchronously. Independent work will also be an important aspect of distanced learning.

Prior to the first day of school on August 24, pushed back by two days for additional professional development, the MOU requires teachers to provide specific schedules regarding instruction plans. The agreement also requires teachers to communicate with students weekly with expectations for the next week of instruction.

SMMUSD Superintendent Dr. Ben Drati wrote in a press release that the MOU also addresses several other areas including training for substitute teachers, the ability to reschedule Back to School Nights, leaves of absences, teacher evaluations, and a commitment to fulfill public health protocol requirements before returning to in-person instruction.

“I express gratitude to all the educators who worked throughout the summer to develop the distance learning agreements. We all look forward to implementation of the MOU and welcoming back our students on August 24,” said Drati.

On August 21 SMMUSD will be holding a virtual Back To Learning 2020 conference for parents and guardians to discuss and provide details for what distanced learning will look like this fall. Details for the conference can be found at smmusd.org.

Drati announced that more detailed expectations regarding distanced learning will be released next week in SMMUSD’s new parent guide.