Letter to Staff

July 29, 2002

Dear Chávez School Staff,

We hope you're having a great summer. The summer has been a good one for getting Chávez Elementary School ready to go, and we want to update you on a number of things as all of us look ahead to the August 26 start of classes inside Chávez School.

The reconstruction is right on target, which means that you will be able to go inside your classrooms starting on Monday, August 5. Howard will be on vacation July 30-August 8, however, Howard will be checking in regularly during this time and clerical staff will be in the school office on those days. You might notice some outside work during the week of August 5. Workers are repairing wall flashing and doing some preventive maintenance on the roof. This will not affect your work inside the school, and should be completed by August 9.

The Chávez office will be open starting on Monday, August 12. Class lists will be posted on the school's front door on August 16. Supply lists are already up on the front door. Additionally, the school will be open on Thursday, August 22 from 3-7 p.m. for members of the school community. All parts of the school will be open for visitors to walk through and Howard Fried, Roger Price, assistant superintendent for business services and Doug Pearson, buildings and grounds director will be available to answer any questions.

Throughout this major disruption, we have taken every reasonable step to make sure that the building will be safe for students, staff and the community. We realize how important it is for you to have confidence in the indoor environment. For this and many other reasons we have made a lot of information available to you both by letters like this and on our Web site.

You should be aware that for some persons the adjustment back to Chávez could be difficult. Please see the letter from environmental consultant Sharon Bessa that accompanies this letter.

As noted by Ms. Bessa, there may be some individuals who, regardless of the safe condition of the building, will after a period of acclimation, still feel that they are unable to work at Chávez. The District will work cooperatively with such individuals to facilitate transfers to other schools in accordance with applicable collective bargaining agreements. Such transfers will necessarily depend on available vacancies at other schools.

While this letter is for Chávez staff, a similar letter is being sent today to Chávez parents and guardians.

As we approach the re-opening of Chávez School, we thank you for your patience and understanding over the challenging past nine months. We continue to look forward to what will be a great future for Chávez School and the community it serves.

Sincerely,

Art Rainwater
Superintendent
Jane Belmore
Asst. Supt. for Elementary Schools
Howard Fried
Principal

Chávez Temporary School Plan Home Page