Welcome to Monrovia Community Adult School!
Monrovia Unified School District (MUSD) and Monrovia Community Adult School (MCAS) are following California and Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (DPH) guidelines which are informed by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) “Guidance for COVID-19 Prevention in K-12 Schools” updated July 9, 2021. The foundational principle of the CDC, California, and County guidance is “students benefit from in-person learning, and safely returning to in-person instruction in the fall 2021 is a priority.”
Thus, at this time, we are endeavoring to open all MCAS programs in 2021-22 and attempting to conduct them via in-person instruction. As California guidelines explain, “Recent evidence indicates that in-person instruction can occur safely without minimum physical distancing requirements when other mitigation strategies (e.g., masking) are fully implemented.” Links to state and CDC guidelines are below:
https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/COVID-19/K-12-Guidance-2021-22-School-Year.aspx
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/k-12-guidance.html
While I am excited for Monrovia Community Adult School’s return to in-person instruction for the 2021-22 school year, I understand the gravity and complexity of the district’s decision to return to in-person instruction. While many of us are eager to return to in-person instruction, we know that many students will have safety concerns. Please know the MUSD district office and I are committed to the safety of all MCAS students and staff. To ensure the safety of all, MCAS will implement numerous mitigation protocols.
Our commitment to safely open during the pandemic and to provide quality educational programs has been unparalleled in Los Angeles County. In June of 2020, Monrovia Community Adult School was the first public school to open a classroom in Los Angeles County post-COVID shutdown. Due to the tireless work of our faculty and staff, we were able to safely finish a cohort of 15 Pre-certification Certified Nursing Assistant students when no other schools were even open.
Throughout the 2020-21 school year, MCAS students completed the skills portion of our vocational medical programs on the MCAS campus and, due to the school’s rigorous COVID-19 Action Plan and protocols, no COVID-19 transmissions occurred on our campus.
With safety protocols in place in 2021-22, MCAS will continue to provide quality, rigorous programs. I am very proud of the variety of outstanding programs MCAS offers in short-term vocational training, career development education, English as a Second Language, basic education, and high school diploma and equivalency. MCAS is a WASC accredited and NCAA-approved institution that offers UC a-g classes in its high school diploma program. Our staff’s commitment to your success is exceptional.
We are excited that MUSD has a new Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Ryan Smith. Dr. Smith has extensive knowledge of adult education programs and we know we have an excellent partner in him. We are very fortunate that the Monrovia Board of Education and the Monrovia Unified School District have continually provided strong financial support and leadership to Monrovia Community Adult School. These have been very trying times, and the support and assistance of our Board and district office has allowed this school to prepare coming back in-person.
MCAS remains a vital part of the Citrus College Adult Education Consortium (CCAEC) working together with regional adult schools and Citrus College to better provide you with programs and services. You can learn more about the CCAEC at our consortium website: http://ccadulted.org/
Welcome and please let me know, if there is anything we can do to serve you better.