Since the COVID-19 pandemic made its way to San Diego County, no longer do the voices and laughter of students fill lunch areas in the South Bay. However, despite the lack of in-person traditional school, the Sweetwater Union High School District has hit a milestone in serving more than one million meals since the COVID-19 pandemic closed schools in March.
In Sweetwater, where a large number of students qualify for free and reduced lunches, the district has continued to provide nutrition to more than a million students with Grab ‘N Go meals and will continue to do so throughout the summer.
“It was important for me as a member of this community to attempt to provide as much normalcy as possible,” said Eric Span, Director of Nutrition Services. “I saw directly the impact of the COVID-19 closures on our families and wanted to serve as best we could.”
The district operated a dozen drive-through Grab & Go distribution centers that served seven breakfasts and seven lunches packaged together for a total of 14 meals a week. All students 18 and under were provided with meals.
“We needed our team to join in and they did,” said Span. “We also needed our distributor and manufacturer partners to help us re-envision our serving models.” According to Span, in order to relieve students and families dealing with food insecurity, nutrition services received a tremendous support from district-wide administrative teams to help serve families.
“The district needed parents to be patient with us as we quickly developed a service model that supported their needs. I am extremely proud of the work and dedication of our entire staff,” said Span. “Our Area Supervisors had to operate in new roles to make this successful. Our warehouse and maintenance teams have been tremendous during this crisis.”
“I believe the entire effort has been a testament to the Sweetwater Spirit. Every department and school site has been absolutely awesome in ensuring that our students continue to be cared for in this area,” said Span.
Last week, more than 2,000 Sweetwater Union High School District Seniors took part in a parade of cars to celebrate the graduating class of 2020. The Sweetwater District organized the celebration hosted at and in partnership with Southwestern College, the City of Chula Vista and the Chula Vista Police Department.
The graduation celebration was a unique way to honor and celebrate the class of 2020 during a pandemic.
Thousands of students and families packed decorated compact, mid-size, full-size and even convertible vehicles, as they entered Southwestern Colleges campus. Students were greeted with lively music and booth style stations representing all thirteen high schools in the district. Several students arrived dressed in caps and gowns as they drove around Southwestern College’s campus and were cheered on by teachers, staff and district officials.
Several parents and families expressed their appreciation for such an event honoring their students. Comments like: “This is awesome”, “Thank you for doing this”, “This means so much”, and “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” were all sentiments that could be heard as droves of cars circled the campus.
Students and families creatively decked out cars with balloons, banners, photos, paint, and signs that read: “Harvard Bound”, “LSU here I come”, “I did it!” and “First Generation Graduate.”
This was the first time many students had the opportunity to see classmates, teachers and staff since district-wide school closures in March.
The non-traditional graduation celebration was an important alternative to a traditional commencement, which has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Graduation events will be considered in late July/early August under the guidelines of San Diego County Public Health orders at that time. If a graduation event is not possible at that time, the events will be postponed until December 2020.
Again, we honor and congratulate the entire Sweetwater District Class of 2020.
