Dear Members of the Alvord Community,

Happy summer! I hope this week's message finds your family healthy and enjoying the long, sunny summer days. If you're a planner like me, you're already looking forward to the upcoming school year. Below are some important 2022-23 dates. Find the entire school year calendar in the News Section below or download a pdf of the calendar from our website here.

First Day of School: 8/4/22
Thanksgiving: 11/21/22 - 11/25/22
Winter: 12/16/22 - 01/02/23

President's Week: 02/13/23 - 02/20/23

Spring: 03/27/23 - 03/31/23
Last Day of School: 5/25/23

The school shooting in Uvalde, Texas on May 26 was another reminder of how vulnerable schools are to violence and how important it is that schools prioritize safety. In Alvord, school safety has been and remains a priority. Our School Safety Plans involve multiple components, including physical security, emergency management, and violence prevention. I will provide periodic updates in this space on our multidisciplinary approach to threat assessment and violence prevention.

Schools everywhere have observed an increase in bullying behavior. Name-calling, demeaning and belittling acts, and invalidating people's thoughts and feelings are all examples of aggressive behaviors that have been on the rise in school settings (and in society). Some forms of these behaviors target individuals or groups and qualify as hate speech. Education is the most powerful tool to counter bullying and hate speech. We will continue to educate our students about the impact of their words and actions as well as the consequences of their choices. In partnership with our parents and caretakers, we can teach our children to be socially appropriate, kind, and considerate.

Misbehavior and mental health challenges linked to social media have schools and parents alike concerned in the aftermath of a school year impacted by TikTok challenges, threats of school violence, and multiple examples of inappropriate communication, including pejorative or discriminatory language. Overregulation has not proven to be a successful tool to control social media behaviors among children and youth. Our intention is to follow best practices and address the problem from a place of communication and transparency and in partnership with our families, in recognition of the serious consequences students face if they violate laws or other standards of behavior. Learn how you can make the digital world safer and healthier for your children at commonsensemedia.org here.

As we plan for 2022-23, we are increasing services to address the mental health crisis among children and youth, as well as provide additional support for families and staff. Among the actions we have taken, we expanded our student services division and school site teams to provide more direct support and more targeted services. I will provide periodic updates on our programs and services in this space.

The California Department of Public Health had intended to require the COVID-19 vaccination for the upcoming 2022–23 school year, but now that won’t happen until at least July 1, 2023. The department said in a statement that once the COVID vaccines for children receive full approval, it would consider the recommendations of a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccine advisory committee, the American Academy of Pediatrics and American Academy of Family Physicians before issuing a school vaccine requirement.

We have transitioned to a new school-home communication platform known as ParentSquare. It's a central hub for parents to access student and school information and it's easy to use. To activate the two-way communication tools, sign up today here. If you do not sign up you will still receive all notices.

If you are considering a home-based educational program, please complete the survey and let us know. If you're not already signed up for our ParentSquare communication system, you will be prompted to sign up to complete the survey here. Or, please call the Educational Services office, 951-509-5064, Monday - Friday, 7:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. to discuss home-based schooling.

Senate Bill 328 takes effect in 2022-23. High schools will begin period one at 8:30 a.m. and our middle schools will begin period one at 8:15 a.m.

On behalf of the Board of Education, we look forward to the 2022-23 school year. Thank you for reading my weekly message and for actively engaging with us in the interest of providing our students with the first-class education they deserve.

In partnership,

Allan Mucerino

California has established an Expanded Learning Opportunities Program, authorized by Senate Bill 129 and Assembly Bill 130, as amended by AB 167. It is the intent of the Legislature that expanded learning programs are pupil-centered, results driven, include community partners, and complement, but do not replicate, learning activities in the regular school day and school year. Expanded learning will include before school, after school, summer, and intersession learning programs that focus on developing the academic, social, emotional, and physical needs and interests of pupils through hands-on, engaging learning experiences. Look for additional information and a parent survey in the coming weeks.

Data for the week ending Friday, June 3:

• 10 students (down from 37 the previous week)
• 0 staff members (down from 8 the previous week)

Contact Tracing:

• 57 identified (down from 296 the previous week)
• 0 placed in full quarantine (down from 12 the previous week)

Overall, as of June 3, including the entire 2021-22 school year, we have had 3,442 students and 448 staff members report a positive test for COVID-19. Stay current with our case rate by regularly tracking our COVID-19 Data Dashboard and FAQ here. Cases recorded on the Dashboard are confirmed by Riverside County Public Health officials and remain on the Dashboard for 14 days.

During the week ending June 3, in Riverside County, there were 1,456 new cases (0.2% increase), equating to 24.6 cases per 100K (7-day average), 1 new death (0.02% increase), and a 11.6% test positivity (7-day rate), which is a 1.0% increase from 7-days prior. Since many people are now testing at home with antigen rapid tests, the positivity rate is estimated to be much higher since all cases are not reported. There are currently 100 COVID-19 hospitalized patients, 8 fewer patients hospitalized from prior day total (7.4% decrease)

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's newly created Community Level COVID-19 rating system, the community level in Riverside County remains Low. The Community Levels are a new tool to help communities decide what prevention steps to take based on the latest data. Levels can be low, medium, or high and are determined by looking at hospital beds being used, hospital admissions, and the total number of new COVID-19 cases in an area.

This data is as of June 3, 2022, as reported on the State's tracking web site.