Happy Mother's Day! I hope all our Alvord family mothers had a wonderful day.

Our principals and their teams are safely planning year-end events. We don't want anyone to miss out on the activities and events celebrating their children's accomplishments. Some of our children and employees, and some of our guests, may be immunocompromised and consequently may be at an increased risk of getting very sick from COVID-19. Given those concerns, depending on the school's facilities and options available, some events that have been indoors in the past, may be outdoors this year. In general, we will be overly cautious in light of the fact that positive COVID-19 cases have been steadily increasing in recent weeks. We want everyone to be able to fully and safely participate and enjoy these important occasions.

Soroptimist International of Riverside's 2022 Award and Scholarship recipients included two La Sierra High School students for their outstanding volunteer work. Congratulations Brianna and Linda!

Six of the ten high school scholarships awarded by the Riverside Woman's Club were given to Alvord students. Pictured below from the event are Brianna Callahan and Leyla Macias from La Sierra, Carmen Guzman from Norta Vista, and Marcus Belarmino from Hillcrest. Not pictured are scholarship winners Leslie Adame from Norte Vista and Kiana Jara from La Sierra. Congratulations to all of our scholarship winners.

Thank you Sergeant Lake and Major Beezley for an outstanding job leading the California Cadet Corps (CACC) program in Alvord at La Sierra High School and Arizona Middle School, respectively. The CACC mission is to provide students with a quality educational and leadership development program that prepares students for success in college and the work force.

The Goals of the CACC are outlined in the tenets of the Cadet Code:

• Loyalty - To self, others, and civic and government institutions.
• Education - The success of all cadets in academic endeavors, including staying in school and pursuing higher education.
• Ambition – Striving for excellence and lofty goals.
• Duty - Lifelong habits of responsible behavior, excellent attendance, and punctuality.
• Enthusiasm – A zest for life’s challenges.
• Respect - cooperation with school and public policies, regulations, and laws and respect for the dignity of all persons as well as an appreciation for the rich heritage of America and California.
• Service – To others, our state, our nation, and world.
• Health – Fitness and wellness, including avoidance of gangs, illegal drugs, alcohol, and tobacco.
• Integrity - Positive choices by cadets with regards to private and public behavior.
• Personal courage – Say no to that which is wrong and stand up for what is right.

Sergeant First Class (SFC) Herbert R. Lake is retiring after a distinguished career teaching Army JROTC and California Cadet Corps as well as previously serving in the U.S.Army for twenty years. Thank you SFC Lake for your service and dedication to Alvord and the United States of America.

We also celebrated the 10th Annual School Lunch Hero Day on Friday, May 6. When the pandemic struck in 2020, our nutritional services team sprung into action to ensure our children and their families had daily access to good nutrition. In partnership with Alvord Cares, our families struggling with food insecurity did not go hungry while schools were closed. On a daily basis our nutritional services teams prepares healthy meals for our students. They follow strict nutrition standards, navigate student food allergies, and serve our students with a smile. On behalf of the Board of Education, we salute our school lunch heroes and applaud the leadership of our Director of Child Nutritional Services, Eric Holliday.

On May 15–21, we will celebrate Classified School Employee Week to recognize the important contributions classified school employees make to support our mission to serve our children and our community. Our classified employees are the backbone of our school district. They help schools and the district office function and operate safely and efficiently. Classified employees support our instructional program, they manage our school offices, they keep our campuses safe and clean, they maintain our facilities, they feed our children, they support our management team, and much more. Plan ahead to let your favorite classified employees know how much you appreciate them.

Thank you for recognizing your favorite teachers this past week. And thanks in advance for recognizing your favorite classified employees starting on May 15. These unsung heroes allow our schools to function at the highest level.

On behalf of your Board of Education, thank you for your trust in us, and your support of us. We value our partnership with you and look forward to closing the school year #AlvordStrong.

Stay healthy. Be well.

Sincerely,

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, May 6:

• 22 students (up from 19 the previous week)
• 6 staff members (down from 8 the previous week)

Contact Tracing:

• 275 students identified
• 13 students placed in full quarantine

Overall, as of May 6, including the first semester, we have had 3,307 students and 414 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 May 6, in Riverside County, there were 1,041 new cases (0.2% increase), equating to 8.3 cases per 100K (7-day average), 10 new deaths (0.2% increase), and a 6.0% test positivity (7-day rate), which is a 2.0% 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 34 COVID-19 hospitalized patients, 4 fewer patients hospitalized from prior day total (10.5% 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 May 6, 2022, as reported on the State's tracking web site.