At the end of school day this past Friday, March 11, 2022, the universal masking requirement for schools in the state of California ended. Beginning tomorrow, Monday, March 14, our students and employees may now choose whether or not they want to wear a mask on school campuses.

While school districts are no longer required to mandate universal masking, the California Department of Public Health still strongly recommends it, depending on the COVID-19 community level and continued implementation of appropriate COVID-19 prevention measures. For individuals, anyone at high risk of severe illness or who may share a home or care for someone at a higher risk of severe illness should talk to their healthcare provider about wearing a mask and taking other precautions.

Our decision to make masking optional in our schools is based on three primary factors: One, our COVID-19 community level is low. Two, the high quality of our indoor air. And three, our multi-layered strategy to provide safe, successful, and full in-person instruction, including the following:

• Utilize home health-screening to keep all contagious illnesses away from school campuses.
• Utilize our COVID Help Center to contact-trace and work closely with County public health officials to support schools and families.
• Provide free home-testing kits to students in quarantine or modified quarantine.
• Provide free PCR and rapid COVID-testing at the Arlanza Public Library for anyone who wants to test.
• Socially distance, whenever possible and as necessary.
• Provide personal protective equipment (PPE), as necessary.
• Disinfect all classrooms and campuses nightly using the Clorox® Total 360® System electrostatic sprayer.
• Follow best respiratory hygiene practices in classrooms and on campuses.
• Utilize air scrubbers in classrooms and other campus spaces to provide clean air at the source using medical-grade HEPA filtration.
• Utilize hands-free water fountains.
• Utilize plexiglass table shields and barriers in common spaces such as office spaces, cafeterias, and where staff congregate, when and if we are unable to socially distance.

As I have written in my recent messages in anticipation of the mask mandate being lifted, please discuss with your children how your family’s values and health considerations as it relates to choosing to wear a mask or choosing not to wear a mask may differ from another family's values and health considerations and how critical it is that we all respect each other's decisions.

La Sierra's AVID program was recently revalidated as an AVID National Demonstration School. The 3-year validation is an honor and a distinction that identifies La Sierra as an exemplary model of the AVID College Readiness System. The recognition speaks to the great work of La Sierra's AVID Coordinator, Eric Pearson, and the entire team of teachers, staff, counselors, and administrators who support the program and the students and their parents for participating at such a high level. Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) is an in-school academic support program designed to prepare students for college eligibility and success.

Monday marks the first time since students returned for in-person instruction last March that masks will not be required anywhere on our campuses. It's a milestone during the pandemic-schooling era and a big step towards normalizing our schools. But it's not the time for any of us to let our guard down. Please continue to health-screen at home and keep your children home if symptoms are present.

On behalf of your Board of Education, rest assured that we will continue to adhere to all of our existing safety measures as outlined above. Furthermore, we will continue to do everything in our power to keep everyone safe and keep our focus on learning and providing a positive school experience for our students as we bring back many of the activities and events that have been restricted the last two years.

Stay healthy. Be well.

Sincerely,

Allan Mucerino

Our two after-school programs are HALF-Time (K-5) and PRIME-Time (6-8). They are available M-F from school dismissal until 6:00 PM. The programs provide FREE academic support, homework assistance and enrichment activities like art, crafts, music, sports and STEM (Science Technology, Engineering, and Math) along with a nutritious meal. Please register your Kindergarten through 8th grade students soon as space is limited. Sign up here in English and here in Spanish.

As of Friday, March 11. Cases were down for the fifth consecutive week.

Monday - Friday:

• 16 students (down from 18 the previous week)
• 1 staff members (down from 2 the previous week)

Contact Tracing:

• 167 students identified
• 6 students placed in full quarantine

Overall, as of March 11, including the first semester, we have had 388 staff members and 3,223 students 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.

This past week in Riverside County, there were 189 new cases (0.03% increase), equating to 7.0 cases per 100K (7-day average), 12 new deaths (0.2% increase), and a 2.6% test positivity (7-day rate), a 1.0% decrease from the previous week. 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 123 COVID-19 hospitalized patients, 4 fewer patients hospitalized from the prior day total (3.1% 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 is 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 March 12, 2022, as reported on the State's tracking web site.