As we all anticipated, the pandemic surge is definitely making an impact on our school district and community. In talking with the other superintendents in the county, every district is experiencing similar impacts. We have created this special edition to provide our community with the facts about how the current surge is affecting our school district. It is important to note, however, that in spite of the current surge, our teachers, students, and staff continue to keep learning the central focus at school. I visited ten schools last week to check-in on student learning, listen to teachers and staff, and develop creative solutions with principals. I can say without hesitation that students were engaged, happy, and actively learning.
In addition to this Health and Safety Community Update, we will also be holding a virtual Special Board meeting this week, Thursday, January 27th at 5:00 p.m. to provide a more detailed update on health and safety. Please visit the Live Streaming link HERE to join the meeting.
As a result of significant changes to the COVID-19 Decision Trees for K-12 Schools, schools are now able to contact trace using a Group Tracing approach. Now, when exposed in a school setting, unvaccinated students are not required to quarantine if exposed to a COVID-19 positive person. Instead, a letter of exposure is sent to the families of exposed students, and, as a condition to remain in school, students should test on days three, four, or five (“required” just shifted to “should” on the Decision Tree). Parents are required to notify the school if their student becomes symptomatic or tests positive for the virus.
Keep in mind that the pandemic is a dynamic environment that requires us to make adjustments often based on guidance from CDPH and our local health authority. While we know these adjustments can be complex and even confusing, we are excited that more students are remaining in school and receiving in-person instruction from their teachers. As a condition of these new guidelines, CDPH requires that an exposure letter be sent each time a student is exposed. We acknowledge that receiving multiple letters in a week may be a frustration for many families; however, in the spirit of transparency, we want to ensure that families and staff are fully informed.
Having a student tested weekly for the COVID-19 virus is a simple way to avoid the need to test on days three to five when they are exposed at school. We have created testing centers throughout our community to assist families with COVID-19 testing for their students and other family members. We are happy to announce that a plan is being developed to bring COVID-19 testing directly to each of our 29 schools. More information will be shared in the coming weeks on how a family can sign up their student for weekly testing.
Vista Unified School District
