Dear Members of the Alvord Community,

Congratulations to our 2022 Science Fair Award champions and all 99 of our outstanding students who entered a project in the annual competition. An Exceptional Effort award was given to Danna (Sofia) Ibarra, a 5th grader from Orrenmaa. The projects were interesting, thoughtful, and creative. First place students received a $100 gift card from the Alvord Education Foundation to help prepare their projects for the competition at the county level. Thank you Mr. Stuart Drake for doing a great job as the Master of Ceremonies and thanks to everyone for contributing to this wonderful event.

Congratulations to all of our students for participating in their school's annual spelling bee. Each school's champion will now compete at the district-level competition this coming Tuesday, February 1, at 6 p.m. on Zoom here and streamed on our YouTube channel here. I can't wait! Spelling words like facsimile, renminbi, interferon, sedulous, and meringue takes an incredible skill. It's not just memorization. Good spellers learn how to break up a word into its component sounds in order to represent them all in the spelling of a word, drawing on the language domains of phonology, orthography and morphology. Our students are awesome and courageous too!

The theme for the 2022 celebration is Black Health and Wellness and will celebrate the legacy of Black contributors, scholars, and practitioners in Western medicine. In the context of the pandemic, this year's theme is timely as it underscores healthcare and historically underserved communities.

The library at Christa McAuliffe Elementary School is the pride and joy of Aven Callahan. She is driven by an intense desire to instill in her students a love of reading and a love of coming to school. See the brief video below excerpted from the California Department of Education event that recognized Mrs. Callahan as the 2021 California Classified School Employee of the Year.

Congratulations Mrs. Callahan and thank you for all you do to make McAuliffe Elementary School a great place to learn. You're an incredible employee and role model.

Starting in February, principals will ask their current families if they intend to return to Alvord schools this coming school year. It's important for staffing and planning purposes to estimate our 2022-23 enrollment as accurately as possible. Look for a survey in the coming weeks. I'll update the process in my weekly message.

Kindergarten and Transitional Kindergarten are not compulsory in the State of California, but both programs are recommended and highly encouraged. We hope you plan to enroll your 4-year old and 5-year old children in an Alvord school. Space is filling fast. Alvord also participates in the California State Preschool Program (CSPP). Find more information on preschool and TK/K here.

Cases were down significantly this week. Thank you to everyone for remaining in an elevated state of caution as the current surge continues to lose steam. All of our trends are moving in a very positive direction. Our lower case rates have equated to a significant decrease in absences from a high of 4,288 on January 10 (1 out of every 4 students absent) to 2,148 this past Friday. Under normal conditions, we would average between 500 and 1,000 students absent on any given day.

We are planning to provide a home-testing kit to all students and staff prior to the President's Week break (2/14 - 2/21). Please test on Monday evening, 2/21, before returning to school on Tuesday, 2/22.

Total Positive Cases This Week:

• 252 students (down from 927 last week)
• 52 staff members (down from 84 last week)

Students Identified Through Contact Tracing:

• 148 of the 252 cases required contact tracing.
• 1,073 students were placed in quarantine (ranging from isolation to modified quarantine)

Overall, as of Friday, January 28, including the first semester, we have had 356 staff members and 2,908 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 4,333 new cases (0.8% increase), equating to 202.7 cases per 100K (7-day average), 25 new deaths (0.4% increase), and a 28.6% test positivity (7-day rate), a 2.9% 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 recorded. There are currently 1,005 COVID-19 hospitalized patients, 1 more patient hospitalized from the prior day total (0.1% increase).

This data is as of January 29, 2022, as reported on the State's tracking web site.

On behalf of your Board of Education, thank you for being active partners in your children's education. It's a privilege for us to serve you.

Be well. Test weekly. Stay healthy.

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.