For the first time since 2019, Riverside County celebrated student achievement with an in-person event held at the Riverside Convention Center this past Monday. These prestigious awards annually recognize students for academic achievement, dedication, and perseverance. It was a proud moment for our students, their families, and our school district. Thanks to our students, staff, school board members, and moms and dads for making the event so meaningful and memorable, and fun too! (see pictures below). And congratulations to our students and all of the educators who taught them and supported them throughout their education journey.

Alvord Alternative Education High School

Edelmira (Celen) Vega

Alvord Continuation High School
Elizabeth Sievers

Hillcrest High School
Kaitlyn Bishop
Isabella San Diego

La Sierra High School
Jesse Espinoza
Viet Rodriguez Shiqematsu

Norte Vista High School
Leslie Adame
Vivian Shepherd-Mayen
Justin Topete

In addition to our outstanding students who earned an academic achievement award, Vivian Shepard-Mayan, from Norte Vista High School, was one of nineteen students countywide who earned an Exceptional Graduate Award. Congratulations to all of our student award-winners!

Register Here. For planning purposes, applications will be accepted until April 21st. Space is limited. Register today.

Our summer school programs are designed to prepare and enrich. Certificated teachers provide instruction in Language Arts and Mathematics for part of the day and enrichment and recreation activities such as art, crafts, music, sports, and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) the remaining part of the day. Students will also receive breakfast and lunch.

Our Elementary School Summer Academy program is open to students currently in Kindergarten through grade 4. The program will be offered on Monday through Thursday from 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM, beginning Wednesday, June 1, and ending on Thursday, June 30, 2022 (closed on June 20 in observation of the Juneteenth Holiday) at the following six of our TK-5 schools:

Terrace (For Arlanza and Terrace students)

Myra Linn (For Collett & Myra Linn students)

Foothill (For La Granada and Foothill students)

McAuliffe (For Orrenmaa, Lake Hills and McAuliffe students)

Rosemary Kennedy (For Twinhill and Rosemary Kennedy students)

Valley View (For Stokoe, Promenade and Valley View students)

For students currently in grade 5 (entering middle school next year) and those currently in grade 6 or 7, all four of our middle schools will provide a summer academy program from 8:30 AM to 2:30 PM on Monday - Thursday.

If you have additional questions, contact the Expanded Learning office at (951) 358-1682 between the hours of 10:45 a.m. and 5:45 p.m., Monday through Friday.

California students will not be required to be vaccinated against Covid-19 until at least July 1, 2023, state public health officials announced Thursday, April 14. The mandate cannot go into effect until the Food and Drug Administration fully approves the vaccines for children. At this time, the FDA has approved the vaccines for emergency use only. In a statement, California Public Health officer Dr. Tomás Aragón encouraged families to vaccinate their children even though it is not required for school. “Under the Governor’s SMARTER plan, California is making informed decisions on how to further protect students and staff, to keep children safely in classrooms,” Aragón said. In addition, state Senator Richard Pan, D-Sacramento, has decided to put a bill on hold that would have removed the ability of families to opt out of the Covid-19 vaccine because of personal beliefs.

On behalf of your Board of Education, I cannot thank you enough for your support and trust in us as your partner in your child's education. We are excited to celebrate our students' success, promotion, and graduation as we conclude the 2021-22 school year next month.

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 April 15:

• 10 students (up from 6 the previous week)
• 0 staff members (down from 2 the previous week)

Contact Tracing:

• 40 students identified
• 4 students placed in full quarantine

Overall, as of April 15, including the first semester, we have had 3,258 students and 394 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 April 15, in Riverside County, there were 113 new cases (0.02% increase), equating to 3.8 cases per 100K (7-day average), 6 new deaths (0.1% increase), and a 2.4% test positivity (7-day rate), a 0.2% increase 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 54 COVID-19 hospitalized patients, 4 more patients hospitalized from the prior day total (8.0% increase).

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 April 15, 2022, as reported on the State's tracking web site.