Old Adobe Educator Weekly Round-Up
April 26, 2021 - April 30, 2021
MESSAGE FROM SUPERINTENDENT LOWERY
Mitigating the Spread of COVID-19 and Potential Learning Cohort Closures
The safety of our students and staff remains our top priority. This is such a difficult time for our school district community, county, state and nation. We recognize that closing learning cohorts are an inconvenience for families and staff and it can also create stress and anxiety. We work very closely with the Sonoma County Department of Public Health and they are assisting us with navigating the complexities of this unusual circumstance. Please know that we are following all the required protocols to keep everyone safe.
As we engage in daily health screening, this leads to requesting people to get tested and this can lead to positive results. As students or staff have symptoms, the protocols require us to immediately isolate those individuals and when there has been a confirmed COVID-19 case we follow the requirements of recommended testing and quarantining for any individuals that may have been in close contact with the positive person. This is why we may have to close the learning cohorts to keep everyone safe and mitigate the spread of COVID-19 to prevent others from contracting the virus.
We wanted to provide a little more context as to what has been happening with combating COVID-19 transmission as you could receive a communication confirming a positive case at your school. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations mandates the protection and privacy of all health information and prevents us from sharing any additional details beyond the standards noticing as required in AB 685. While there is no official way for us to determine exactly when or where a person contracts COVID-19, we can implement safety precautions to mitigate transmission on school campus. This is why the CRISIS-Go health screen is so significant as it helps us track symptomatic individuals to determine when people need to isolate or test for COVID-19.
Finally, we recognize that talking to our students during this whole ordeal is critical to supporting their comfortability with being at school. CDC has created recommendations to help adults have conversations with children about COVID-19 and ways they can avoid getting and spreading the disease. Children may worry about themselves, their family, and friends getting ill with COVID-19. Parents, family members, school staff, and other trusted adults can play an important role in helping children make sense of what they hear in a way that is honest, accurate, and minimizes anxiety or fear. Please review the information here.
If you have any additional questions you can always reach out to me or our COVID-19 Safety Technician, Cynthia Granato at cgranato@oldadobe.org or (707) 975 - 6570. Please remember to follow the three W’s and wear a mask, wash your hands and watch your distance.
#OldAdobeStrong
Superintendent Lowery
BUSINESS
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will continue reimbursing schools and child care centers for free meals to all students regardless of their income through the 2021–22 school year, USDA officials announced Tuesday. Meal service waivers such as the “Seamless Summer Option” that made it possible for California districts to distribute millions of grab-and-go meals to students since campuses closed due to COVID-19 will be extended through June 2022, according to a USDA news release. Advocates say the extension comes at a pivotal time for food-insecure families.
In addition to the flexibility of not having to check students’ income eligibility for free meals, districts are able to set up flexible meal times based on student schedules and needs. Districts can also serve meals to students outside normal school hours and deliver meals to students’ homes or other places instead of requiring them to pick up food at schools.
COVID-19 Update
Vaccination Clinic for Students Age 12+
It is expected that a vaccine could be cleared for use with children age 12 and older as soon as early May. SCOE is working with County Health to prepare for this. SCOE is looking to partner with school districts to offer weekend vaccine clinics for students once the vaccine is made available. We will keep you updated as this develops.
There have been some questions about how much spacing between students is required/allowed on school buses. After consulting with County Health, we would like to clarify that the county only requires adherence to the state’s most recent guidance, which is as follows: “Maximize space between students and between students and the driver on school buses and open windows to the greatest extent practicable. Two windows on a bus should be opened fully at a minimum.” This guidance can be found in the CDPH consolidated schools guidance under “Implementing Distancing Inside and Outside the Classroom.”
County Health has asked for our help encouraging families and students to get tested as schools reopen. There are many benefits to our families getting tested, even when it is not mandated. Testing can identify any trends and outbreaks and stop big outbreaks before they start, helping avoid school closures. Testing also helps the county progress toward the yellow tier more quickly.
Currently, testing is one of the criteria keeping us from moving to yellow. There are many free options for families at soccoemergency.org/test.
COVID-19 Testing Fact Sheet
County Health has developed a fact sheet (bilingual) related to COVID-19 exposure and testing, based on frequent questions they are receiving from schools and the community. Specifically, this fact sheet is in response to parent questions about testing and that multiple tests have led to confusion about the infected status of their child. County Health's hope is that this resource can be shared with any families hesitant or skeptical about testing.
COVID-19 Testing PSAs
To help spread the word about the importance of testing, SCOE has developed these student and family friendly videos that we invite you to share with your school community in an e-newsletter, over social media, or post on your website.
CURRICULUM AND PROFESSIONAL LEARNING
Family Life Education
5th and 6th Grade students will be participating in Family Life education. Students will be learning about the reproductive anatomy and physiology, the changes of puberty, menstruation, and communicable disease.
Parents and guardians of 5th and 6th grade students are invited to preview the videos used in the Family Life curriculum on Monday, May 3rd.
Zoom Link: https://tinyurl.com/3rkertkj
Look for more information as we need to update our Family Life curriculum, and we will be creating a task force in order to do this in the fall.
EQUITY CORNER
Equity Coalition Update
Our next meeting will be Wednesday, April 28th at 3PM.
Hope you can join!
Join PCS Elementary Schools for a Virtual Parent & Caregiver Education Night on Supporting LGBTQIA+ Students
Wednesday, April 28, 2021, 6-8pm
Zoom Link: https://petk12.zoom.us/j/84338809877
This session, which is open to families with elementary students in nearby school districts, will aim to provide both an introduction to relevant topics for LGBTQIA+ youth and families who may be at the beginning of their journey, as well as more in-depth information for families who have already been on this journey for a while. Panelists from local community organizations will participate. Spanish translation and ASL interpretation will be available.
If you need to reach the Equity Coalition to share resources, express concerns or ask questions, you can now email the group at equitycoalition@oldadobe.org.
FOOD PANTRY VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Sign Up Today:-)
We need more volunteers to ensure that we can continue this service and provide this much needed resource.
Please sign up by clicking the button below.
human resources
REGISTRATION AND ENROLLMENT
Registration 2021-2022
All of our schools are hosting Virtual School Tours.
Here are the individual school videos.
RETURNING TO SCHOOL FALL 2021-2022
As we continue to look forward to the fall, state education and health experts predict that schools should be able to resume full in-person learning. They predict that the three pillars of safety practices in the fall will be: masking, vaccinations, and testing.
Should there be an unexpected surge or rise of a new variant, social distancing could be a requirement. SCOE just sent a reminder that for the remainder of this year, volunteers on campus, cooperative table seating, and field trips are all still restricted, and they will be re-evaluated for the fall.
OAUSD EVENTS SCHEDULED THIS WEEK
April 26, 2021 - April 30, 2021
THURSDAY, 4/29
Board of Trustees Regular Meeting Open Session @6:00PM
Weekly Video(s)
Update From County Superintendent Steve Herrington
Old Adobe Union School District
Website: https://www.oldadobe.org/
Location: 845 Crinella Dr, Petaluma, CA 94954, USA
Phone: 707-765-4321
Twitter: @OAUSD_Super