The Alvord Unified School District dates back to 1880, when the La Sierra School District served families along the southeastern side of the river until the courts ruled the homestead claims to be part of the land grant rancho and the settlers were forced to move. Two years later, the Magnolia School District opened and was located in the Arlington business district. Four years later, the Alvord Townsite was established.

In 1908, a separatist sentiment had already started growing in the Alvord area, stirred by the non-existence of the long-awaited “Townsite of Alvord." Once the voters in the Alvord area became aware of the city’s plans to combine the four lower school districts into one large school district, this ultimately resulted in the Alvord area officially separating from the City of Riverside. This official separation occurred when the citizens, although associated with the City of Riverside since 1883, chose to vote themselves, along with the Alvord School District, out of the city limits in December. To this day, Alvord has historically maintained its proud history of independence.

This past Thursday at our Regular Meeting of the Board of Education, in the spirit of the Alvord Township, the Board of Education acted to move forward with a plan to strengthen our schools inside and out, voting to place a $248 million local school improvement bond measure on the November 2022 ballot. If approved by 55% of local voters, bond measure revenue would fund school site safety enhancements, updated technology, modernized facilities, and new construction for workforce development career programs.

Funding would focus on:

• Repairing deteriorating spaces and modernizing campuses
• Enhancing disaster safety measures such as fire-safety systems and earthquake retrofitting
• Replacing and installing new equipment and adding features that strengthen campus security and threat prevention/detection, such as fencing, outdoor lighting, and cameras
• College and Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs through new science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning spaces

The measure is limited to cost no more than $60 per $100,000 of assessed value (not market value) annually, or less than $175 per year for the typical homeowner over the life of the bond. Fiscal accountability includes the provision that no funds can be used for administrator salaries or pensions. A citizens’ oversight committee will be set up and independent annual audits would be required.

The measure will appear on the November 8, 2022 general election ballot. All registered voters within Alvord Unified School District will be able to vote on the measure.

Below is the most recent mailer and survey that was sent to all registered voters within our boundaries to educate our voters prior to the election.

The Board of Education has established that the emotional and physical safety of our students and staff is its number one priority. To that end, we have created an Office of School Safety dedicated to utilizing all available resources to establish and maintain safe and secure schools. The safe schools team will work closely with local law enforcement and other emergency preparedness and response teams to examine the safety, security, emergency management, and preparedness of all school buildings and grounds. Furthermore the team will be responsible for assuring that students and staff are prepared to respond to any emergency threat or hazard in a responsible way and to ensure that the highest level of safety during an incident is achieved.

On June 30, 2022, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) published its guidance for K-12 schools for this coming school year. Find the guidance here. When our schools open on August 4th, we will follow the same safety strategies we followed when the school year ended on May 26. Our strategies to keep everyone healthy will revolve around keeping our indoor spaces well ventilated, routinely disinfecting all indoor spaces and all high touchpoint surfaces, teaching and reinforcing hand-washing and cough and sneeze etiquette, and using antigen tests to manage students and adults diagnosed with COVID or exposed to COVID. Our COVID Call Center will remain open to assist schools and families.

Regarding face covering, children and adults at high risk for severe illness should talk to their healthcare provider about whether it is necessary to wear a mask and take other precautions. For children and adults not at high risk for severe illness, wearing a mask is a personal choice, but is recommended in indoor settings in communities with a COVID-19 Community Level of High.

Over the course of the last month, COVID cases have risen dramatically in Riverside County and practically everywhere in California. As of today, the COVID Community Level in Riverside County remains at Medium. Neighboring San Bernardino remains Medium while San Diego County, Orange County, and Los Angeles County have escalated to High. Learn about the CDC Community Levels here.

We intend to move forward with opening up our campuses for visitations and school events while emphasizing personal responsibility and preparation. Principals will announce school plans related to safety protocols in their regular messages to their respective communities. We plan to allow volunteers to be present on campus if they participate in COVID-testing.

Starting August 4th, HALF-Time and PRIME-Time will take place from school dismissal until 6:00 PM on regular school days. Parents now have multiple sign out times to choose from or they arrange for their children to remain until 6:00 PM.All elementary and middle schools, with the exception of Promenade and Lake Hills, have ASES funded programs. Apply to the program here.

Starting August 4th, HALF-Time and PRIME-Time will take place from school dismissal until 6:00 PM on regular school days. Parents now have multiple sign out times to choose from or they can leave their children until 6:00 PM.

Programs provides 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.

If you need assistance registering for school or confirming your data in Aeries, in-person support is available Monday - Friday from 9 am to 3 pm at the Keller Center, Building C. Located at 10365 Keller Avenue Riverside, CA 92505. Or call, 951 509 5014.

If you haven't activated your Parent Square yet, watch the brief video on Parent Square below and activate your account today. For more information on Parent Square visit our Parent Square home page here.

School safety is on everyone's mind. And it will take everyone to ensure our collective wellbeing. Experts agree that school safety is a shared responsibility. The rules of accountability include:

• Following parking, visitor, and other safety procedures while on campus
• Supporting the school's safety initiatives
• Talking with your child about personal safety considerations, drug and violence prevention issues
• Monitoring social media trends and your child’s social media activity
• Related to COVID, staying home with cold or flu symptoms and participating in our response COVID-testing program
• Teaching your children to "See Something, Say Something"

On behalf of the Board of Education, thank you in advance for doing your part to keep our schools safe and our focus on learning. We have proven throughout the COVID era that when we work together we can overcome most anything. Let's continue to work together so that our students can thrive.

In partnership,

Allan Mucerino

When the 2022-23 school year begins on August 4, we will begin tracking positive COVID cases again. During the 2021-22 school year, a total of 3,476 students and 470 staff members reported a positive test for COVID-19. Find weekly updates on COVID-19 Data Dashboard here. Cases recorded on the Dashboard are confirmed by Riverside County Public Health officials and remain on the Dashboard for 14 days.

Riverside County Data

Case Rate per 100,000 population: 312.24

New COVID-19 admissions per 100,000 population: 8.2

% Staffed inpatient beds in use by patients with confirmed COVID: 6.3%
Community Level COVID-19: Medium

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