ALVORD UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

Dear Members of the Alvord Community,

This past week marked the first time this school year that we have had to quarantine an entire elementary class due to three positive test results within a single class (considered an outbreak since the cases happened within a 14-day period and had identifiable connections to each other while at school).

All families in the school were notified of the class quarantine. This incident brings up the question of when and who is notified when there is an outbreak on a single campus. Here's the answer as it appears in our COVID-19 FAQ.

Q: Who is notified when there is a positive case on campus?
A: Parents of all students identified through the contact tracing process are notified immediately via email (and in some cases texts). Then, the COVID-19 Call Center team follows-up the email with a phone call to the same families to confirm that they are aware of the situation and to discuss next steps related to quarantine/modified quarantine and testing protocol. Riverside County Public Health officials are notified too.

Q: Who is notified when a class or multiple classes in one school are quarantined due to an outbreak?
A: In addition to every student identified due to contact tracing, all families with a student in the school are notified in an email from the principal.

We had a total of 23 students (down from 33 last week) and 5 staff members (up from 4 last week) test positive this past week. As a result of being in close contact with a person who tested positive, 125 students were placed on modified quarantine (which means they can continue to attend school in-person as long as they don't develop symptoms and test twice weekly for two weeks) and 41 were placed on full quarantine (home for at least 10 days). As a reminder, below are the possible outcomes from contact tracing:

1. The student is vaccinated, in which case they may continue to attend school and participate in extra-curricular activities as long as they remain asymptomatic.
2. The student is not vaccinated, in which case they may continue to attend school, but on modified quarantine, as long as they test twice-weekly and remain asymptomatic. They may not participate in extra-curricular activities during the 10-day modified quarantine period.
3. The student has symptoms, in which case they remain home on full quarantine, COVID-test, and be cleared by our Health Services team before returning to school.
4. The student voluntarily remains home for the 10-day quarantine period out of an abundance of caution (could be due to student moderately or severely immunocompromised or other personal reasons).
5. The student is not able to be reached due to inaccurate contact information, in which case the student is called to the school office for symptom screening and to discuss contact tracing protocol and update contact information with parents.

Below in the "COVID-19 News" section are brief videos in English and in Spanish on what happens when a positive COVID-19 case is reported to one of our schools.

Overall, we have been serving students in-person for 35 school days. As of Friday, September 24, we have had 58 staff members (2.4% positivity rate) and 256 students (1.5% positivity rate) 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.

In Riverside County this past week, there were 517 new cases (0.2% increase), a 21.9 per 100K case rate (7-day average), 13 new deaths (0.3% increase), and a 6.1% positivity 7-day rate (0.6% decrease from 7-days prior). There are currently 415 COVID-19 hospitalized patients, 34 fewer patients hospitalized from the prior day total (7.6% decrease). This data is as of Friday, September 26, 2021 as reported on the State's tracking web site.

Among the most frequently asked questions I've received recently are related to students either kept home because they have cold or flu-like symptoms or who are sent home by their principal due to exhibiting cold or flu-like symptoms. Many students have missed multiple school days while waiting for test results, or while waiting for their symptoms to significantly improve.

Based on the most recent guidance from the California Department of Public Health and the County of Riverside Department of Public Health, students with cold or flu-like symptoms or other symptoms typical of COVID-19 infection should stay home from school and return only when the follow conditions have been met:

• At least 24 hours have passed since resolution of fever without the use of fever-reducing medications; and
• Other symptoms have improved; and
• They have a negative test for SARS-CoV-2,: OR
• A healthcare provider has provided documentation that the symptoms are typical of their underlying chronic condition (e.g., allergies or asthma); OR
• A healthcare provider has confirmed an alternative named diagnosis (e.g., Streptococcal pharyngitis, Coxsackie virus):OR
• At least 10 days have passed since symptom onset.

We recognize that runny noses and other flu/cold-like symptoms are common in children. Before the pandemic, we encouraged parents to send children to school even if they have a runny nose as long as there was no fever and they were otherwise well and energetic and playful. That's changed during the pandemic. Perhaps we are being overly cautious, but if the old adage, "better safe than sorry" ever applied, this would be the time.

It's important to alert school officials of any underlying condition that may result in typical COVID-19 symptoms, but isn't COVID-19 [a student may return to school with a negative test as long as the criteria (see above) to return has been met and there is no evidence that the child was exposed to a positive COVID case or have any other infectious illness]. Talk to your school's principal or health assistant, or contact the COVID-19 Help Center to get connected to a registered nurse if you have any questions or want to report or discuss your child's underlying health condition. Arrange to pick up a home-testing kit from the COVID-19 Help Center or your school. Contact the COVID-19 Help Center team at 951 509 5014 Monday through Friday from 7:30 - 4:30. Or email 24/7 to COVIDHelp@alvordschools.org.

In the event students are quarantined and have to learn from home temporarily, some teachers use the Google Classroom to provide materials and support, others use ClassDojo for a similar purpose. In some cases, teachers will prepare hard copies of materials. Either way, students who are quarantined for 3 or more days but well enough to do school work will be placed on a short-term independent study contract. Principals will provide details on that process.

Please update your contact information and any documented medical condition in the Aeries Parent Portal here. Given the urgency associated with needing to contact a parent or guardian, it's critical that we have current information. Parents and students can easily access Aeries with the Aeries Mobile Portal app for parents and students. Click on the images below to download the mobile app.

The First Progress Period ended on September 17. Progress reports for parents/students to view through the Aeries portal will be available soon. Schools will alert parents when they are available.

Zoom here to attend "How to Maximize Parent-Teacher Conferences" this coming Wednesday, from 5:30 - 6:30 pm.

Board President Lizeth Vega, along with third grader Sophia, second grader Devish, and Trustees' Moreno and Schwandt, cut the ribbon in celebration of a new playground for students five to twelve years old (see photos below). Thank you Principal Aguilar and the McAuliffe team and students for hosting a fun event.

Where's Principal Mondt? Lake Hills' leader Mrs. Mondt was no where to be found when Lake Hills Elementary students were confronted by a shark. You can see in the video below how they reacted.

Thanks to our awesome students from Norte Vista HS's outstanding Green Construction Academy, the La Sierra HS Culinary Academy now has raised ground gardening beds to use to cultivate a variety of foods to grow and sustain their program (see the pictures below).

All across the district, we will celebrate the importance of family engagement at each of our schools sites through a variety of activities and events highlighting how we work together with our families to support our students and strengthen our community.

In appreciation of National Hispanic Heritage Month, our schools will celebrate the histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America in a variety of ways throughout the month.

On behalf of the Board of Education and our entire team, I cannot thank our students, families, and staff enough for doing their part to keep our schools open and thriving.

Stay positive. Test weekly. Be well.

Sincerely,

Allan Mucerino

When we return for the 2021-22 school year on August 6, 2021, our two after-school programs, HALF-Time (K-5) and PRIME-Time (6-8), will be available M-F from school dismissal until 6:00 PM. The program 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.

CVS Pharmacy

CVS @ 6215 Riverside Avenue, Riverside, CA 92506

CVS @ 6840 Lincoln Avenue, Riverside, CA 92506

CVS @ 491 E Alessandro Blvd, Riverside, CA 92508

Mobile Van Schedule

Wednesdays @ Bordwell Park, 2008 Martin Luther King Blvd.

Thursdays @ Bryant Park, 7950 Philbin Ave.

Fridays, @ Casa Blanca Library, 2985 Madison Avenue

Saturdays @ Fairmount Park, 2601 Fairmount Blvd.

Sundays, Arlington Heights Sports Park, 9401 Cleveland Avenue

Drive-Thru Locations

La Sierra Park Drive-Thru Location
Make an appointment @ 5215 La Sierra Avenue

7 days a week (except holidays)

Open daily (except holidays)
11 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. (closed 3 – 4 p.m.)

UCR Lot 26 Drive-Thru
Make an appointment @ 3443 Canyon Crest Dr.

Riverside, CA 92507

Open daily (except holidays)
8 a.m. – 4 p.m. (closed noon – 1 p.m.)

Kiosk Location

Make an appointment @ 3900 Main Street
Open daily (except holidays)
8 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. (closed 12:00 p.m. – 12:30 p.m.)

For locations sponsored by RIverside County, visit their COVID-testing location finder here.

The Riverside County Department of Education (RCOE) also provides many services for school-age children and their families. Click on the image below or here to visit the RCOE Parent Portal. To browse by topic, click on the links below for detailed information.

Child Care for Essential Workers

Child Care Assistance and Resources

Child Care Finder

Head Start

Migrant Head Start

State Preschool

Teen Parent Program

Infant/Toddler Special Education Programs

Email: 2Superintendent@alvordschools.org
Website: https://www.alvordschools.org
Location: 9 Kpc Parkway, Corona, CA 92879, USA
Phone: 951) 509-5000
Facebook: facebook.com/alvordunified
Twitter: @AlvordUnified