ALVORD UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

Among the most frequently asked questions I received this week was, "How did the Norte Vista Boys Soccer team do in the CIF State Championships?" The Novi Braves made it all the way to the semi-finals before being defeated. But their spirit was not defeated. They had an incredible season.

All three of our comprehensive high schools' student-athletes proudly represented their schools and their families throughout the winter season and at many of the CIF Southern Section Winter Championship tournaments. Among the schools with multiple league championships, four of the seven teams from Hillcrest High School won their league championship. Congratulations to all of our winter season student-athletes.

Below is the official language from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) related to mask wearing in schools:

• After March 11, 2022, the universal masking requirement for K-12 and Childcare settings will terminate. CDPH strongly recommends that individuals in these settings continue to mask in indoor settings when the universal masking requirement lifts.

When students return to school on Monday, March 14, face masks will be optional. However, CDPH still strongly recommends wearing a mask, particularly for anyone who is at high risk of severe illness or who may share a home or care for someone at a higher risk. All children and adults should be respectful of any person who chooses to or not to wear a mask or take other precautions.

The reason I am reaching out to parents is because in other states around the country where schools have already transitioned to optional masking, one huge hurdle has been peer pressure and isolation, even bullying in some cases. Masking has become political, as everyone knows. With optional masking a week away, please discuss with your children how your family’s values as it relates to the masking option may differ from another family's values and how critical it is that we all respect each other's decisions. Thank you.

CDPH has only updated mask guidance at this point. It is expected that they will update all safety guidance related to COVID-19 in the coming weeks. Until the guidance is updated, we will continue with the following safety measures:

Utilize our COVID Help Center to contact-trace and work closely with County public health officials to support schools and families.

Provide free home-testing kits to students in quarantine or modified quarantine.

Provide free PCR and rapid COVID-testing at the Arlanza Public Library for anyone who wants to test.

Socially distance, whenever possible and as necessary.

Provide personal protective equipment (PPE), as necessary.

Disinfect all classrooms and campuses nightly using the Clorox® Total 360® System electrostatic sprayer.

Follow best respiratory hygiene practices in classrooms and on campuses.

Utilize air scrubbers in classrooms and other campus spaces to provide clean air at the source using medical-grade HEPA filtration.

Utilize hands-free water fountains.

Utilize plexiglass table shields and barriers in common spaces such as office spaces, cafeterias, and where staff congregate, when and if we are unable to socially distance.

In addition to discontinuing the mask requirement on all of our campuses beginning on Monday, March 14, we will also phase out other practices now that the COVID-19 Community Level is at the lowest level possible and is expected to continue to improve:

Desk shields in classrooms will no longer be utilized starting this coming week when schools will begin removing them from classrooms.

Certain activities and events will be reinstated if it can be determined that we can safely conduct them. However, we will continue to restrict large groups of people congregating in small indoors settings, at least until the new guidance determines that it is safe to do.

Guests and volunteers on campuses will no longer be restricted to the same degree they have been in the recent past, as long as the school can safely manage each situation.

Please help us prepare for your children in 2022-23. Take a few minutes to let us know if you plan to attend an Alvord school this coming year. To complete the form, you must be signed up for ParentSquare, our new communications platform. It takes less than 1 minute! Sign up here.

Below are the how-to-videos for confirming your Parent Square Account. Watch in English here

or in Spanish here or find them below.

Additional ParentSquare resources for parents and students can be found here.

Villegas Middle School has a longstanding partnership with the UC CalFresh program. Through this partnership, VMS presents wellness nights, parent presentations, and a multitude of special events at the school. Since 2020, VMS has worked with UC CalFresh experts to collaboratively design an enrichment course for sixth grade students that introduces them to gardening, healthy eating, and other food and consumer science topics. Check out an article that features the program here.

Cases were down for the fourth consecutive week. Due to students and employees testing before they returned last Monday, we only had four cases requiring contact tracing.

Monday - Friday:

• 18 students (down from 61 the previous week)
• 2 staff members (same as the previous week)

Students Identified Through Contact Tracing:

• 13 cases required contact tracing
• 65 students were placed in quarantine (ranging from isolation to modified quarantine)

Overall, as of the Friday before the break, including the first semester, we have had 387 staff members and 3,207 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 272 new cases (0.05% increase), equating to 11.3 cases per 100K (7-day average), 10 new deaths (0.2% increase), and a 3.8% test positivity (7-day rate), a 1.4% 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 reported. There are currently 169 COVID-19 hospitalized patients, 2 fewer patients hospitalized from the prior day total (1.2% decrease).

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's newly created Community Level COVID-19 rating system, the community level in Riverside County is 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 March 6, 2022, as reported on the State's tracking web site.

On behalf of your Board of Education, thank you for talking to your children about the changes in the works related to COVID-19 safety measures as we emerge from the worst of the COVID-19 winter surge. Younger children in particular may need help to understand the why’s and when’s of mask-wearing and other changes.

Stay tuned in the coming weeks for additional guidance from public health and state officials related to safety measures in schools.

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.

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