ALVORD UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

Dear Members of the Alvord Community,

First, and foremost, thank you in advance for supporting our effort to COVID-test all of our students before we return to school following the 3-day weekend and Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday on Monday, January 17, 2022. If you did not receive my message to Slow the Spread by testing after the holiday weekend, find my message here or click on the image below. You will find information as well as a How-To video for the antigen rapid test.

Even if your children test negative on the antigen rapid test, thank you for continuing to be overly cautious by keeping your children home if they have a cough, fatigue or tiredness, congestion and runny nose, sore throat, headache, or even the slightest fever, at least until their symptoms improve.

We have averaged 3,689 absences a day during the first two weeks of school since returning from winter recess. That's roughly 1 out of every 5 students. But we began to turn a corner during the latter part of this week. On Friday we improved to 3,289 absences. There are some indicators regionally and nationally that point to the uptick of daily infections nearing its peak. Our improved attendance is one example of that trend locally.

Our employee absences have been significant too, also about 1 out of every 5 employees per day. But our team has done an incredible job of covering for missed assignments. We have job openings here if you can help. We are also still in need of substitutes in and out of the classroom.

The goal of testing before returning to school on Tuesday is to further slow the spread. Please test. Find instructional videos on how to test at home below in the news section.

Here are the changes:

• Prior to the updated guidance, students who tested positive were out of school for 10 days, at a minimum. Under the new guidance, students may return on Day 6 if they test negative on Day 5, and their symptoms have improved.
  
  
• Prior to the updated guidance, students on modified quarantine were not allowed to participate in after school programs and extra-curricular activities. Under the new guidance, they can participate unless they develop symptoms or test positive for COVID-19.
  
  
• Prior to the updated guidance, contact tracing was done to identify students in close proximity. Under the new guidance, contact tracing includes any student who was in a classroom or group (sport’s group, activity group, etc.) with a confirmed COVID-19 positive case.
  
  
• Prior to the updated guidance, students on modified quarantine were encouraged to test a minimum of twice-weekly. Under the new guidance, students are encouraged to test a minimum of once, 3 to 5 days after the known exposure. Of course, families can choose to test on their own as often as they would like, but we are limited to one test per student given our supply at any given time.
  

Please direct your questions about COVID-19 protocols to our COVID Help Center. See contact information below.

As of Friday, January 14, we have closed three classrooms since January 3 to prevent transmission of COVID. All three classrooms were at the elementary level.

As I noted in my message last Sunday, we will close classrooms or a school if public health officials determine that keeping the school open poses a substantial risk of school-wide or community spread. That determination would result from identifying and confirming a cluster of cases on a single campus (multiple connected COVID-19 cases that are linked by the same location or event within 14 days, outside of a household). A school could be closed for up to two weeks. What's more likely, however, is that a single classroom or multiple classrooms would have to quarantine for five to ten days while the school remains open for everyone else, as we have already had to do three times since January 3.

We may also have to temporarily close an entire school for decontamination or when massive contact tracing is necessary due to hundreds of students having been exposed. Or, we may have to temporarily close a school in response to significant absenteeism of staff and our inability to safely keep the school open. If we continue to strictly adhere to our safety measures and effectively manage infections, we can avoid a school closure. Everyone needs to do their part to stop the spread.

Total Positive Cases this week:

• 546 students (up from 103 last week)
• 36 staff members (down from 53 last week)

Students Identified Through Contact Tracing:

• 382 of the 546 cases required contact tracing.
• 1,531 students were placed in quarantine (ranging from isolation to modified quarantine)

Overall, as of Friday, January 14, including the first semester, we have had 220 staff members and 1,415 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 7,500 new cases (1.6% increase), equating to 223.1 cases per 100K (7-day average), 13 new deaths (0.2% increase), and a 33.3% test positivity (7-day rate), which is a 0.8% increase from the previous week. Since many people are now testing with antigen rapid tests, the positivity rate is estimated to be much higher since all cases are not recorded.

There are currently 991 COVID-19 hospitalized patients in Riverside County, 15 more patients hospitalized from prior day total (1.5% increase). This data is as of January 15, 2022, as reported on the State's tracking web site.

For context, as of January 15, 2022, Riverside County's 7-day average of 223.1 is below the statewide average of 231.9, and well below our neighboring Los Angeles County's 342.1 cases. San Diego County reports 286.7 cases. San Bernardino County reports 224.6 cases, and Orange County reports 221.3 cases.

On behalf of your Board of Education, I hope you are able to safely celebrate tomorrow's Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and day of service. Unfortunately, the current surge has shut down the annual MLK, Jr. Walk-a-thon in Riverside, for the second year in a row. Nonetheless, there's plenty of ways to serve, including the annual Keep Riverside Clean and Beautiful event hosted by the Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce.

While muted holiday celebrations have become the norm during the pandemic, the spirit of those occasions can never be muted. In the case of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., his dream that people not pre-judge each other based singularly on the color of a person's skin but instead based on the content of a person's character, is a moral principle that makes the world a better place.

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