Reopening SSFUSD

Dear SSFUSD Community,

As we have navigated through the past few years of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have developed and refined our practices and protocols for providing safe learning opportunities for our students. Following Governor Newsom’s announcement on February 28, 2023, in which he indicated that the COVID-19 State of Emergency has ended, many of our state, county, and local agencies also discontinued various resources, testing, and other COVID-19-related services.

While we acknowledge the importance of maintaining safe and healthy schools, and the ongoing importance of following COVID-19 prevention measures in accordance with state and county guidance, we are discontinuing COVID-19 case notifications to our school communities. In addition, individual student exposure notifications will no longer be sent unless a classroom experiences an outbreak, which is defined as 3 or more linked cases. If families have unique circumstances regarding exposure, they are encouraged to reach out to their school office.

As a reminder, we will continue to follow the San Mateo County Office of Education’s (SMCOE) COVID-19 Safe Schools Framework, and guidance from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). Please note the following:

Students who test positive for COVID may return to school on Day 6 without providing proof of a negative test as long as symptoms have improved, and they are fever free.
Per state and local health guidance, schools are no longer required to verify student COVID test results to return to school.
State-sponsored COVID-19 testing has ended in San Mateo County.
PCR testing and rapid antigen test kits (home test kits) remain widely available through health care providers and pharmacies.

We believe an in-person education is critical to the well-being and success of students. The importance of routines and consistency with school time and student attendance is directly linked to academic success. However, for the safety of all students and staff, please do not send your student to school if they are sick or experiencing flu-like symptoms.

Additionally, we recommend the following measures to stay healthy during cold and flu season:

Avoid close contact with sick people.
Frequently wash hands with soap.
Stay at home if you are experiencing flu-like symptoms.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
Call the COVID-19 Hotline 1-833-422-4255 for general information
(Monday to Friday, 8 AM to 8 PM, Saturday to Sunday 8 AM to 5 PM).
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also offer a Guide to Flu for Parents.

The South San Francisco Unified School District (SSFUSD) will continue to work with local health officials to share helpful information. Thank you for your partnership in helping us keep our students and staff healthy.

Sincerely,
Dr. Shawnterra Moore
Superintendent

Superintendent's Message on Reopening 8-10-22

Dear SSFUSD Community,

Welcome to the 2022-23 school year! As we begin the new year, we want to make you aware of COVID-19 safety protocols we have in place to keep our staff, students and community safe.

Our district has updated our district reopening plan for 2022-23 to reflect current guidelines surrounding COVID-19. We ask that you take some time and review these guidelines. COVID-19 is an airborne virus, and although we no longer require face coverings, we strongly encourage all staff, students and visitors to continue to do so to prevent spreading.

We are following guidelines set forth by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), and they have produced the COVID-19 Public Health Guidance for K–12 Schools to Support Safe In-Person Learning, 2022–2023 School Year. This guidance highlights the following mitigation strategies:

Strongly recommends that all eligible individuals get vaccinated against COVID-19 and remain up to date to protect oneself and reduce transmission of the virus
Follow recommendations to improve indoor air-quality
Use Face coverings - “Strongly recommended”
Get tested when symptomatic using antigen tests
Maintain clean hands
Stay home when sick or with symptoms
Report COVID-19 cases to local health department
Manage students and staff diagnosed with COVID-19

In addition, we also follow the San Mateo County Office of Education COVID-19 Safe Schools Framework. This document was developed in consultation with San Mateo County Health and reflects CDPH and other relevant guidance for schools. This document is updated throughout the year as needed. This document provides information and guidance on: physical distancing; eating at school; testing; hang hygiene; cleaning, staying home when sick and test; student and staff symptoms, diagnosis and exposure; gatherings and training.

To help mitigate the spread of COVID-19, vaccines are strongly recommended from CDPH. Vaccines for children younger than 5 recently became available. Please take advantage of the multiple pathways available to protect you and your family through your health care provider or pediatrician, through CVS and Rite Aid pharmacies, California's My Turn effort, and the San Mateo County Health Department. Free, COVID-19 test kits are also available for order through the United States Postal Service (USPS) at:

https://special.usps.com/testkits.

We ask that you follow the direction of our school site Principals in keeping students and staff safe. This year, we are requiring volunteers to show proof of vaccination or a weekly negative COVID-19 test to be on campus. We also ask that you keep your child(ren) home if they are sick and report that information to the school office. If your child tests positive for COVID-19, please notify the school as soon as possible. Lastly, we ask that your emergency contact information is updated to ensure we are able to get ahold of someone in case of an emergency.

We are looking forward to a fantastic 2022-23 school year of learning, excitement and togetherness.

In gratitude,
Dr. Shawnterra Moore
Superintendent

Superintendent's Message on Reopening 8-11-21

Dear SSFUSD Community,

Even though many school districts in California and around the country are experiencing some levels of positivity on their campuses, I know it’s unnerving that positive COVID-19 cases are occurring in our district. However, I want to reassure you that SSFUSD remains diligent about following all health and safety protocols from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) including universal indoor masking, implementation of isolation strategies for both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals, contact tracing, implementation of our communication protocols, opening windows and doors, and initiating our cleaning and disinfecting processes, which include utilizing our hospital-grade mobile disinfection units. In addition, we have provided portable air purifiers in every classroom and other areas of the school where they are needed.

The health and safety mitigation strategies we have in place will continue to be followed, and we will continue to remind our community of the protocols we have developed, because we recognize how important it is for students to be in school, in-person for their learning, social interaction, and development

Additionally, I want our community to know that we don’t make health and safety protocol decisions in isolation. SSFUSD works in consultation and collaboration with the San Mateo County Health Department and the San Mateo County Office of Education when we are notified of a positive case on campus. We remain grateful to our public health partners who continue to guide our local response and who keep us informed of the most current information related to safe and healthy schools.

In addition to the aforementioned strategies, you may recall that our district deployed new, hospital-grade, mobile disinfection units that use ultraviolet C (UV-C) rays to eliminate 99.9% of viruses and pathogens from the air and physical surfaces. To optimize air flow and ensure the highest possible air quality, we also hired a firm to inspect the mechanical ventilation systems at our schools, and we had the HVAC specialist in our district install the recommended MERV 13 air filters and make adjustments to the ventilation system at our sites to provide the maximum flow of fresh air into the classrooms. We have purchased portable air filters for all classrooms and will provide hand sanitizer.

We will continue to promote and encourage all individuals to stay home when sick, and we will continue to follow the latest cleaning and disinfection guidelines from CDPH. Again, we highly encourage all families to get vaccinated. Vaccines remain the most powerful tool in the fight against COVID-19, including the Delta variant. Multiple pathways are available through your healthcare provider, through CVS and Rite Aid pharmacies, California's My Turn effort.

Sincerely,

Dr. Shawnterra Moore

Superintendent

Mitigation Measures

Purchased essential protective equipment
Placed signage at schools
Placed plexiglass barriers in school offices
Installed MERV13 air filters in HVAC systems
Purchased air purifiers for all classrooms
Developed and implemented more stringent sanitizing and disinfecting procedures
Provided additional training for custodial staff
Purchased hospital-grade UV-C room sanitizing machines
Implemented face covering requirements based on County Health Department order
Implemented physical distancing guidelines based on County Health Department recommendations
Adjusted compatible HVAC systems to provide the maximum amount of fresh air flow

SSFUSD has revised its reopening plan to comply with updated requirements and guidance from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), San Mateo County Health Department, and San Mateo County Office of Education (SMCOE) in time for the start of the 2022-23 school year. SSFUSD's reopening plan is fluid and will be updated periodically.

Opening SSFUSD Safely

Get Vaxxed Get Tested leaflet bilingual