Good evening Alcott School Community,
Happy 2022! I hope you all had a relaxining break. Being with friends and families MATTERS! We are looking forward to an exciting and healthy return to school!
Right before break, your child brought home a free antigen In-home Covid Testing Kit that was provided by the State of California CDPH. This kit contains two tests, one to be administered - December 31st (3 days before the return to school) and one to be used the morning we return (1/3/22).
While testing is NOT required, we hope you will support your child or children in taking these two tests to help us ensure the health and safety of our school community. CDHP hopes families will register the kids with the CDPH portal and report the results, however, families do not have to report their results, nor is this a condition to return. The below message has been sent to all families in SDUSD and includes additional information and instructions. (I am including it again for your review).
I am excited to see you and your children on the crosswalk tomorrow.
Ready for an amazing 2022 school year.
UBUNTU (Alcott Staff + Alcott Students and Families = A campus that puts kids, staff, and our community as the priority)
Principal Lewis.
Subject: Reminder to Use Your At-Home COVID Test Kit on Monday Morning!
Dear San Diego Unified Family,
We are excited to welcome you back to campus tomorrow! Let’s continue working together to keep San Diego Unified School District
one of the safest districts in the nation, as we do everything possible to guard against the rise in COVID-19 cases due to the Omicron variant. Together, we are “all in” on operating safely for a healthy and successful 2022.
San Diego Unified is prepared to safely welcome back all students. We will continue following our safety protocols, which are some of the strictest in the country. These include widespread vaccination; regular testing; universal masking, indoors and outdoors; comprehensive sanitizing efforts; frequent hand washing; upgraded air filtration systems; and collaboration with health partners and agencies to adapt our safety standards to remain responsive to the changing conditions of the pandemic. We also have Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for schools.
School leaders have been working hard to prepare for a safe return to campus tomorrow. Here is what you can do to help:
While it is not required to get tested prior to returning to school, we are encouraging students and staff to test prior to returning to campus.
1. San Diego Unified provided a kit of two COVID-19 rapid antigen tests for students to
self-test at home before returning to campus tomorrow. We encourage students to use the iHealth COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Test Kit they brought home prior to winter break.
- Please note that any student who has had a COVID-19 infection in the past 90 days should not use the at-home test kit. The test may be positive because of a prior infection.
- If your students have any COVID-19 symptoms and/or has had a known exposure to someone with COVID-19, please keep them home and call your school for next steps before their return.
- If your students test positive for COVID-19, keep them home and contact your family doctor and school right away to follow any further instructions before returning to campus.
- Whether your results are positive or negative, please report the results at https://my.primary.health/l/sdusd_testing.
- Additional details on how and when to use these self-administered COVID-19 tests can be found on this instructional flyer - English | Karen | Somali | Spanish | Swahili | Tagalog | Vietnamese
2. Students can get tested at their school starting the first week back in January by opting in to regular, on-site testing through Responsive Lab Partners. To opt in to testing, visit the
Primary Health Portal to register for an account for your child. Please sign the consent in the portal and select the school that your child attends.
Screening
Home screening is also critically important. To stop the spread and keep our schools open, we need families to screen each and every morning before sending your student to school. Students who exhibit symptoms will be sent home until their school can rule out COVID-19 as the cause.
Students with any of the following symptoms should stay home from school until a negative COVID-19 test can be confirmed and the symptoms improve:
- Fever (100.4°F/38°C or higher) or chills
- Cough
- Headache
- Sore throat
- Loss of taste or smell that started in the last 10 days (Unlike the Delta variant, many patients with Omicron are not losing their taste or smell)
- Feeling out of breath or having a hard time breathing
- Diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting
- Fatigue
- Muscle aches or body aches
Get vaccinated
Safe and effective vaccines are now available for all students over the age of 5.
1. Students and their families are encouraged to visit the district’s
COVID-19 Vaccine website for details on opportunities to get vaccinated for free at school sites in January.
2. Visit
MyTurn.ca.gov for information about getting a vaccine through walk-in and scheduled appointments.
All San Diego Unified employees were required to be vaccinated or seek accommodation by Dec. 20, 2021. Employees who have not done so are out of compliance with employment policy and subject to discipline, which could include loss of employment.
Finally, the CDC and the CDPH have recently updated their guidelines for isolation and quarantine times, but there is no updated guidance yet available for school employees; the County public health order has not changed. Once we receive updated guidance, we will realign our protocols as necessary. Our staff members are being directed to always use San Diego County’s COVID School Decision Tree
live. District policies will change in alignment with those updates.
We hope you and your family had a peaceful close to the calendar year and are ready to return to school tomorrow for an outstanding 2022! Thank you for all you do to make our students and schools safe and successful.
Sincerely,
San Diego Unified COVID-19 response team