The California Department of Public Health has updated its guidance. Schools are now eligible to open on the first day a county is in the Red Tier (i.e., the Wednesday following the Tuesday announcement of the weekly county tier assignments on the Blueprint website). The Blueprint is published on Tuesday, and schools may reopen as early as the next day (Wednesday). If our current trends continue, we have set a projected in-person opening date of March 15 for grades 7 - 12 with Hybrid Learning. Of course, this depends on local health conditions, which we know can change quickly. Please make sure you are quickly responding to the information our secondary schools are sending out.
COVID-19 Dashboard We want to be transparent about our efforts to keep schools COVID-19 free, so we created the UUSD COVID-19 Dashboard. We will post all positive COVID-19 incidents related to Ukiah Unified school sites and offices to this page. For the purposes of this dashboard, UUSD is distinguishing between school-based cases and community-based cases. Each positive case of students or staff members that have been on campus 10 days prior to testing positive for COVID-19 will be reported weekly in this dashboard. Contact tracing will be conducted, and each case will be classified as described below.
- School-Based Cases If contact tracing determines that the positive COVID case may have been contracted at the school site, it will be reported as “School-Based”.
- Community-Based Cases If contact tracing determines that the positive COVID case may have been contracted outside of school, it will be reported as “Community-Based”.
- Undetermined If contact tracing does not determine the source of exposure, it will be reported as “Undetermined”.
COVID-19 Testing We will begin student COVID-19 testing next week. We are so excited to offer this service to our families who are involved in the in-person program. To participate, please register here. Students will swab their own noses under guidance from District staff. You will need to know the Student ID for each child to sign them up. COVID testing is one of the many strategies we are using to keep our campuses healthy. You are highly encouraged to participate! The healthier we can keep our campuses, the longer we will be able to keep our in-person learning programs open. The COVID-19 tests we are administering are the 15-minute rapid antigen tests. Please call your child's school site for questions about student IDs, and when, where, and how often testing will happen. For questions about the test, please contact Ukiah Unified Communications Officer Doug Shald at 707.472.5005 or [email protected].
In-person Learning Tips for Parents and Guardians of Elementary Students
- Bring Chromebooks fully charged with chargers.
- Dress students warmly; doors and windows are open to increase ventilation. Consider dressing in layers.
- Wear comfortable clothing and shoes that are easy to tie or have velcro.
- Snacks from home should be easy to open. Staff will not be able to assist children as they have in the past.
- Drop off can be a stressful time, so please be ready before getting out of the car. Masks on, school items ready, and well wishes said. That way, the start of the day is smooth, organized, and encouraging!
Help ensure our return to school will be safe and healthy for everyone by reinforcing these crucial COVID-19 mitigation strategies with your children:
- Wear A Mask CDPH Mask Guidance
- Physical Distancing CDC Physical Distancing Guidelines
- Hand Hygiene CDC When and How to Wash Your Hands
- Screening At Home Anyone who feels sick or is experiencing a fever or any COVID-19 symptoms must stay home.
- No Visitors Parents and Guardians will not be permitted on campus without an appointment and must remain in their vehicles during drop-off and pick-up.
- COVID-19 Testing You are strongly encouraged to allow your child to participate in our COVID-19 testing program.
Visit the UUSD COVID Response Website to learn more about our phased reopening to a hybrid model, health protocols, mitigation, testing, and more.
UUSD Social-Emotional and Mental Health Resources
UUSD Distance Learning Resources
If you need assistance, please first reach out to your child’s school and then call our District Hotline at 707-472-5003. Thank you very much for everything you do to support our students, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!