Dear MPCSD Families,
It is with great relief and appreciation to the San Mateo County Office of Education and Health Department that I inform you that late this afternoon I received official word that all of our staff who work with students in person (Hybrid program) are invited to be vaccinated this Wednesday, February 24, by SMC Health.
This is an effort that several of my Superintendent colleagues and I have been pursuing with Dr. Nancy Magee, Superintendent of SMC Office of Education, to make a reality. Fortunately, SMC Health has been able to secure enough vaccines to provide the first dose to our in-person staff.
The challenge, of course, is that our in-person staff are scheduled to be with your children on Wednesday (if he/she/they is in Hybrid kinder, first grade, or A-week). To accommodate our teachers' ability to receive this potentially life-saving inoculation, it is necessary that we move Wednesday’s instruction to ALL virtual for the school district. If you are in Virtual Academy you are not impacted by the move to virtual on Wednesday; if you are B-week, some scheduled zooms may be postponed.
We recognize that this may create a challenge for those of you who are unable to identify childcare or keep your child home with you on Wednesday. For those families only, we will provide on-site childcare for your child(ren). If your child is scheduled to attend Growfit or Newton on Wednesday, please reach out to them directly for plans as their staff are also receiving priority vaccination. If you have a child in the Early Learning Center preschool, you will receive a direct message from them about their schedule’s impact.
On Tuesday morning, all kinder and first grade Hybrid families and all A-week 2nd-8th grade families will receive a follow up message (check Parent Square if you don’t see it in your email inbox) from their principal requesting the completion of a very short survey to indicate IF your child requires childcare on Wednesday.
Please understand, I am requesting that you do your best to keep your child(ren) home on Wednesday. The fewer kids we have on campus, the fewer challenges all of our staff members will have in accessing their vaccines. However, if you can’t secure child care, we understand and will provide safe and supportive care for your child with MPCSD staff who are not attending their appointments.
Individual teachers will communicate asynchronous learning for Wednesday and will also share information about class zoom meetings they expect their students to attend.
We will return to our normal A-week in-person schedule the following day, Thursday, February 25. Please accept my apologies for the inconvenience this may cause. I hope you join me in gratitude that our hard-working staff will move forward with greater peace of mind. Thank you for your ongoing support and flexibility.
If you have questions, please reach out to your school principal or assistant principal.
Sincerely,
Erik Burmeister
