Dear MPCSD Families and Staff,

The School Board held a special meeting last night to discuss potential triggers that would prompt the Board to return all students to distance learning. This discussion also came on the heels of Governor Newsom’s announcement that the State is prepared to place regions of California into “Stay at Home” orders due to surging demands on our hospitals’ Intensive Care Units. You may see my Board presentation here and continue reading for a summary of the Board's discussion.

So what do the potential new orders and the Board’s reaction to San Mateo County’s rising case rates mean for MCPSD?

What are the new regional Stay at Home orders?
The Governor introduced the state’s new regional approach to providing Stay at Home orders allowing different areas of the state to respond to more localized COVID data and ICU availability, recognizing that one size does not fit all in a state as large as California. The Governor described the five (5) regions to which a Stay at Home order would apply separately when a specific region’s ICU bed availability reaches 15%. The Bay Area region is least likely of the five regions to reach this threshold within the next few days. Based on the Governor’s statements and what I am hearing from local leaders, I am hopeful that SMC can make it to Winter Break without any change in our county’s orders. Read more about the regional Stay at Home order process here.

Would a new Stay at Home order close our schools?
No. The state has prioritized keeping schools open and has specifically stated that under the regional Stay at Home orders, schools that are already open can and should stay open unless there is evidence of spread within the local school district. 

What decision did the Board reach about return to distance learning triggers?
The School Board was unanimous in its thinking and reached the conclusion that the trigger to return to distance learning outlined in the Pandemic Recovery Framework (pages 20-21) would remain the Board’s only automatic trigger to close in-person learning. 

The Board acknowledged the sincerity and legitimacy of people’s concern regarding the rise of cases in the region. They also took time to remind one another and the community that the evidence both in research and our own experience in MPCSD is that the risk mitigation efforts are effectively stopping the spread of COVID in schools. See the presentation deck (slide 27) for links to articles.

The Board clarified their position on the triggers, but stopped short of providing specific metrics that would cause an automatic move of in-person classes to distance learning. The new, clarified standards for moving to distance learning are:

  1. Campus/District Spread: According to CDPH guidelines and the PRF, if an MPCSD school reports 5% of their in-person students and staff are COVID positive over a 14-day period of time, that school will move to distance learning. If 25% of MPCSD school sites are closed due to reaching the 5% threshold during the same 14-day period, then all district schools will move to distance learning. (In MPCSD, 25% equals two school sites; Upper and Lower Laurel are separate sites.)
  2. Local/State Health Directive: If, due to rising case and positivity rates, the San Mateo County Health Department or California Department of Public Health recommend schools to move to distance learning, MPCSD will most certainly take the lead of our health professionals, even if our local data continues to indicate a lack of spread within MPCSD.
  3. Air Quality: If the AQI, as measured by airnow.gov reaches 150 or more, MPCSD schools will return to distance learning until AQI falls below 150. 
  4. Lack of Substitute Staff: If an MPCSD class, grade level, or school site experiences a high number of quarantined staff for any reason and is unable to fill necessary positions, the Superintendent has the right to move that specific class, grade level, or school to distance learning for as many days as it takes to secure sufficient staffing. 
  5. Responsive Board Action: The Board is committed to meeting regularly (a minimum of every two weeks) when the county is in the purple, or highest, tier to discuss local and regional COVID data and to engage in robust public conversation and receive staff and parent input regarding whether the district should move to distance learning. 

While the Board stopped short of providing specific metrics, they recognized that they have Board meetings scheduled for December 17 and January 7 at which they will discuss the data trends and take public comment. They will determine on January 7 whether further meetings are necessary before the regularly scheduled meeting on February 11, 2021.

The Board intends to continue with in-person learning following breaks, including the December break. Further, the Board called upon all families to do right by our teachers and staff who have sacrificed so much to keep schools open when most other districts have not. They implored families who take risks over holidays to quarantine for 14 days after travel. They thanked those families who heeded the call and remain quarantined. They also thanked those families who avoided high risk holiday behavior so that schools can stay open, safely. 

Members of the Board and I recognize that these are extraordinarily difficult times, times that are likely to get worse before they get better. We take solace in knowing that the end to this pandemic crisis is nearing. As vaccines begin to be administered in California as early as next week, it is only a matter of time before we look at COVID-19 in the rearview mirror. Together...we can do this. 

What’s the future of Community COVID Testing? BIG Announcement Below…
At tonight’s Board meeting, I announced an expanded partnership between MPCSD and Curative with the deployment of a new daily walk-up COVID testing kiosk in Menlo Park. Beginning this coming Monday, December 7, the kiosk will be available Monday-Friday from 10:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m. at 201 Ravenswood Ave. This is the corner of Ravenswood and Middlefield, right across from MA High School. You may book an appointment at curative.com. This is the same testing process that Curative has been providing at Hillview, now with additional and more convenient capacity. Curative will offer a final testing “event” at Hillview on Friday, December 11; hybrid families will receive an email with a sign-up link early next week. Tonight's testing event will proceed as scheduled.

We are fortunate to be part of the county-wide effort to increase COVID testing availability in the south peninsula. All residents in East Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Atherton, Redwood City, Portola Valley, and Woodside are invited to use this resource especially when reporting in person to work or school. Testing is free to the consumer, funded by health insurance (for the insured) and CARESAct funds (for the uninsured). 

What else should you know?
Before I close out this communication, allow me to provide your family with a few important reminders and updates:

  • We request that Independent Study Plans are an option of last resort used when quarantine is necessary due to symptoms or travel. ISPs are an additional burden on our teachers. The fewer we have, the better for everyone involved. Please don’t expect the ISP experience to compare even to distance learning. ISPs will ensure your child continues the necessary learning (if they are held accountable at home by you to do so), but will not live up to your or our expectations of high quality learning. They are simply a means to an end during a very difficult time with no better options.
  • Kindergarten and first grade students will engage in asynchronous at-home learning next Thursday and Friday, December 10 & 11 to allow for parent-teacher conferences to occur. 
  • In addition to COVID-19, the Board is scheduled to engage in important discussions on December 17 regarding the district’s budget and timing of a parcel tax election to replace Measure X. We encourage community engagement and participation in these topics.

My heartfelt appreciation goes out to all staff and families for their continued engagement and confidence in MPCSD’s leadership. There are no perfect answers that will please everyone even in the best of times. During a pandemic the challenges are exponential. All of you have remained collaborative, positive, and flexible throughout this whole ordeal and I could not be more proud or grateful. THANK YOU!

In this with you,
Erik
Erik Burmeister, Superintendent | mpcsd.org
Governing Board
Stacey Jones, President
Sherwin Chen, Vice President
David Ackerman
Mark Box
Scott Saywell