Dear MPCSD Families,
Welcome back! As Mid-Winter Break wraps up, we look forward to seeing all our kinders, first graders, and Hybrid Week A students in class, and our Hybrid Week B and Virtual Academy students online tomorrow, Monday, February 22. Thank you for all you have done to keep our schools open and our students engaged thus far - let’s keep it up!
Here are some important reminders about our return tomorrow.
Travel and Gathering
If your family traveled beyond the Bay Area, please follow San Mateo County’s guidelines and quarantine for 10 days before sending students back to campus. This is for your child’s health and the safety of all our teachers and staff and other students who are coming back together. The 10 days begin upon the actual day of your return home.
San Mateo County (and most of California) is still in the Purple (Widespread) Tier and gatherings are limited to outdoors only with a maximum of three masked households. If you engage in gatherings indoors or with large groups, please consider keeping students home and monitoring for COVID symptoms for 10 days since you last gathered. Social gatherings are one of the most common ways that COVID is spread, and it can take several days for symptoms to appear. Risky gatherings include sleepovers, indoor playdates, birthday parties, extended family dinners, etc. Please refrain from these activities until our health officers deem them safe.
COVID Testing
Please continue to have your in-person students regularly tested for COVID; we recommend at least every two weeks. The Curative kiosk at Ringwood and Middlefield operates M-F, 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. for your convenience. There are many other local testing options listed at our FAQ site.
Very soon, you will begin to see added questions to our mandatory daily health screener. The new questions will require parents to answer whether their child has been tested within a specified period of time. Please answer the question honestly and daily when you begin to see it appear.
Vaccination & Possible Temporary Closure of In-Person
We have been working hard for weeks behind the scenes to prepare for vaccination events for all SMC educators. Many of our staff have begun to receive the vaccine or have appointments scheduled over the next 6 weeks.
Please note that on a moment’s notice we may need to close a classroom, site, or the entire district to in-person instruction for a day or two over the next two months. Mass vaccination events and/or limited substitute teacher supply will be the reason. It is very common for the second dose of the vaccine to cause flu-like symptoms for one or two days. We will keep you posted and appreciate your support; this is an unfortunate reality, but one that is well worth the protection it will provide our hard-working teachers and staff.
While children under 16 likely won’t have vaccine access until next year, the rest of the population should become eligible throughout the spring and summer. When it is your turn to get a vaccination, please consult your doctor and consider getting the vaccine for the health and safety of our whole community. The more people who are vaccinated, the more “normal” life will become.
Independent Study Plans (ISP)
We expect that you will do the right thing and keep your children home if you engaged in high-risk behaviors (as defined by SMC Health); in this case, you will request an ISP for your child to keep up with their school work. ISPs are made available to help you keep your child and our community safe, but they are not an equivalent substitute for attending in-person or virtual school. Please use them sparingly. Every school has made the ISP process simpler; please see your school’s Sunday newsletter or call the front office for instructions on how to request an ISP.
Spring and Fall?
We are receiving lots of questions about how the changing COVID conditions will impact in-person learning this spring and our plans for next fall. As we have since COVID first appeared, we will continue to keep you updated as we know/learn more. Stay connected to Board meetings, site and district newsletters, and my regular emails for the most up-to-date information. We won’t leave you in the dark.
In other news...MPCSD’s Financial Planning
You probably know that we are engaged in a multi-year planning process for the district’s long-term financial health. The School Board and district leadership are considering ways to create systemic operational efficiencies while maintaining our excellent whole-child programming. Our financial plan will include cost savings and a replacement parcel tax. School Board President Sherwin Chen wrote a Guest Opinion in the Almanac explaining MPCSD’s process and inviting the community to participate in our decision making; I encourage you to read it for more details. As always, I am grateful for our Board’s advocacy and leadership.
Please join us via Zoom this week at one of our Community Engagement Sessions or at the special Board Meeting to make your voice heard:
Monday, February 22, 7-8 p.m. Engagement Session, RSVP here.
Thursday, February 25, 10-11 a.m. Engagement Session, RSVP here.
Saturday, February 27, 9:30-10:30 a.m. Engagement Session, RSVP here.
Love our schools? Help keep them world-class. We need YOU!
A replacement parcel tax for the expiring Measure X will be one of the ways we provide long-term financial stability for MPCSD. A campaign team is forming now, led by district parent and PTO and OCC leader Azadeh Rasmussen. It will take help from parents across the district to run a successful campaign. Volunteering for this effort is also a wonderful way to get involved, advocate for your child’s education, and meet amazing friends from all our schools. If you are interested in joining the Friends of Menlo Park Schools team, please complete this form and someone will contact you. There are roles for every level of interest, expertise, and time commitment. Thank you for considering giving your time for this very important cause.
I hope you were able to take some time away from screens this past week and enjoy your family. We certainly enjoy having you as part of the MPCSD family, and hope to connect with you soon as we together come through the pandemic and strengthen our excellent schools.
Sincerely,
Erik Burmeister
