Dear SPUSD Families,

What a terrific day! We are off to an incredible start to the 2021-2022 school year. It has been a busy and wonderful time welcoming everyone back to school. I enjoyed seeing many smiling eyes throughout the District this morning. Thank you for all your support and encouragement as we embark on full-time, in-person learning.

 

As you may have heard, yesterday Governor Gavin Newsom announced that California will require public schools to verify that employees are fully vaccinated or they must be tested regularly. For all of Los Angeles County, which has 80 school districts, education officials have estimated that about 83% of K-12 school district employees are vaccinated. Unvaccinated SPUSD employees will be required to complete weekly COVID-19 testing.

 

Beginning next Tuesday, August 17, 2021, SPUSD will be providing weekly surveillance testing for employees and students. In-season, student athletes will be tested weekly for safety purposes. For all other students, surveillance testing is optional. Here is more information about surveillance testing including the registration link. Please note that to participate in testing you must register your child by the Friday prior to the test day. To test next week, you must register before 11:59 p.m. tomorrow, August 13.

 

Vaccination is our first line of defense against COVID-19. If you are seeking an appointment to be vaccinated, visit the LADPH website for more information. We are confident in the many layered mitigation measures that are in place at all of our schools. The SPUSD COVID-19 Containment, Response & Control Plan (posted here) is updated regularly and aligned with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health protocols. This plan goes into greater detail about each of the mitigation measures that are in place.

 

While this school year will certainly present new challenges, I’m optimistic that this will be a fantastic year for our students. It is up to all of us to make this happen. Please enjoy these first day of school photos from around our campuses. I look forward to everything we will achieve together.

 

Regards,

 

Geoff Yantz, Ed.D.
Superintendent