Original article courtesy San Mateo Daily Journal
By Sierra Lopez
Daily Journal staff
Jan 29, 2022
While COVID-19 cases appear to be on the decline in San Mateo County, education officials say they plan on remaining vigilant against the virus while holding onto hope their primary focus will shift from the pandemic response back to educating children.
“We are cautiously optimistic that COVID-19 cases will continue to decline in San Mateo County. However, our district will remain diligent with regard to our health and safety protocols, so that we can continue to ensure the well-being of our community,” Dr. Shawnterra Moore, South San Francisco Unified School District superintendent, said.
Like most sectors, school communities were hit hard by the omicron variant, a far more contagious strain of COVID-19 which caused a historic surge of cases in the county. Health officials have said they anticipate the Peninsula could begin to feel relief from the surge by mid- to late February but noted the region has a long way to go until it’s reached safe levels of transmission.
County Superintendent Nancy Magee said she hopes the county’s high vaccination rate will also put the current surge “in the rearview mirror.”
In her COVID-19 update, Magee noted pediatric vaccinations have continued to increase with more than 61% of children ages 5 to 11 having received at least one dose and nearly 50% being fully vaccinated.
“What I’m looking forward to and what we’re thinking as a Bay Area region is getting ready now to scaffold back to teaching and learning and being in a space where we can put more of our energy back to that,” Magee said.
But some safety measures like testing and masking will likely remain fixtures of everyday life for school communities for the foreseeable future, Magee said. And district officials say they’re not ready to let up on safety measures just yet.
At SSFUSD, where hundreds of students and staff have contracted the virus in the past few weeks, Moore said campuses will continue weekly group testing and using air purifiers and ultraviolet disinfection machines.
Dr. Darnise R. Williams, superintendent of Sequoia Union High School District, also said guards will remain up at campuses. The district has been the hardest hit during the recent surge with more than 1,700 students and staff members having contracted the virus since the start of the school year.
“Although our data does not indicate that we have peaked, the Sequoia Union High School District continues to work diligently to ensure that our community has access to testing and PPE,” Williams said. “As the omicron surge begins to decrease, we know that we cannot drop our guard, as the pandemic has not yet been declared over by health care experts.”
Conditions have improved on San Mateo-Foster City School District campus, said Superintendent Diego Ochoa. Many students stayed home at the start of the spring semester but attendance has bounded back to about 92% this week which he said is a testament to collaborative efforts between teachers, staff, administrators and parents.
“The San Mateo-Foster City School District has continued its many layers of mitigation strategies to help slow the spread of COVID-19,” Ochoa said in an email. “The school district is hopeful these cases continue to decline but we remain persistent and resilient to the unprecedented waves COVID-19 may bring to our community.”
On San Mateo Union High School District campuses, all students who participate in extracurricular activities or athletic activities are expected to submit to testing regardless of vaccination status, Superintendent Kevin Skelly said in a COVID-19 update to his school community on Thursday, Jan. 27. The district will also be resume contact tracing efforts, a measure that was stalled in earlier weeks after staff members were overwhelmed by the number of reported cases, Skelly told district trustees during a previous board meeting.
Skelly told his school community the countywide dip in cases is a positive sign while noting students should begin planning for a districtwide vaccination mandate by the beginning of the next school year.
“My sense is that we’re collectively regaining our footing after the overwhelming increase in omicron cases at the beginning of January,” Skelly said in his address to the district. “As always, there are reasons for optimism and pessimism. Isn’t there cause to be hopeful as omicron crests and schools have a sense of normalcy? I think so.”
Magee highlighted a number of measures that have helped districts navigate the first difficult weeks of the semester including existing safety measures implemented ahead of the fall semester, testing support from the state provided before the spring semester and the California Department of Public Health’s adoption of a shortened isolation period recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and prevention.
Reflecting on the response from school districts to the recent surge and the pandemic as a whole, Magee lauded educators and school officials for persevering through the crisis and educating the public while responding to changing conditions.
“It continues to be true that what our schools have done over the last two years is nothing short of miraculous. The strain and stress on those systems have been just unbelievable,” Magee said. “It’s been amazing and really only successful because [of] the depth and commitment our educators have for our kids. Without their heart and passion, they wouldn’t have been able to do this.”
(650) 344-5200 ext. 106