Superintendent's Message on the Start of the 2022-23 School Year: 8-10-22

Dear SSFUSD Community, 
  
Welcome to the 2022-23 school year! I hope you all had a chance to rest and rejuvenate yourselves over the summer. We are enthusiastically anticipating your student(s) return for this upcoming year. As we begin the new year, we want to make you aware of some new changes as well as several projects that we will be kicking off this year!

 

 

Last year, we saw the formation of a new Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee (EDIC). This committee will help us continue to align our educational efforts with the goal of improving equity and access for our students, especially those most in need. We will continue to prioritize teaching and learning, professional learning, recruitment, talent development, and equitably allocating resources to meet the needs of all our students.  Unfortunately, some of the members had to leave our community for personal reasons, and, therefore, we are interested in selecting 4-6 new members this year. If you are interested, please complete an application here.

 

 

This year, SSFUSD will engage in a strategic planning process to map out our priorities, goals, and actions for the next several years. Your feedback and input are deeply desired, and your participation is highly encouraged! More information will be coming soon about this priority. 

 

 

This summer, our school board voted to place a $436 million bond measure on the ballot for this coming November to address the district’s $852 million plus in facility needs, as shared at the June 23, 2022, board meeting. If approved by voters, this new general obligation bond will help our district fund much needed facility improvements and build housing for our teachers and staff, so that we can maintain a high-quality workforce. These investments in our school infrastructure will keep our students safe, provide them with tools needed for a 21st century education, and make our families and community proud. We have set up a webpage to provide you the facts about the District’s facility needs and bond measure.  More information will be shared by the Bond Measure Campaign Committee in the near future.  To learn more about this bond measure, please visit:

 

 
Online Registration

 

Another project that we have been working towards for a while has been the implementation of an online registration system for our families. Applications for transitional kindergarten (TK) are still paper-based, but I’m happy to inform you that the 2022-23 school year is the first school year in which both new and continuing K-12 students will be able to enroll at SSFUSD via online registration. Please visit the following web page to learn more about this process: 

 

  
Free Breakfast and Lunch for 2022-23

 

Beginning in 2022-23, California will become the first state to implement a statewide Universal Meals Program for all school children. This means that all meals served in California K-12 public schools are free of charge to all students enrolled in the 2022-23 school year, regardless of their family income. Each student is entitled to a free breakfast and a free lunch if they want one. For more information and to see the times when breakfast is served at your school, please visit:  

 

 

COVID-19
 
We updated our district reopening plan for 2022-23 to reflect new guidelines surrounding COVID-19, which includes the use of face coverings at our schools and offices. Although no longer a requirement, we strongly encourage the continued wearing of masks indoors. COVID-19 is an airborne virus, and the development of new variants means we still need to be mindful about our health and that of others as we go about our daily activities. 

 

Vaccines for children younger than 5 recently became available. Governor Gavin Newsom’s requirement to add COVID-19 vaccinations to the list of annual inoculations students must receive in order to attend school is also scheduled to go into effect on July 1, 2023. This gives everyone one more year to get fully vaccinated and boosted. 

 

Please take advantage of the multiple pathways available to protect you and your family through your health care provider or pediatrician, CVS and Rite Aid pharmacies, California's My Turn effort, and the San Mateo County Health Department. Free, COVID-19 test kits are also available for order through the United States Postal Service (USPS) at: 

 

 

Thank you so much for entrusting your children’s education and well-being to us! I am excited by the promise of a new year and the prospect of new, positive experiences, especially for those who are joining us for the first time! Thank you for being part of SSFUSD! Our community is what makes SSFUSD such a special school district. Here’s to a wonderful year ahead! 

 

In gratitude, 
Dr. Shawnterra Moore 
Superintendent
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Estimada comunidad de SSFUSD,