Superintendent

I’m writing to inform you that our school board voted yesterday to keep our middle and high school students in distance learning for the remainder of the school year, while preparing for summer school and a fall 2021 reopening. Our district will continue to look for ways to serve middle and high school students most in need by expanding learning hubs and other measures. In the meantime, TK-5 students will have the option to return to campus for two hours of in-person instruction starting April 19, 2021.

San Mateo County recently returned to the red tier of the state’s color-coded system which tracks the number of positive COVID-19 cases by counties. Red means “Substantial”, which means schools, may reopen for in-person instruction after they have remained in the red tier for 14 days. This development coupled with our January 28 decision to allow athletic participation with modified seasons and schedules for the 2021 spring semester has prompted our school board to continue exploring ways to bring students safely back on campus.

I wanted to take the opportunity to share with you that we have worked tirelessly with the County of San Mateo and the San Mateo County Office of Education (SMCOE) to get our district employees vaccinated. Our district is part of a regional working group that includes other San Mateo County school districts. The San Mateo County Health Department has agreed to prioritize vaccines for employees working at school districts with the most resourced challenged students in the following order:

On December 10, our school board decided that SSFUSD will remain in distance learning until San Mateo County’s COVID-19 case rates return to the “moderate” or “orange tier” of the state’s color-coded tracking system. In the meantime, SSFUSD has been focused on expanding learning hubs to assist students who may be struggling with distance learning.

As we celebrate the holidays, we must be mindful of protecting our health and that of our family members. This may mean postponing gatherings with extended family or limiting them to immediate family members this year.

We want to thank and acknowledge the South San Francisco Fire Department’s prompt response for keeping our schools and community safe by quickly putting out the fire on Sign Hill and the subsequent industrial fire in the Canal district two weeks ago. This is another reminder of just how much the safety of our schools depend upon the larger community. In keeping with this same theme, I want to take this time to inform you that our school board has tentatively selected January 19, 2021, as a possible target date for transitioning to phase 2 of our reopening plan.

South San Francisco Unified School District (SSFUSD) is employing a crowdsourcing platform called ThoughtExchange to gather input from parents, students, and staff regarding the district's relationship with the South San Francisco Police Department (SSFPD).

On September 22, 2020, San Mateo County moved into the red tier (tier 2) of the State of California’s new COVID-19 tracking system. The red tier means there is “substantial” spread of the COVID-19 virus in the county. According to the state’s new tracking system: “Schools may not reopen fully for in-person instruction until the county has been in the Substantial (Red) Tier for two weeks.” (14 consecutive days)

On August 31, the State of California changed the way it monitors counties for COVID-19. The new rating system is color-coded and tracks counties by: (1) the number of COVID-19 cases recorded each day and (2) the percentage of positive cases identified after testing over seven days.

Sending you warm wishes for a happy and safe upcoming Labor Day! We are almost through the first full month of school, and I’m happy to report that, despite challenges presented by COVID-19, the recent wild fires, and ongoing concerns about injustice in the United States, our students, parents, staff and teachers are persevering and finding ways to adapt.