Rebuilding RCS - In Response To Alameda County Moving Back To The Purple Tier

November 16, 2020

Good Evening RCS Parents/Guardians, Faculty, Staff, Administration, & Board,

In case you have not heard, Governor Newsom announced today that Alameda County will move back to the “Purple Tier” tomorrow, along with 27 other counties across California, due to an increased rate of confirmed COVID-19 cases. Additional changes to the “Blueprint for a Safe Economy” were also mentioned. Here is the full press conference.

Upon learning of the move back to the Purple Tier, I am sure you have several questions regarding how this impacts RCS. Will RCS now need to move back to Phase One - Virtual Learning? Will RCS be able to continue allowing students to come to campus?

Last Thursday the Superintendent’s Zoom Session with the Alameda County Public Health Department (ACPHD) and Alameda County Office of Education (ACOE) dealt with the heart of these questions. One Superintendent asked:

“In the event that the county moves back to the purple tier, how much advance notice will schools get about required campus closures?”

The response was, “If the county moves back to Purple, schools can remain open under current state guidance. If state changes restrictions or local conditions necessitated school closure, then this would change. If an individual school needs to close, this would be after working with ACPHD up to that point. Timing ultimately depends on the situation.”

At 6:33pm tonight I received confirmation that RCS is allowed to REMAIN OPEN.

RCS will continue to operate as it currently is and has been authorized to do so by ACPHD and ACOE. The Redwood Christian Elementary and Redwood Christian Middle School & High School guidelines and protocols are all based upon the guidance published by ACPHD and ACOE. Furthermore, the current thought is that no additional high school cohorts will be opened on campus until the start of the second semester, after enough time to quarantine following holiday celebrations. The final decision regarding additional high school cohorts will be made in December.

With the “Rebuilding RCS” plan, your family has the flexibility to make the best decision should you feel it is necessary to change from being on campus in a small cohort to online via Zoom. If a student is currently attending class on campus, parents can elect to transfer their child(ren) back to Phase One Virtual Learning until at least January 18. This date was selected to provide a two week quarantine period after the holidays. Returning to an on campus cohort would then be dependent upon available seats.

Furthermore, with the current rate of transmission, it is vitally important that everyone attending classes on campus is extra cautious in following health and safety protocols to keep students, faculty, staff, and their respective families safe. This includes following safety protocols during our upcoming school breaks such as, maintaining physical distance, wearing double lined cloth face coverings when within six-feet of others not in your immediate household, or if attending any gathering/holiday celebrations ensuring that no more than three different households are present .

To help ensure the safety of each person in an on-campus cohort, if if your family is unable to follow the Bay Area COVID-19 Recommendations for Holiday Gathering and Travel, then after Thanksgiving and/or Christmas Vacations, your children must attend school online via Zoom for two weeks. This will help to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 transmission in all RCS cohorts. After Thanksgiving and Christmas vacations the RCS “Daily Health Check-In” will have an additional question asking if your household followed this ACPHD guidance. Thank you in advance for your cooperation. We are all in this together!

Also, as I wrote in my update last week, if anyone in your family has any of the COVID-19 symptoms, please keep all of your children at home and until the “Return to School Criteria” has been verified by an RCS Administrator. Please call the campus office both when your child(ren) is/are absent and when they are ready to return to school.

Allow me to quote Dr. Moss, the ACPHD Interim Health Officer, who stated today that we need to “rise to the challenge and help flatten the curve … stay home for the holidays, wear masks, maintain at least 6 feet of distance, wash your hands frequently, and get your flu shot. Now more than ever, we must protect ourselves, our loved ones, and our neighbors with these simple strategies.”

If you have any questions don’t hesitate to ask.

In Christ,

Al Hearne II, PhD

Superintendent

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10 #GodsPurpose