Important Information Regarding School Reopening Plans
Dear Parents and Guardians,
On Friday, Gov. Gavin Newsom presented new guidance for schools as we plan for the fall in the midst of the pandemic. This guidance is outlined in a document titled, COVID -19 Industry Guidance: Schools and School-Based Programs. The guidelines generally align with what we received through the county directives, including the necessity of wearing face coverings, ensuring physical distancing at six feet, and following health protocols. However, the document does give additional directions, and we will be reviewing and adjusting plans as appropriate.
The governor also required San Mateo County schools to move to a distance learning program should the county get placed on the state's "watch list." The document gives further guidance for school closure when there are positive cases of COVID-19 identified in the school community. While San Mateo County is not on the watch list as of this communication, some of the health data is approaching the threshold for this determination. We will continue to monitor these issues and be in communication with the Archdiocese of San Francisco's superintendent of Catholic Schools to determine if any of the changing health data in the county will impact our opening of school plans. Should we need to move to distance learning as a result of the changing health conditions, we will communicate plans accordingly. We will continue to explore all options over the next few weeks.
As was communicated this past Monday, the California Interscholastic Federation published athletic plans for the 2020-2021 school year. Following this mandate, the Central Coast Section on Tuesday released its sports calendar for 2020-2021 and the seasons will be compressed. Serra's Athletic Director Justin Ferdinand is working with our head coaches and the West Coast Athletic League to develop schedules for each participating sport.
This may all feel a bit overwhelming and the uncertainty is difficult for everyone. We will face this together as the Serra community, and we will keep our students, teachers and families at the forefront of our decision making.
Let's end with some good news. We have compiled data from both college acceptances of our graduated seniors, as well as AP scores from the entire school. All of our seniors were accepted to colleges throughout the country and were awarded more than $21 million in scholarships for academic excellence. The average pass rate for AP exams topped 81 percent as an average for our AP students -- in the middle of a shelter in place mandate! We are inspired that the students and their teachers performed at such a high level in the midst of the challenges.
