Oct. 5, 2021
Dear Superintendents and School Leaders,

I am writing with several updates since my last message.

Decision Tree Updated  
As I shared last week, the San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) and county public health officials recently met with a stakeholder group to determine how to update the COVID-19 Decision Trees for K-12 Schools for better clarity and detail. We are pleased to share an updated decision tree in English that reflects this effort; the Spanish version will be available later this week.

Notable additions include a separate tree for people who are asymptomatic and test positive for COVID-19, and decision sequences now include the requirement that when a person with symptoms has a negative antigen finding, confirmation with a lab-processed molecular sample collected within 48 hours is needed. In addition, further clarity is provided around when a test sample should be collected for modified quarantine, and when isolation begins for an asymptomatic person who tests positive and later develops symptoms. Finally, the document now also includes a list of frequently asked questions.

State Vaccination Mandate Webinar
The Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) will be hosting their weekly Legislative Lunch Break at 1 p.m. tomorrow to discuss the state vaccination mandate. They have three guests joining who should have some great insight on the topic:
  • Ben Chida, chief deputy cabinet secretary for Gov. Newsom
  • Brooks Allen, education policy advisor for Gov. Newsom and executive director of the State Board of Education
  • Dr. Sohil Sud, co-lead of the California Department of Public Health Safe Schools for All and UC San Francisco professor of pediatrics

Watch the session on the ACSA YouTube or Facebook pages.

Supporting Student and Staff Mental Health
The COVID-19 pandemic has presented mental health challenges for many people. Released last year by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Supporting Student and Staff Mental Health Toolkit provides seven suggestions to address mental health and resiliency in school settings, including ideas for bringing family voice into the conversation. 

Thank you for all that you do. As always, please reach out if you have any questions.

Sincerely,
Paul

Dr. Paul Gothold
San Diego County Superintendent of Schools
phone: 858-295-6641