We hope that you are enjoying the last week of summer break. Our schools are ready and our teachers are back preparing to meet the needs of our students when they return for in-person learning with our full schedule beginning the first day of school at 8:30 am on Tuesday, August 10. We are excited to greet our students on campus for the great school year that awaits.

At this point, we hope you have completed your online registration for your student(s) with data corrections, residency verification and the web store. Walkthrough registration will take place on Monday, August 9, at which time student class schedules will be available. If you have questions about online and walkthrough registration, check your school’s website or contact the school directly.

Some important information follows pertaining to school health and safety precautions and recent changes in California law:

Masking in Schools:

Students are asked to screen each day prior to coming to school for COVID-19 symptoms and exposure to COVID-19 positive individuals. Students with symptoms or exposure should remain home and contact their medical provider and the school attendance office.

Physical Distancing:

Evidence indicates that in-person school can occur safely without minimum distancing requirements. While distancing is encouraged especially if unmasked outdoors or eating indoors, there are not distancing requirements.

As a precaution, our classrooms will remain well ventilated prior to student arrival and after student departure, and MERV-13 filters will continue to be used.

Our cashless cafeterias will fully function, but students will be encouraged to eat outdoors.

Classrooms and other spaces will be cleaned daily. Classroom and school high touchpoints and the bathrooms will be cleaned throughout the school day. Students will be encouraged to clean their work space with available sanitation wipes.

Contract Tracing and Quarantine:

Positive cases among students and staff will result in robust contact tracing. Contacts are considered individuals who are within 6 feet for a cumulative 15 minutes over a 24 hour period. Vaccinated contacts who are asymptomatic will not be placed on quarantine. Unvaccinated contacts who are asymptomatic will be placed on quarantine consistent with CDPH requirements.

Vaccination:

COVID-19 vaccination of all staff and eligible students is our best strategy to mitigate risk to all. Student vaccination is not a requirement in California public schools at this time, but we encourage all unvaccinated eligible students to seek guidance regarding vaccination from their health care provider.

Parents are encouraged to call in lieu of school visits and to schedule an appointment when possible. Parents who come to the campus during the school day must report to the main office and wear a mask when indoors regardless of vaccination status (consistent with current health orders).

We currently still await anticipated guidance from CDPH regarding sports, performing arts and other school activities. In the interim, we will follow the general guidance of universal masking while indoors for these activities.

Students requesting a letter grade replacement must complete Letter Grade Replacement Form by August 17, 2021. Forms received after August 17 will not be accepted and the letter grade earned will remain on the transcript. Forms must be submitted to the school registrar’s office. 

Students and families should note that some postsecondary institutions, in California or other states, may not accept a Pass or No Pass grade instead of a letter grade for admission purposes. To access a list of postsecondary institutions that have informed the California Department of Education that they will accept Pass or No Pass grades from the 2020-2021 school year, please go to this link. Statements regarding Pass/NoPass have been made by California’s public school systems: University of California and California State Universities.

Independent Study

The California budget trailer bill (AB/SB 130) was signed three weeks ago and included a mandate that school districts offer distance learning through independent study for students whose health would be put at risk by in-person instruction. Distance learning will not be offered through our comprehensive high schools. AUHSD students seeking distance learning would need to transfer to the Acalanes Center for Independent Study (ACIS) for the program. Additional information can be found at this website.