April 28, 2021

Dear SFUSD Staff:

As we welcome thousands of students to in-person learning this month and continue to provide distance learning, I want to extend a thank you for all that you’re doing in service of all students and families. Please read today’s digest for important updates.

Return Safely Updates

SFUSD has welcomed over 19,000 students back to in-person learning since April 12, with connection, learning and health as our top priorities during the Return Safely Together effort. Continue reading for more updates.  

• Almost 2,000 middle and high school students in focal populations returned on April 26. Middle school and high school start and end times for in-person learning have been posted on the SFUSD website. 
• SFUSD continues to implement health and safety guidelines to slow the spread of COVID-19 as students return to in-person learning. Learn what custodial staff are doing to help maintain healthy environments, including the frequency of cleaning and disinfection by room type at school sites.
• We are still exploring the possibility of offering in-person learning for high school seniors beyond the focal populations before the end of the 2020-2021 school year. SFUSD will be conducting an interest survey among families of high school seniors regarding their interest in returning to in-person learning for a few weeks this spring. 

Student Testing

• The Color website is the best source for testing dates and days for both student and pick up days and times for staff testing. 
• Student COVID Testing FAQ and registration information for students:

• COVID 19 testing FAQ for Students
• School COVID Registration Links for Families

Staff Testing

• The Color website is the best source for testing dates and days for both student and pick up days and times for staff testing. 
• Link to the staff FAQ. 
• Please note: Schools that originally had a pick up day have been shifted to Mondays to accommodate distance learning schedules.  Due to complexities of re-routing courier routes for some schools and not others, we shifted ALL schools that had a Wednesday schedule to a Monday schedule.
• How will staff be tested for COVID-19? The staff COVID-19 test is a self-administered RT-Lamp nasal swabbing test; it does not require a clinician to collect the sample. Staff will self-administer the test and drop it off in a dropbox location at every school site. Each school will have a designated day of the week for sample collection and drop-off determined by Color based on courier routes. 
• It is highly recommended that staff self-administer their test on their school’s assigned test day. If for some reason, a  staff member is not able to test on the designated day they will have the option to access testing in the parking lot of 555 Franklin every Monday and Thursday.  
• SFUSD COVID 19 Protocol: Response to Mask Wearing 
  • Facemask Safety Precautions (For sharing with families)  
  • Community Pledge
  • COVID-19: Face Masks and People With Disabilities.
  • Returning to School Together (Video) 
  • SPED PD: Preparing for Unsafe Behaviors during COVID-19 Pandemic (Slide 17)
• COVID-19 Safety Protocol Resources  Landing Page - A great resource for ALL COVID 19 Health and Safety Protocols

Summer Together Programs 

• SFUSD is partnering with the City and County of San Francisco to provide SFUSD families free in-person and virtual summer opportunities.
• SFUSD will be administering summer programs for:
  • Early Education/Pre-Kindergarten 
  • TK-5 Out of School Time (OST)
  • Extended School Year 
  • Special Ed/ IEPs for Extended School Year (ESY)
  • High School Credit Recovery
  • Early College Initiative
• From now until May 7: Families may be contacted through existing programs to enroll in summer offerings
  • SFUSD programs and/or school sites may contact eligible families to enroll in summer offerings through existing programs that their student is participating in. 
  • Learn more about SFUSD summer offerings.
  • Community based organizations and providers will be reaching out to eligible families who are current participants of their programs, which includes:
    • Community Hubs
    • ExCEL afterschool
    • Beacon
    • Community-based summer programs
  • Families should ask their Beacon and ExCEL program if they will be operating this summer and how to sign up.
• May 8: General registration period when SFUSD families can sign up for the program offered by various community-based organizations and City departments. 
  • While space is limited, SFUSD families will be prioritized over non-SFUSD families. 
  • SFUSD families will have to provide their student’s SFUSD student ID number for verification.
  • For more information, including key dates and times and other program offerings, visit dcyf.org/summertogether.

Distance Learning Updates

High School Graduation Ceremonies

Our seniors will be able to graduate in person thanks to a collaborative effort between SFUSD and the City. Graduations for All will provide staggered ceremonies on June 1-3, 2021 for our 4,000 public high school graduates. 

Schools with large graduating classes will be hosted at the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department’s iconic Kezar Stadium. Smaller public high schools will enjoy more intimate commencements at SFUSD’s McAteer High School campus overlooking Glen Canyon.

All graduation ceremonies will comply with state and local health guidance. This includes at least two hours between events for thorough disinfection, breakdown, and set up. All students will be seated 6 feet apart. Each student will receive tickets to bring up to four guests. Family pods of four will sit at least 6 feet from each other in the audience. 

For ceremony schedules and participation guidelines, visit 2021 High School Graduation Ceremonies.

SF Loves Learning 

Welcome back to school!!! You can find our most recent full episodes on our website. Segment highlights from this week are below. Here’s a new deck of science themed activities about Push and Pull. We also have videos from Women’s History Month and about Climate Change and Climate Justice.

Help us help you! Can you fill out this four-minute staff feedback form regarding any ways you have used the show or we can support your instruction going forward?

This week’s theme is Seasons as the Earth Rotates. Check out these segments that are airing this week:

• Seasons: Edible Plants (Lesson): Maestra Meza reviews what we already learned about the weather patterns in the different seasons. We discuss plants that grow well in Spring in California that are edible. We recognize that the increased sun helps those plants grow. Together, we sketch things we see in Spring using our ABCDEs. (April 29) Seesaw Activity
• “Kids of the Earth” (Music): Mr. Ryher sings a song about children environmentalists. (April 29) Seesaw Activity
• An Egg is quiet (Read Aloud): An informative book makes for a fascinating introduction to the vast and amazing world of eggs. (April 30)
• Spring Tilt Dance (Movement): Dance and movement exploration of the attributes of Spring and the cause of seasonal changes. (April 27) Seesaw Activity 
• Pina and Friends (Community): What is language? We use language to communicate. Pina will introduce two languages she will show us. (April 29)

If you’re planning for next week, the Science theme is Student’s Questions! You can find all of next week’s segments and our full library to support your instruction in three ways:

• Segments Library: Find any segment (read aloud, daily lesson, music, movement, community)!
• Seesaw page: Teachers can adapt any Seesaw activity on our page.
• YouTube channel: Subscribe to this channel, explore the playlists, and receive notifications when new content is published.

SF Loves Learning airs every weekday, 8:30-9am on KTVU Plus and any time at sfusd.edu/sfloveslearning.

School Meal Updates

School Lunch Hero Day Is Friday, May 7

• It’s time to remind our food heroes and sheroes how special they are. Join us in saying “Thank you!” to all our dining staff and food delivery drivers for providing over 6 million meals during the pandemic!
• Get creative and celebrate in any of these ways:

• Make a card in any language!
  • Drop off at a Grab & Go meal site on May 4 or 6. Locations at sfusd.edu/schoolfood
  • OR give to the dining staff at your school on Friday May 7
• On Friday May 7, post a photo or video on social media for #SchoolLunchHeroDay. Tag us @sfusdschoolfood.

Free Meals from SFUSD’s Student Nutrition Services

• Free lunch and snacks are available daily for students returning to in-person learning. School breakfast will be replaced with a hearty snack this school year. More information available at sfusd.edu/inpersonmeals.
• Any SFUSD family can pick up meals for the week at Grab & Go locations.
• Review this Grab & Go Meals Guide
• Download the May Calendar & Map
• Full Grab & Go schedule at sfusd.edu/schoolfood
• Reminder: As of Tuesday, April 27 the Grab & Go meal site at A.P. Giannini Middle School is now closed due to construction. Please visit any of our other Grab & Go sites listed at sfusd.edu/schoolfood.

Resource Highlights

Vaccines for Youth 16+: Pfizer Vaccination Event

• Adults and minors 16 and up are eligible to receive a vaccine at this event at Sacred Heart Preparatory, Friday April 30 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 1055 Ellis Street. Sign up for a vaccine appointment. 
• California requires minors have parent/guardian consent in order to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

• Parents are encouraged to accompany minors.
• It is important that the parent/guardian correctly complete minor consent for the COVID 19 vaccine.
• Without the correct consent, minors will be turned away if their parent is unable to provide consent onsite: they can accept consent onsite if their parent is present.
• Please follow the steps in this video to sign your child up. Note you must register first as the parent/guardian then add your child to the appointment per the video instructions.
• Please ensure you have eaten and are well hydrated prior to getting your vaccine.

Sal Afuera / Get Out: How to Get to School, Safely!

• Walk San Francisco, together with the San Francisco Safe Routes to School Partnership, is hosting a webinar in Spanish to give you the information and inspiration you need for getting to school, the park and beyond, safely. 
• Date: Friday, April 30, 2021
• Time: 12-1 p.m. 
• Join our conversation in Spanish with health, safety, and outdoor education specialists, to discuss how to safely walk, bike, carpool, and take public transit to and from school. 
• Health and safety experts: Oscar Grande (Poder, Casa de Apoyo, Excelsior Hub, Bicis del Pueblo), Jenny Morales (Good Samaritan Family Resource Center, Excelsior Strong), and Daisy Avalos (Muni Transportation Assistant Program) will take your questions and share the latest health guidelines, advice, and tips. 
• Register here: https://tinyurl.com/SalAfuera  - *This webinar will be entirely in Spanish.*

SF Bike & Roll Week May 10 - 14, 2021

• Bike & Roll Week, organized by the SF Bicycle Coalition as part of the Safe Routes to School Partnership led by the SFMTA, is for students city-wide to celebrate getting around under their own power.
• K-12 students across SF are invited to participate, whether they’re back to in-person learning or still remote.
• Check out all the awesome activities and exciting prizes at sfbike.org/bikeandrollsf.
• Please read and share our recent blog with helpful tips and this blog from the SFMTA about supporting students returning to school.

Did You Know?

Anyone 16 years and older is now eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccination in San Francisco. 

At this time only Pfizer is approved for those ages 16 to 18 years of age. Vaccinations are one of the most effective preventative measures in stopping the spread of COVID-19 and saving lives. Learn more from the CDC about the benefits of getting a vaccine (Español | 简体中文 | Tiếng Việt | 한국어).

Learn more about how to make a vaccine appointment and FAQs.

Reminders

Reminder: Nurse of the Day (NOD) 

For support related to COVID 19 Health & Safety Protocols you can:

1. Email your request to familylink@sfusd.edu. Please put your support needs in the subject line of your email.
2. Call 415-340-1716 and Press 7 to be routed to or leave a message for the school site support team.
3. Visit familylink.sfusd.edu to complete an online request form.

Reminder: Return to Sites Resources

Find resources to support in-person learning:

• The Secondary Return to Sites Health and Safety Playlist
• The PK-5 Return to Sites Playlist to support younger students!
• The Coordinated Care Team Google classroom, which includes Hybrid Learning Circle planning

SFUSD SEL/Culture Climate Survey Window Closes Next Week on May 4

We have launched the annual Social Emotional Learning/Culture Climate Survey. Over 1,500 staff have already completed their survey.  Thank you!  If you did not get an email with the survey link from Panorama, please check with your site leader who can share the link with you. 

We appreciate all the support to ensure our students in grades 4-12 are also completing the survey—almost 9,000 so far!   Please check in with students to make sure they have completed their survey.

Bright Spot

Students in Kristin Antonio’s Physiology class at The Academy - SF at McAteer have created face masks in partnership with professional mentors from IDO (Industry Design Outreach, Inc). IDO is also providing free toolkits and industrial design curriculum for students to create innovative 3D objects. Read more and see some of their creations!

Warm regards,

Superintendent Dr. Vincent Matthews