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OCDE NEWSROOM
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COVID-19 update: Updated county health order sets guidance for school quarantines, contact tracing |
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The OC Health Care Agency issued an updated health order on Friday evening reflecting recent changes to the state’s guidance for quarantines, isolation and contact tracing at schools. In alignment with this week’s recommendations from the California Department of Public Health, the order says schools and districts may choose between two response models for students who have been exposed to COVID-19. |
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https://newsroom.ocde.us/coronavirus-update/ |
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VOICE OF OC
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Parents Across Orange County Keep Tense Watch as School COVID Dashboards Soar |
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COVID dashboards at schools across Orange County are showing positive cases soaring so fast that one local district last week temporarily shut theirs down with a top official there questioning the accuracy of other school dashboards.
Saddleback Valley Unified School District temporarily removed their dashboard last week because they said they couldn’t keep up with the volume of positive cases – amid a staff shortage which other districts across the country are also facing since the winter break. After Voice of OC coverage of the dashboard shutdown on Friday morning, district officials brought it back online.
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https://voiceofoc.org/2022/01/parents-across-orange-county-keep-tense-watch-as-school-covid-dashboards-soar/ |
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VOICE OF SAN DIEGO
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What We Learned About Navigating Schooling and COVID |
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Class is back in session for most students in San Diego — and, for many, it’s not going well. The rapid rise in coronavirus cases across the region has left schools scrambling to find substitutes, forced districts to cut back on extracurricular activities and prompted notices of possible disruptions in school transportation. Late Thursday, San Diego Unified leaders sent parents an email with a clear message: The impact of staff shortages will only get worse in the coming weeks. |
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https://www.voiceofsandiego.org/newsletters/what-we-learned/what-we-learned-about-navigating-schooling-and-covid/ |
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EDSOURCE
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Stressed-out parents divided over going back to school amid surge |
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Just when it seemed like a little normalcy might be returning to the lives of beleaguered California families at long last, the deep-seated angst and confusion that comes with parenting amid a pandemic has returned. As the highly contagious omicron variant sweeps through the state and a new wave of schools shut down due to outbreaks and staff shortages, many parents are feeling conflicted about sending their children back to school after winter break. |
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https://edsource.org/2022/stressed-out-parents-divided-over-going-back-to-school-amid-surge/666205 |
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Sacramento Unified superintendent pleads for volunteers, subs |
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Sacramento City Unified is the latest school district to turn to the community for help overcoming its staffing shortages. This morning Superintendent Jorge Aguilar sent out a video plea to the community asking for volunteers and substitute teachers.
“I’m asking all of Sacramento for your support,” Aguilar said. “If you already have been cleared to volunteer in our district our schools need all hands on deck. Please reach out to your child’s school to ask what you can do to pitch in.”
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https://edsource.org/updates/sacramento-unified-superintendent-pleads-for-volunteers-subs |
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NPR
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Lawmakers are rewriting rules as schools grapple with teacher shortages |
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It used to be that when Cordelia Watson got an automated call to substitute teach at the Los Angeles Unified School District, there was a specific script that included the name of the teacher she'd be replacing for the day. Now, she says, there is so much turnover and so many teachers calling out sick or quarantining with COVID, that the system can't keep up. The messages often exclude any mention of a particular teacher. |
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https://www.npr.org/2022/01/14/1073253450/lawmakers-are-rewriting-rules-as-schools-grapple-with-teacher-shortages |
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OTHER NEWS OUTLETS
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Culver City Unified cancels classes next week due to COVID surge |
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The Culver City Unified School District announced Friday that all classes have been canceled next week due to the surge in COVID-19 cases. In a message to parents, district officials cited the "ongoing rapid spread of the omicron variant" in opting to cancel three days worth of classes. District classes were previously canceled Monday for the Martin Luther King holiday, and Tuesday was a pre-planned "non-pupil" day. Classes will now be canceled Wednesday through Friday. |
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https://spectrumnews1.com/ca/orange-county/education/2022/01/14/culver-city-unified-cancels-classes-next-week-due-to-covid-surge |
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California schools under intense strain, fighting to stay open during Omicron surge |
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In Los Angeles, schools saw a massive 130,000-student drop in daily attendance when students returned from winter break this week, the latest pandemic hit to education.
In San Diego, severe staffing shortages led school leaders to warn families of the possibility of “COVID Impact Days” similar to heat or snow days. And in Culver City, district leaders announced that they would close all schools next week to give students and staff time to “recoup and recover.”
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https://news.yahoo.com/california-schools-under-intense-strain-130059166.html |
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Oakland high schoolers prepare to ‘boycott’ over COVID safety |
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Rapidly rising COVID cases among students and staff, increasingly empty classes, and fears about contracting the omicron variant have prompted some Oakland students to threaten to boycott school next week, unless Oakland Unified School District provides increased safety measures. What started out as a group brainstorm by students at a small school in Oakland has grown into a strike campaign supported by more than a thousand Oakland youth, garnering national attention. Students across the country have organized similar actions. |
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https://oaklandside.org/2022/01/14/oakland-high-schoolers-prepare-to-boycott-school-over-covid-safety/ |
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