Dear Community and Staff,

As we head into the four-day weekend, Monday being President’s Day and an opportunity to pause and reflect on the long lineage of presidents in our great country, I wanted to provide a quick update on matters related to in-person learning.

In-person Learning Review:  During the January 14 Board meeting, the Trustees voted to remain in distance learning through March 19, 2021, with the desire to return to in-person instruction, implementing the approved hybrid learning plan, on March 22, 2021, which is the first day of the 4th quarter, State rules permitting.

The good news is recent COVID-19 case rate data is showing positive signs of trending in the right direction in the three primary categories:  New COVID-19 positivity rates per day per 100k, positivity rate (7 day average) and ICU availability.

Please use the following link for detailed COVID-19 data.  Hover your cursor over Solano County for our data. https://covid19.ca.gov/safer-economy/)

As a follow-up to the February 4th Board meeting, the Trustees asked that we explore options related to small group, in-person instruction before the implementation date of the larger hybrid plan mentioned above.  We will be discussing this item at the upcoming Board meeting on Thursday, February 18th.

Safety Plans:  Since the January 14th Board meeting, the State established a new requirement called the COVID-19 Safety Plan, which consists of a COVID-19 Prevention Program and COVID-19 Guidance Checklist.  Districts are required to submit this plan to the County Health Director for approval before heading back to K-6 grades in-person hybrid learning.  Fortunately, we worked very closely with our two unions earlier in the year and passed two Memorandums of Understanding (MOU’s), which outline, in considerable detail, the required safety elements for in-person instruction.

Most, if not all, of the safety requirements are included in the MOU’s and we were able to transfer them to the COVID-19 Prevention Program which is nearing completion for submission.  Please find the COVID-19 Prevention Program linked here.  If you have any feedback or comments, please email them to Dr. Gill, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources:  kgill@beniciaunified.org.

Vaccine:  Although the COVID-19 vaccination is not required for in-person learning, the enhanced protection and sense of safety it provides, is obvious.  The main challenge, as per Dr. Matyas, the Solano County Health Director, and who presented at the last Board meeting of February 4th (recording), centers on the demand for the vaccine being greater than the supply.  We are continuing to work closely with Dr. Matyas regarding a specific date and plan for the availability and distribution of the vaccine in BUSD.

The following link will take you to the Solano County Health Department’s COVID-19 Vaccination plan.  This is a VERY useful website and provides all related information related to the vaccine and its distribution, including the following COVID-19 interest form sent to all staff last week.  https://www.solanocounty.com/depts/ph/coronavirus_links/covid_19_vaccines.asp

Governor’s Safe Schools for All Plan:  In my last newsletter, I referenced the Governor’s plan and that it was still being negotiated in the legislature.  As of today, we do not have any clear updates regarding this plan and whether or not it will be passed.  I will provide more information as it is made available to us.

LCAP/Strategic Plan Survey:  We are beginning the process of collecting information on key goals and initiatives for our LCAP/Strategic plan.  This document plays a central role in providing clear direction for key initiatives and goals for our district.  Your input is vital to this process.  Please watch for an additional email with a link to the survey.

Thank you!
Charles Young