Dear Families, 

In our second week of school in 2022, I want to commend our staff, our students, and all of you for being  patient and exercising safety precautions to help us get through this latest surge with Omicron.  Thank you families for monitoring your children’s symptoms and following all protocols. We were fortunate to be able to distribute take-home tests to our students and staff before returning from the winter holidays. This was critical since we ended up with 226 students whose test results were positive and therefore began isolating as required. As anticipated with the Omicron surge, we do have an increased number of students infected and isolating, as well as more students quarantining due to exposure. Naturally, there are also more staff absences due to COVID. 

Our site administrators and office staff are working around the clock to manage quarantine and isolation requirements. Our District office teams are doing their very best to manage COVID related issues districtwide. I want to thank our teachers, substitutes, nurses, TOSAs (Teachers on Special Assignment) and site and district administrators jumping in to help cover classrooms as needed. Our classified team, our office staff, para educators, custodians, those in child nutrition, purchasing, transportation, and our maintenance and operations continue to do a phenomenal job working hand in hand to support students. They have all been absolutely amazing! 

The CDPH and Alameda County Public Health Department continue to support us with weekly calls, and updated information.  We are fortunate to have an extremely high rate of fully vaccinated staff and students.  82% of children eligible in Castro Valley have been vaccinated!  We have had vaccination clinics and will continue to seek more opportunities. 

As you know, we continue to  offer PCR COVID testing at the CFA as well as through mobile testing at sites on a rotating basis. Of course, with increased demand all labs are facing challenges.   We are working hard to find a way to be able to conduct Rapid Antigen tests for students and staff who are returning to school from isolation to make it easier for families. On Friday, January 7th, CDPH updated their guidance on isolation, quarantine and testing. Please be patient as we update our guidelines to allow families to also utilize At-Home Antigen testing.  We will share information as soon as possible.  Of course,  PCR testing will continue to be available at the CFA as well as through our mobile units.   We now have also developed a process enabling us  to test students on modified quarantine at school sites using Rapid Antigen tests. This was done in a few elementary schools today and will continue the rest of the week and beyond.  

Current legislation and the Governor's latest order require districts to have 180 days of in- person instruction. Distance learning and hybrid learning as we had last year are not allowed. Other than in- person learning, the only other option available is through independent study as requested by a parent/guardian, which is what we have offered through the Virtual Academy. 

As shared  by our local health officials, CDC, and the California Department of Public Health, with current mitigations in place and following safety protocols, we will be able to get through this latest surge with students in school. We can, and will do this together.  I thank you for your partnership and ongoing support. We will continue to update you as needed.

Best regards, 
Parvin Ahmadi