September 23, 2020

Dear OVSD Parents,

Since March, we have been looking forward to the day we can welcome back students for on-site instruction. As of yesterday, Orange County schools were approved by the California Department of Public Health and the Orange County Health Care Agency to reopen for in-person instruction with health and safety enhancements. Therefore, as previously stated, we will begin our In-Person Hybrid Learning Model on Monday, September 28th.

For several months, our staff members have worked diligently to prepare to reopen our schools in a safe and responsible manner. We are fully prepared and ready to welcome our students back.  In fact, some of our special needs students have been allowed back on campus for the past couple of weeks, and they have done very well transitioning and adhering to our well-defined safety protocols.

By now (if you chose the In-Person Model for your child), you should have received information from your Principal regarding your child’s cohort, pick-up and drop-off procedures, and other important details specific to your school site. Please check your email regularly for these essential messages being sent by your Principal.  If you have any questions, please direct them to your child’s teacher(s) or Principal.

As a reminder, students will be assigned a gate to enter, and they will have their temperature taken with a touchless thermometer each day when they arrive at school.  In addition, students will be required to wear face coverings. Students may bring their own face covering or the school will provide one for your child each day. Elementary students will receive a disposable face covering and middle school students will receive a cloth face covering.   

The health and safety of our students, staff, and families is our top priority. As we begin to reopen schools, we want to reiterate that we will mandate physical distancing measures, healthy hygiene practices, stringent cleaning standards, and small cohorts.  In addition, every school will have front office counter shields, touchless thermometers, standing hand sanitizer dispensers, fresh water hand washing stations, water-bottle filling stations, masks, gloves, social distancing signage, electrostatic sanitizing wands, and masks for students and staff. Every classroom will have protective plastic shields for teachers, plastic tri-fold desk guards for all students, disinfecting wipes, gloves, and hand sanitizer. 

If you have not yet done so, we urge you to review the OVSD Reopening and Protection Plan. Each school has adopted these protocols for their specific school site in an effort to provide clear and consistent information and operational practices for staff and parents.  These plans may be found on the school’s website for parents, children, and staff to review.  

Please see this Student Symptom Decision Tree that provides guidance on how to screen students for potential COVID-19 symptoms or exposure, and the appropriate actions to take. As we evaluate next steps in our school reopening plan, the District will continue to look at the science, monitor the COVID-19 case positivity rate in our area, and follow the guidance provided by the California Department of Public Health and the Orange County Health Care Agency. 

Finally, we’d like to offer a few suggestions before school reopens: 

1. School campuses are open every weekend.  Please consider taking your child to walk the campus and locate his/her classroom.
2. If your child is unfamiliar with the school campus, please have him/her hold a sign with their teacher’s name and room number as they enter campus. Staff will be happy to assist your child!
3. Determine a meeting spot at school for siblings to meet, before exiting campus for dismissal.
4. Drinking fountains will be disabled, but there will be water-bottle filling stations available.  It is highly recommended that you send your child to school with a REUSABLE water bottle labeled with his/her name.    

In closing, we would like to extend a very special thank you to our teachers, support staff, and administrators for tirelessly working together for the safe and successful reopening of our school sites. We can’t wait to see our students on Monday!

Sincerely,

Dr. Carol Hansen, Superintendent

Gina Clayton-Tarvin, President, Board of Trustees

Please read our 2020-2021 School Reopening and Protection Plan.

Please find detailed information regarding the 2020 Reopening Learning Models (In-Person & Virtual), along with FAQs and sample schedules here.