Dear Sacramento City Unified School District Families,

During this school week of January 24 through January 28, we have provided over 27,000 COVID-19 tests to our SCUSD community, and documented 1,261 student and staff cases, resulting in a 4.7% positivity rate. We are seeing testing demand decrease as we are documenting a slight decrease in positive cases week over week, although case counts and their impact throughout our community continue to disrupt our daily lives. 

END OF TERM

As today marks the end of the term for most of our students, we wanted to remind you that given omicron’s effects on attendance, academics and mental health, we have asked our educators to consider the following grading approaches for the first semester of this academic year ending on January 28, 2022: 

Students are held harmless for a decline in grades associated with absences AND missed assignments and assessments incurred after Winter Break and before the end of the semester (January 3-28, 2022). 

First semester grades are based on coursework completed prior to Winter Break, before our students and staff were most impacted by the COVID-19 Omicron variant, with strong consideration for Quarter 2 grades given to student performance from the Quarter 1 grading period ending on November 5, 2022 and the start of Winter Break on December 17, 2022.

Allowances are made for students to improve their grades during the period from January 3-28, 2022 and grades are not negatively impacted due to a decline in attendance, engagement, performance and assignment completion. 

FEBRUARY IS BLACK HISTORY MONTH

All year long, we recognize the struggles, triumphs and central place in American history of our Black community. Black History Month is an annual month-long celebration and we encourage our staff, students and families to take part in discussions and events that are taking place throughout February. Check out blackhistorymonth.gov to participate in online book talks, panel discussions and other enlightening opportunities. 

HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR

Xīn nián kuài lè! The Year of the Tiger is almost here… Lunar New Year is celebrated from January 31 (Lunar New Year’s Eve) through February 15 (Lantern Festival). Click here if you want to learn more about this celebration. 

K-8 OPEN ENROLLMENT 

K-8 Open Enrollment begins on February 1 and is a great opportunity for incoming Kindergarten through 8th grade students who reside permanently in the boundaries of SCUSD to apply for spots in schools beyond their neighborhood school when space is available. Click here to learn more.

N95 AND KF94 MASK DISTRIBUTION

We are excited to inform you that we are in the process of providing every student and staff member with N95 and KF94 masks, which the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has recognized as the most effective mask types for preventing the spread of COVID-19. Our middle (grades 7+) and high school students should have received a 5-pack of masks this week at their school site. Masks for our preK through 6th grade students should be getting sent home next week. Please reach out to your school site if you are already cleared to volunteer in the District to check if they could use support with this distribution effort. 

COVID-19 VACCINATION REQUIREMENT UPDATE

There’s still time to report your student’s vaccination status to SCUSD or register for regular testing so your student can be in compliance with our vaccination requirement. Learn more.

COVID-19 TESTING

We have extended our COVID-19 testing center hours and staffing to provide more testing access. Please note that we have pushed back the start time at Albert Einstein Middle School to ensure that our students and families may leave for dismissal without being impacted by testing center lines. We want to ensure the health and safety of our Albert Einstein Middle School students and families, while also providing this community benefit. 

Serna Center Testing

• Monday through Thursday: from 10am-4pm 
• Fridays from 10am-3pm (shortened hours due to vaccination clinics on Fridays from 4-7pm)

Albert Einstein Middle School Testing

• Monday through Friday: 4-7pm

Surveillance testing is taking place in our schools and testing is also available in school site care rooms upon request. If you haven’t already done so, please register your child for COVID-19 testing today to help us stop the spread. 

UPCOMING VACCINATION CLINICS

Below are this coming week’s COVID-19 vaccination clinics that we will be hosting. 

Friday, January 28

Serna Center | 5735 47th Ave. | 4-7pm

Wednesday, February 2

Oak Ridge Elementary | 4501 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd | 3-7pm

Friday, February 4

Serna Center | 5735 47th Ave. | 4-7pm