August 19, 2021        

 

Dear PVPUSD School Community,      As we begin this school year we have so much to be thankful for as over 99% of our students have elected to attend daily in‐person school. This is in sharp contrast to the beginning of last year, where classes were 100% remote learning on day 1, and most students did not return to campus for another 6 months into the school year.     

 

 In order to keep all of our students in school full-time and safe, effective immediately all district campuses will require masking at all times with the exception of eating, drinking, or carrying out activities that preclude the use of a facemask. Every school will also provide designated mask break areas outdoors for students to safely take mask breaks.     

 

This decision was based in part on recommendations from our District’s Medical Advisory Committee,  made up of local doctors and parents from our community.  This decision was also based on guidance from the LA Department of Public Health, which recommends masking in crowded outdoor settings.  Furthermore, students engaged in recess, passing periods, and on playground structures constitute “crowded outdoor settings” (http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/acd/ncorona2019/masks/).   

 

   This school policy will be revisited monthly and is in no way permanent for this school year.  As we monitor case rates in our community and the impact the Delta Variant has on our schools, we will adjust accordingly.  The district is also exploring other ways to gauge community spread through pooled testing, which could provide positive data that would allow us to relax these safety provisions.      

 

We must focus on providing safe and ongoing full-day in‐person school for our students and not focus on the fact that students and adults are wearing masks during school.        

 

Thank you for supporting the exemplary education in this school district.