January 5, 2022
Dear San Bernardino City Unified Families:
I hope you enjoyed a safe holiday season and found opportunities to spend quality time with your loved ones.
San Bernardino City Unified will welcome students back from winter break on Monday, January 10 for a new semester of in-person instruction. As we kick off the second half of the school year, I have a critical message for all
families. Please rest assured that when our schools reopen Monday, it will be with a renewed commitment to providing a safe, clean, and nurturing learning environment for our students and staff.
Although the recent increase in COVID-19 cases locally and nationally is alarming, the data we review daily shows infection rates are still lower than last year when the pandemic reached its peak. As required by state law, we
have a solid plan to keep our schools open for teaching and learning. In fact, it is the detailed and thorough, high-level planning by hundreds of SBCUSD administrators and employees that has made us a state model for managing
coronavirus in public schools. Despite being California’s seventh-largest school district, we have avoided classroom and school closures experienced by many surrounding districts. In other words, we have contained COVID
in our schools, keeping our students, staff and community safe.
As the father of a student who attends elementary school right here in SBCUSD, I stand behind the multiple layers of evidence-based safety protocols that we have in place at each of our campuses. These include high-grade air
filters and purifiers in every classroom, mandatory face coverings for all while indoors, and comprehensive cleaning and disinfection practices. We also continue abiding by the latest guidance from local, state, and federal
public health agencies, guidance that is anchored in research and backed by science. While doubling down on proven safety measures, we are also hitting the pause button on optional practices that have been deemed ineffective
and have not been required for many months.
We have found that people—not temperature kiosks or physical-distancing markers—play the most vital role in helping us keep COVID-19 away from our schools. The COVID-19 liaison program that our families have come
to know and trust, which places medically supervised personnel in every SBCUSD school and is the only one of its kind in the Inland region, will kick off again Monday when students and staff return. The goal of our liaisons is
to quickly identify COVID-19 cases among our students and staff through free, on-campus testing and contact tracing so we can stop COVID from spreading while providing families with vital information and resources to help ease
any challenges that may result from the diagnosis.
And, needless to say, we cannot keep our schools open without your help. As a precautionary measure, we urge you to have your child take a COVID-19 test before returning to school on Monday. Although being tested for COVID-19
is not a requirement for students, SBCUSD is offering convenient, drive-thru testing for students tomorrow, Thursday, January 6 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the following locations:
- Arroyo Valley High
- Cajon High
- Indian Springs High
- Pacific High
- San Bernardino High
- San Gorgonio High
You and your family members can safely test from the comfort of home through Sick.org, which offers convenient delivery and pick up of COVID tests at your door. Sick.org offers both a rapid test and a cheek-swab PCR test delivered straight to your door-step. Simply head to the website to enter your address and begin registration. Sick.Org is not associated with SBCUSD, and may charge a nominal
fee, but can be used to test before sending your children back to school. For more information about local places where you can get tested and/or vaccinated, please call the San Bernardino County Department
of Public Health COVID-19 Hotline at (909) 387-3911, which is open Monday–Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. You may also visit https://sbcovid19.com for more information about local vaccine clinics and appointments. Additionally, in the coming weeks our students will receive free, at-home COVID-19 tests from the state. Stay tuned for more details.
I have one more favor to ask. Please remember to monitor your health and the health of your family daily for any symptoms of illness, like fever, cough, and shortness of breath. If your child or someone in your household is ill,
please keep your child home to rest and report the absence to the school office right away. And, don’t forget to send your child to school on Monday with a face covering.
We appreciate your continued diligence and we look forward to seeing your child at school on January 10. Happy New Year, and I look forward to the work that lies ahead and the great things we will accomplish together in 2022.
Be safe and be well.
Sincerely,
 Doc Ervin
Superintendent |
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