January 5, 2022

Dear San Luis Coastal Families,

Welcome to the New Year! As we conclude the winter recess, I wanted to communicate essential information with our families for the return to school on Monday, January 10. We fully recognize these are anxious times as COVID-19 continues to impact our daily lives, but we must stay focused on the big picture: students thrive when they are with their peers, their teachers, and within structured learning environments. We know that it is in the best interest of our children to be in school. 

While the Omicron variant requires us to remain vigilant, we remain fully committed to keeping our students and employees safe. The mitigation measures implemented last fall allowed our schools to remain open. They include:

• Remaining at home if sick to prevent spread to others
• Masking at all times while indoors
• Continuous, ongoing ventilation in all classrooms with HEPA filters
• Frequent hand washing - especially after recess and lunch breaks
• Vaccinations - with boosters for those eligible - based on the CDC, CDPH, and SLO Public Health recommendation
• District provided Antigen Testing Centers 
• Weekly required testing of select sports and participating athletes
• Weekly required testing of unvaccinated staff
• Ongoing contact tracing in partnership with SLO Public Health Department and follow up District provided testing
• Weekly updates informing parents of COVID information on the SLCUSD website provided by our Workplace Prevention Infection Coordinator (Resolute Associates)

An additional layer is now being offered: State provided Antigen Testing to determine potential infection prior to return to school. This is a voluntary opportunity to support a healthy and safe return to campus. 

Before winter break, we provided thousands of COVID antigen tests to our school sites for distribution to families and staff. Today, we received additional kits for distribution. These iHealth at-home test kits will be available for pick-up, while supplies last, on Friday, January 7 from 8:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. at the following locations:

• Laguna Middle School
• Los Osos Middle School
• Morro Bay High School
• San Luis Obispo High School

Kits will be provided to SLCUSD students accompanied by a parent, or parents who arrive without their child. Please present a piece of paper with your child’s name and school site to receive the tests. The goal is for students to test on Friday and Sunday prior to returning to school on Monday. This link will provide you with information on how to report a positive test result.

We know this is a time of uncertainty; however, we rely on your partnership to keep our students, families, and employees safe. To share some positive news, San Luis Coastal has successfully kept its schools open since August through the significant efforts of many and our students are thriving because of these collective efforts.

I look forward to a successful and healthy return from winter break. 

Happy New Year!

Eric