Dear Families,
Laytonville Unified School District will continue to follow the CDPH guidance regarding COVID protocols. CDPH is lifting the indoor masking requirement for schools effective close of business on March 11, 2022. Effective March 14, 2022 students and staff will have the choice to mask or not to mask while indoors at school.
We understand that this decision will have mixed reactions from our families. We all have varying levels of comfort regarding COVID protocols. It is important to remember that some people are immunocompromised and require a face mask to ensure their personal safety and/or the safety of their family and that some are opposed to masking all together. Regardless of our personal opinions about masking I am sincerely hopeful and optimistic that we will all respect each other’s personal choice to mask or not to mask. Our school community of families, staff and students have all come together to keep our students safely in school by following all of the required protocols. I trust that we will continue to work together as we navigate the endemic together.
CDPH posted the following:
“Throughout this pandemic, the masking requirement in California schools has allowed us to keep schools open when compared to other parts of the country. California accounts for roughly 12% of all U.S. students, but accounted for only 1% of COVID-19 related school closures during the Omicron surge. Nationally during the Delta surge in July and August 2021, jurisdictions without mask requirements in schools experienced larger increases in pediatric case rates, and school outbreaks were 3.5 times more likely in areas without school mask requirements.[3], [4]. Current projections show that statewide, the declines we are seeing in cases and hospitalizations will continue. Accordingly, after March 11, 2022, the universal masking requirement for K-12 and Childcare settings will terminate. CDPH strongly recommends that individuals in these settings continue to mask in indoor settings when the universal masking requirement lifts. Masking will continue to be an important layer of protection along with the continued recommendations around vaccinations, testing and ventilation, to keep schools a safe environment, even as case rates and hospitalizations decline.”
Excerpt from the February 28, 2022 CDPH Guidance for the Use of Face Masks https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/COVID-19/guidance-for-face-coverings.aspx
LUSD is committed to continue our practices for creating a safe environment for our students. We will continue conducting periodic surveillance testing of all students, twice weekly testing of all athletes, and testing students when they return to school after being out sick. We will also test any student enrolled in our schools if a parent requests us to do so. As stated previously, the CDPH guidance strongly recommend that Facemasks continue to be worn. Please continue to keep your students home when they are experiencing cold or flu-like symptoms See the following link for the Public Health order: https://www.mendocinocounty.org/home/showpublisheddocument/49646
As always if you have any questions/concerns please feel free to contact me. I am optimistic about a return to more “normal” activities but again want to ensure that we are doing all that we can to keep our schools open!
Sincerely, Joan Viada Potter, Superintendent