This week marks the third anniversary of the Redwood Complex Fires which hit our community hard.  Please take a moment to remember those affected by the fires. We want to honor and remember our beautiful students Kai and Kressa Shepherd. Their memories and spirits live strong in our hearts.  Please hold your kids close and tell them how much you love them! 

We have come a long way toward recovery since those terrible fires; our community is strong and resilient. Just as we made it through that tough time, we will make it through our current challenges.  Thank you so much for everything you do to stay positive and strong for your children during this time.  I wanted to remind you of the following information that was in last week’s newsletter:

Help for Families in Quarantine:  If your family is under quarantine or isolation, please reach out to us for help. In addition to meal delivery and learning support, our Family Community Liaisons can assist with access to local services and programs outside of Ukiah Unified. Please contact your school’s Family Community Liaison for help or call our District Hotline at 707-472-5003.

When can we return to In-Person Learning? Our goal is to transition to an in-person model as soon as the health conditions allow it. Our decisions are guided by the California Department of Public Health and our local Public Health Officer. In August of 2020, Governor Newsom unveiled the Blueprint for a Safer Economy, which assigns counties to four different tiers based on disease transmission and positive test rates. Mendocino county is assigned to the most restrictive Widespread (purple) tier.

School districts within counties assigned to the purple tier cannot resume any in-person learning until they move into the Substantial (red) tier for two consecutive weeks. Purple tier counties move to the red tier when there are 7 or fewer average new daily cases per 100,000 residents, and average positive test rates are 8% or less for two consecutive weeks. Schools may reopen for in-person instruction once their county has been in the red tier for at least two weeks. For Ukiah Unified schools, this means we are a minimum of one month away from any in-person model. Mendocino county will need to have two weeks below the threshold numbers to move to the red tier, and then another two weeks of maintaining those numbers before we are allowed to start an in-person learning model. 

Please continue to do your part in reducing the cases of COVID by supporting the three Ws:  wearing a mask, watching your physical distance from others, and washing your hands.  Our actions make a difference in getting us to a different tier. 

Technology Support: Please let us know if you need technical support of any kind. To provide you with service during these challenging times, we have set up a Google Meet where technical support staff will assist you virtually.  Go to meet.google.com/nvp-dpxi-uct anytime from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. You can also call our Technology Support Hotline at 707-472-5074 from noon to 8:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Thank you for supporting your student and our staff!  Please reach out to your school for assistance, or call our District Hotline at 707-472-5003.