Happy Friday, Ukiah Unified! I can hardly believe we only have 17 days of school left. As I think back over this year, it’s been tough, but now things are rapidly improving, and our hard work, dedication, and grit are paying off. We’ve worked extremely hard to get our schools open and keep them open. Over the summer, we will finalize plans to return to school next fall. We intend to return to school 100% in person, 5 days a week because we know the best place for our kids is in the classroom. And we want to keep them there! We have put many safety measures in place to help us open our classrooms to in-person learning and to keep them open as our students have returned. Another strategy to accomplish keeping our classrooms open to in-person learning is getting students vaccinated as quickly as possible when it is authorized. I urge you to get your child vaccinated when it is their turn. Thank you so much to those of you who have already accomplished this and those who participated in our drive-through vaccination clinic last weekend.

As soon as next week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will authorize the use of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for kids aged 12 - 15. We are now planning COVID Vaccination Clinics for Ukiah Unified students 12–15 in partnership with the City of Ukiah and Mendocino County Public Health. We will let you know how to take part in the next few weeks. The intent of these clinics is to vaccinate as many of our students and any household family members of the students who are 12 and over. Vaccinating this age group is the next big step to making sure we will be able to keep our schools open to in-person instruction five days a week in the Fall. 

There are many reasons to get vaccinated. For example, one infected student at Ukiah High School would likely have been in 4 classes, causing a quarantine of over 100 students and staff. If you add in participation in sports and other after-school activities, that number increases even more. If you have been vaccinated and are exposed to COVID-19, you do not have to quarantine and can stay in class and in your activities. Positive case scenarios are similar for our elementary and middle schools. Right now, we are teaching 3,419 students in person. 868 students are thriving in our after-school sports and activities. We want to continue all of these things and so much more, so I again urge you to vaccinate yourself and your children for COVID-19. The vaccination is one more powerful layer of safety to keep our schools open for in-person learning. In addition to our clinics, when the vaccine is authorized for people 12 and over, the vaccine will be available from your medical provider, at some pharmacies, and the Ukiah Fairgrounds.