My Child Missed School Due to Illness. How to Catch Up?, Q&A With

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My Child Missed School Due to Illness. How to Catch Up?

Q&A With Dr. Michelle Rodriguez, Superintendent, Pajaro Valley Unified School District

My family goes to the Wellness Center each week. Will it be open during the break?

PVUSD is ensuring that the Family Engagement and Wellness Center at 530 Palm Ave. in Watsonville is open for our families during the winter break so students and families can continue to receive services. Here are the dates and times in January when the Family Engagement and Wellness Center will be open: • Jan. 4, 5, 6 (11 am-7 pm) • Jan. 7 (9 am-4 pm) with mass food distribution (9 am-11 am)

We are going out of the country for the next few weeks for Christmas. My son has some late work he has to submit to his teachers. Can he bring his Chromebook with him? Will it work in Mexico?

Once a PVUSD Chromebook is checked out to a student it is theirs to use as long as they remain a student in the district. They keep the same device even when they move from one PVUSD school to another school.

PVUSD is committed to supporting student learning during winter, spring, and summer breaks, so we allow students to hold onto their Chromebooks and encourage them to continue working in assigned instructional applications and to enroll in winter and summer instructional programs when possible.

PVUSD students can take their Chromebooks out of the country and they will work normally as long as they are able to connect to an available WiFi internet connection.

As always, it is very important for students to take very good care of their Chromebook and power adapter and make sure to protect it from damage, especially while traveling. They should never take off the protective cover for any reason.

Are there any travel restrictions for this year for the winter break? Are there guidelines that students and staff should follow?

This year, there are no state or federal travel restrictions. We do encourage all families and staff to utilize the home test kits provided and to follow the California Department of Public Health Winter Virus Protection recommendations:

This Winter season, celebrate and gather in ways that limit the spread of respiratory viruses like respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), flu, and Covid-19. Follow these five tips to protect yourself and others: • Get Vaccinated, Boosted (and

Treated) — Flu and Covid-19 vaccines continue to be your best defense to limit severe illness and death — and you can get both at the same time. If you test positive for

Covid-19, contact your doctor or a test-to-treat site immediately to seek treatment. Treatments work best when started right after symptoms begin. • Stay Home if You’re Sick and Test for

Covid — Staying home when you’re sick slows the spread of flu, RSV, and

Covid-19. Remember to test for Covid and contact your doctor immediately if you’re positive to discuss treatment options. • Wear a Mask — There is no vaccine for RSV, so wearing a mask can significantly slow the spread and protect babies and young children who do not yet have immunity and are too young to wear a mask themselves. Wearing a mask in indoor public places is a good way to limit the spread of germs. • Wash Your Hands — Frequent handwashing, with soap and warm water — for at least 20 seconds, is an easy and very effective way to prevent getting sick and spreading germs. • Cover Your Cough or Sneeze —

Remember to cough or sneeze into your elbow, your arm, or a disposable tissue to help prevent the spread of winter viruses.

Just make sure to wash your hands or sanitize and dispose of your tissue after.

Why is the district spending tons of money on sending home Covid tests if they are not going to accept the results for them anyway? My child tested positive with a home test, and we are being asked to go to the district to get an official positive test. When someone tests negative with the home test, we are also asked to go to the district to get an official test before we can return to school. So what is the point of having home tests if you do not recognize their results whether positive or negative? Why waste money on them?

PVUSD receives the Covid tests free from the State and does not pay for any of the take-home tests.

The take-home tests are being used to safeguard our students, staff and community by providing them with a recent result to help them determine if they can safely return to school. If a student or staff member is symptomatic or receives a positive test result, they do not need to test again at the Inspire testing sites until after their symptoms improve and the sixth day of quarantine.

Will Covid testing be available during winter break? What about vaccines?

Testing will continue to be available for all PVUSD students and staff during winter break.

The most current schedule and locations for testing: https://covid19test. santacruzcoe.org/ or call 831-466-5904 to confirm testing and locations during winter break and on any significant rain days.

Inspire drive-thru testing schedule for Pajaro Valley District Office: • 294 Green Valley Rd, Watsonville • Mon., Tues., Thurs. and Fri. 9-4 pm;

Wed. 9-5 pm • Reopens Tues. Jan. 3- Fri. Jan. 6 • Normal testing schedule resumes the week of Jan. 9th, 2023 (M/T/Th/Fri at 9 am-4 pm and Wed. 9 am-5 pm; closed on weekends)

Inspire drive-thru testing schedule for: • Santa Cruz COE, 399 Encinal St, Santa

Cruz (near Costco) • Cabrillo College, 6500 Soquel Dr, Aptos • Hours for both locations: Mon., Tues.,

Thurs. and Fri. 9-4 pm; Wed. 9-5 pm and Sat. 9-2 pm • Reopens Tues. Jan. 3, 2023- Sat. Jan. 7th, 2023 • Normal testing schedule resumes the week of Jan. 9

For additional information on age eligibility and registration for Covid-19 vaccines & boosters, as well as flu shots, please visit: https://santacruzcoe.org/vaccines/ Additional Testing Resources

The following testing locations, operated by OptumServe, offer free PCR testing for Influenza A & B, and Covid-19.

All OptumServe sites are walk-in, no appointment needed and no charge.

Questions for OptumServe? Call 888-6341-1123 ~~~

Watsonville Veterans Building

215 East Beach St, Watsonville Sun-Thurs 7am-3pm (excluding major holidays) Closed on Friday and Saturday

Santa Cruz County Government Building

701 Ocean St., Santa Cruz Mon-Fri 7am-3pm

Hi Dr. Rodriguez, I hope you have been staying healthy through this terrible season of illnesses. My question is, what are schools doing, in particular high schools, to support students who have missed school due to illness, and struggling to catch up.

My daughter is still behind from the last quarter. She has been sick for over a month. Also, she has had orthodontist, dentist, and counseling appointments (private, since she does not qualify for school counseling.). She is such a bright student, but has been struggling in her first year in high school. It makes me sad, because she has hopes and dreams about college, but with all of the sickness, it seems like it will be so hard to catch up, and get her GPA where it needs to be.

What is the district doing? What are the schools doing? I have reached out to admin, teachers, psychologist, and her pediatrician. Even with all of these people on board, I just do not see any support being implemented. She has been attending after school tutoring,but no change in her grades. Help me, please. :)

The illnesses have picked up and we are seeing a slight upward trend in the number of student absences. At the high school, all 9th grade students have access to a 24 hour tutoring program called Paper.

The school site administration can help with the logistical information for your daughter to access this specific tutoring. Additionally, in case you were not accessing in person tutoring on site, tutoring is offered in the College and Career Centers and Learning Hubs during school days. If your daughter received a D or an F in a class, she can redo the class through credit recovery using programs such as Edgenuity or APEX learning.