[UPDATED] Pasadena Unified School District Postpones/Cancels All Public Events Until April 10

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PUSD administrative building (Photo – Staff)

Update: PUSD will close schools effective Monday, March 16th. Classes will resume April 6th.

In a joint statement to the community, Pasadena Unified School District Superintendent, Brian McDonald, and Board President, Pat Cahalan, said the following:

By News Desk

Caltech

As of this morning, we now understand from Caltech that a graduate student was tested for the Coronavirus, COVID-19. The student, who showed mild symptoms, is currently self-isolating in off-campus housing pending test results.

PPHD

According to the Pasadena Public Health Department (PPHD), because the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has recently broadened the criteria for testing for COVID-19, more and more individuals will be recommended by their physicians to be tested. When people are being tested, this does not mean they have the COVID-19 infection, therefore, there is no need for alarm. If there are people who are confirmed to have COVID-19, this will be communicated quickly.

PPHD advised us that we are now in Scenario II of the California Department of Public Health’s guidance for schools. This involves taking more immediate and proactive steps to ensure the safety of our students.

No cases of COVID-19 at PUSD at this time

There are no cases of COVID-19 at PUSD at this time. Even though this case at Caltech has yet to be confirmed, we want to advise you that we are working closely with our Board of Education and PPHD to take the needed actions to help protect our school community if a COVID-19 case is diagnosed. Our first priority is the health and safety of PUSD students, faculty, staff, and community members, including those who may have a greater risk of complications from COVID-19. We will take all precautions recommended by PPHD, L.A. County Department of Public Health, and the Centers for Disease Control to prevent or contain the disease from spreading at our schools.

PUSD has been proactively planning for the different scenarios that can develop to protect our students, staff, families, and community members, and we are taking the following immediate steps:

Effective March 10 – April 10

Effective Tuesday, March 10 through April 10, PUSD is postponing or canceling all public events that bring large groups of students, adults, and community members together. Canceled or postponed events may be conducted online. Child care and extended day learning programs are still running to support working parents. This decision was made out of concern for the health of our community as a social distancing measure in light of COVID-19. We will assess and reevaluate extending this decision early in the week of April 6. These actions include:

• School assemblies and performances.
• No Boundaries 15 (scheduled to begin March 13).
• Pasadena LEARNS Cheer competition (March 14).
• Math Field Day (scheduled March 20).
• All District and school level parent/community advisory committee meetings, including PTA events.
• School Open House events through April 10. These may move to an online sharing of student work.
• PUSD’s staff Professional Development will continue on March 20 with the format to be developed.
• At this time the SAT testing scheduled this weekend will proceed with precautions and social distancing. If this changes, we will notify you as soon as possible.

Effective immediately

• Effective immediately, we are limiting visitors to PUSD schools, including volunteers. We look forward to welcoming our dedicated volunteers back to our campus later this spring.
• We are moving our schools to schedules that stagger recess and lunch times to limit the number of students who are together.
  Teachers and staff with any fever or respiratory infection symptoms should not come to work. Teachers and staff will self-screen (i.e. check themselves for fever 100F or higher and/or respiratory systems such as a productive cough) for respiratory infection symptoms each morning before interacting with students.
  All District sponsored out-of-state travel scheduled through April 10 is postponed or canceled.
• All school field trips scheduled through April 10 are postponed or canceled.
• Athletics will continue to be evaluated in consultation with CIF. We will have a determination soon.
• We are working with community groups that use our facilities during non-school hours to evaluate if these events will proceed as normal.

At this time, Public Health does not recommend proactively closing schools. Beyond providing education for our students, public schools are the access point for critical social services for thousands of families. Many of our students’ parents are on the front lines of the COVID-19 response. School closures also create concerns about child care and possibly exposing at risk caregivers. By keeping our doors open, we help ensure that our community stays safe.

Strong emergency procedures in place

We have strong emergency procedures in place in the event of a school or district closure, including providing lunches to students who qualify for free or reduced lunch.

Help reduce the risk of spreading germs to others

Please continue to take all possible precautions to help reduce the risk of spreading germs to others. These include the following recommendations from public health officials:

1. Keep children who are sick at home and away from others if they have a fever of 100°F or above.
2. #1 prevention method is frequent handwashing with soap and water for 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom, before eating, and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing. If soap and water are not available, hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol can be used. Use of soap and water is best.
3. Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash and wash your hands. If you do not have a tissue, use your sleeve (not your hands).
4. Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.
5. Limit close contact, like kissing and sharing cups or utensils, with people who are sick.
6. Face masks are most effective when used appropriately by health care workers and people who are sick.
7. Clean frequently used surfaces.
8. Get the flu vaccine if you have not done so this season. It’s not too late to get the flu vaccine. Being protected against the flu will decrease the number of people using healthcare resources and allow resources to be available for people who may have COVID-19.
9. Practicing simple steps that limit your exposure to others who may be ill (such as verbal salutations instead of handshakes and hugs, not sharing utensils, cups and linens).
10. You can learn more about our COVID-19 response on our website.

Fluid circumstances

Our primary concern is the health and safety of our students, staff and families in the Pasadena Unified School District. We continue to be in daily contact with the Public Health Department, and will share information on how we will all be meeting the challenges this quickly changing situation presents for PUSD.

These are very fluid circumstances which we are monitoring very closely and prepared to take appropriate action as needed. Thank you for your support and understanding as we all work through this evolving situation. We will continue to provide you regular updates.

Sincerely,

Brian McDonald
Superintendent

Patrick Cahalan
Board of Education President