Dear St. Felicitas Families and Staff,

St. Felicitas Catholic School’s COVID-19 Safety Plan (CSP) was developed in partnership with the Diocese of Oakland, our parish and school staff, parents, community members and medical professionals. Our CSP is aligned to guidance from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) COVID-19 Guidance for K-12 Schools, updated on July 12, 2021, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), updated July 9, 2021, and CAL/OSHA Guidance. These directives apply to all public and private schools operating in California to support school communities as we implement plans for safe, successful, and full in-person instruction. Our adherence to this guidance enables our schools to offer and provide full in-person instruction to all students safely, consistent with the current scientific evidence about COVID-19. Indicators, conditions, and science review will include vaccination coverage status, in consideration of whether vaccines are available for children under 12, community case and hospitalization rates, outbreaks, and ongoing vaccine effectiveness against circulating variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

The CSP also  includes resources with hyperlinks embedded within the text to various health organization websites. Through these resources, you can learn additional specifics of selected topics. The strategies we put in place do not guarantee that students and staff will

not be exposed to the COVID-19 virus. It is a plan to mitigate, not eliminate, risk. Our staff will work diligently to implement all safety measures, and we trust parents to make the choices that are best for their student(s).

The surest path to safe and full in-person instruction at the outset of the school year, as well as minimizing missed school days in an ongoing basis, is a strong emphasis on the following:

• vaccination for all eligible individuals to get COVID-19 rates down throughout the community;
• universal masking in schools, which enables no minimum physical distancing, allowing all students access to full in-person learning, and more
• targeted quarantine practices, keeping students in school; and access to a robust COVID-19 testing program as an available additional safety layer. Recent evidence indicates that in-person instruction can occur safely without minimum physical distancing requirements when other mitigation strategies (e.g., masking) are fully implemented.

We can all appreciate that the circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 virus are constantly changing. As such, the CSP is a fluid working document that will be adjusted and updated as conditions/and or guidance change as a result of new public health orders or developments related to the COVID-19 virus. Through it all, we will remain steadfast in our mission to support and meet the spiritual, social, emotional and academic needs of all members of our faith community.

Sincerely,

Sr. Faustina Pham