November 12, 2021
Dear OPA Families and Staff,
I hope that you all had a wonderful Veteran’s Day. We are entering a very busy time at OPA with holiday events, the end of the 1st trimester, and several holiday breaks. Please make sure to read the Sunday messages for information and important dates.
Please take a few minutes to complete our Annual OPA Educational Partners Survey. This survey provides feedback regarding our programs, school climate, parent involvement, etc. Your feedback is very important to us, as it provides valuable information to help us continue to make OPA a model educational organization. The information gained from the survey results will help inform our school site decisions, goals, and action plans. The survey will be open until Sunday, November 28, 2021. If you would like to be part of our LCAP Engagement Committee, please reach out to your chancellor. Our first meeting will be December 1, 2021.
Currently, we have seen a rise in COVD-19 cases at our school sites and across California and the country. Recent information from the CDC also shows that even fully vaccinated individuals can become positive (although symptoms are usually milder) and spread the COVID-19 virus. Therefore, it is very important that we continue to follow all COVID-19 health and safety protocols. If your student is sick, please keep him/her home until they are symptom free. Also, parents are not allowed on campus when students are present. If you need to come to campus, please make sure that you only go to the front office. We want to keep all OPA students and staff safe and healthy.
We have received numerous questions regarding the COVID-19 vaccine mandate and the ability for parents to opt out. California state law currently requires that students in public, private, and charter schools be vaccinated for a variety of diseases in order to attend school. For those required vaccinations, only medical exemptions are allowed; there are no religious or personal belief exemptions. The list of required vaccinations can be expanded by the Governor and State health authorities, but if the list is expanded without legislative approval, the law requires that any mandate include a medical exemption and a personal belief exemption. If the legislature takes action on the COVID-19 vaccine mandate, they may or may not add a personal belief exemption. As a California public school, OPA is required to abide by the current COVID-19 vaccination mandate and will be required to abide by any future legislation regarding the mandate. Any school or public official who states otherwise is misinformed. At this time, the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for students has not taken effect and likely will not take effect until at least July 2022. However, students aged 5 and up are now able to get the vaccine, if parents wish, but the vaccine is not currently required for school attendance for any student age group at OPA.
We have had recent complaints from our neighbors at both campuses about safety during pick-up and drop off. Please obey all traffic laws and school staff directives when driving around the school neighborhoods and parking lots. Also, please do not block driveways, streets, or crosswalks. We are asking for increased police presence to ensure campus safety, and sheriffs may give citations to those not following the law. As our schools are situated within neighborhoods, we want to be courteous community partners. Thank you for your help with this.
As we enter the holiday season, I want to remind everyone of our upcoming non-school days. There will be no school from November 22-26 for Thanksgiving break and from December 20 – January 7 for winter beak. I hope that everyone is able to take time during these breaks to relax and enjoy time with family and loved ones.
Thank you for everything you do for our Champions! Please stay safe and healthy and have a wonderful weekend OPA.
Sincerely,
Amy Kernan
Executive Director