February 26, 2021

Dear VVUHSD Families, Students and Staff,

We are encouraged by the news that COVID-19 case data in our county has declined, although the numbers are still not low enough to allow a reopening of schools for grades 7-12 at this time. The district will reevaluate this situation no later than April 1, 2021, and we will inform the public of our decision on or before that date. Our goal continues to be reopening our schools as soon as safely possible for our students, staff and community based on public health guidelines.

The San Bernardino County Department of Public Health recently announced that case data allows for a potential reopening of K-6 schools, although that is at the discretion of individual districts. The county has not yet made an announcement regarding grade 7-12 schools. If and when such an announcement is made, VVUHSD will consider a safe reopening plan that will occur in gradual phases. We would like to thank our employee associations for agreeing on a safe and sensible plan for small cohorts of certain special population students to return to school March 15, 2021. The parents of those students will be contacted directly with the details. We are also happy to report that athletics have resumed at our schools with specific safeguards in place; contact your school’s athletic office for more information.

Another positive development is the widening availability of the COVID-19 vaccine in our county, including new sites at Hook Community Center and St. Mary Medical Center / Our Lady of the Desert Church. VVUHSD was able to arrange for more than 100 employees to receive vaccinations on Feb. 24 at Our Lady of the Desert, and more local vaccinations are available for anyone 65 and older, health care workers, police/fire personnel, and education workers. Visit https://sbcovid19.com/vaccine/locations for a list of locations and registration links.   

Thank you for your continued support. We are starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel, and we hope to see our students’ smiling faces on our campuses in the near future.        

Sincerely,

Ron Williams, Ed.D.

Superintendent