SMMUSD partners with Providence St. John’s Health Center to vaccinate certain educators and staff
By Sam Catanzaro
Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District educators and staff have begun receiving vaccinations ahead of the launch of limited on-campus education later this month.
On March 1, SMMUSD announced the district has set up a system with Providence St. John’s Health Center to schedule appointments prioritizing staff and teachers who are working from campus. The staff of 2,000 will be cycled through with appointments available daily until complete, according to the district, who added teachers and staff who are over the age of 65 or are part of the district’s nursing or health teams have been previously vaccinated.
With vaccinations now underway, SMMUSD TK-5 schools have plans for in-person academics and instruction beginning the week of March 15. On March 1, the district released its COVID-19 safety plan, which is embedded below. Among the protocols include mask-wearing, mid-day school cleaning, enforced social distancing and temperature checks upon entrance, while each school will have COVID-19 compliance teams on campus.
Students upon returning will participate in a Distance Learning Plus system, unique to each school, in which families can choose to remain either all-virtual or pursue a hybrid approach with virtual and on-site instruction.
Students in secondary grades will not return to campus until the County enters the Red Tier, (4-7 cases per 100,000 each day) and a test positivity rate between 5 and 8 percent. While the county is currently in the Purple Tier, data released by the state Tuesday put the county’s adjusted average daily rate at 7.2 per 100,000 residents. To enter the Purple Tier, a county must remain below 7 per 100,000 for two weeks.
