As we wrap up a month of intentional black history lessons and engagement opportunities, we commit to upholding black voices at Claremont throughout the year in our classrooms, our curriculum, and our community.

We hope you are well.  We wanted to take a moment to give a few updates.

Vaccines:
We are currently in Phase 1B for vaccines. The following groups of people are eligible for vaccines right now: 65+, Education and Child Care, Emergency Services (including Law Enforcement), and Food/Agriculture workers.

To sign up for vaccines please log into myturn.ca.gov.  We have heard that MyTurn notifications are not as accurate as checking daily for appointments.

In-Person learning:
As rates are starting to decrease and Alameda is moving out of the danger zone, Claremont, along with the rest of the district, is looking at ways to bring small groups of students on campus.

  • Our first step is to bring back students for sports conditioning.  Cohorts of students will be able to do independent exercises on campus after the school day is over with coaches.  If your child is interested, and you haven’t yet, please sign up using this form (which is different from the interest form that went out in the Knightline a few weeks ago).  You will need evidence of a physical.  If you have not had one for your student recently there are other options.  Please contact Mr. Doubley(David.Doubley@ousd.org) or Ms. Lefkowitz(Lacy.Lefkowitz@ousd.org) to get support.  We are able to accommodate anyone who is interested and does not want the paperwork to stop you!  We can support you every step of the way!
  • If this goes well, it paves the way for schools to become a Hub and invite small groups of students(pods) who may not have full access to distance learning at home, an opportunity for greater access on campus with non-teaching staff.  These students will still be attending their distance learning lessons while on campus.  These groups will be chosen using an equity framework, in which we use many metrics to determine which students are least able to access learning currently.  Schools will start with one “pod” of 8-14 students.  Once that has been tried, schools will add one or two more pods with the idea of getting more students on campus and getting more experience so we will be ready for a much more robust in-person learning in the fall.
  • At this time, it seems unlikely that all students will have the opportunity to return for in-person learning this year.  There is a district committee currently working on scenarios for various forms of hybrid and in-person learning next year.  As it gets brought to us, we hope to use our learnings from conditioning and the pods to do what’s best for our community within the district guidelines.

For further information about reopening:
We are aware that some families are advocating for school reopening sooner than the current OUSD timeline.  We appreciate your continued patience and ask that you forward all comments, questions, and concerns about reopening to the administrative team consisting of Mr. Mayer, Mr. Watson, and Ms. Lefkowitz.  Teachers continue to need their time to focus on navigating the changing landscapes of teaching online and staying up to date on new and innovative ways to build community and deepen understanding of key concepts.  While it may seem to the outside that ongoing labor negotiations are slowing down the pace of reopening, this is not the case.  There is still work to be done to make students safe!  Feel free, for instance, to check out the readiness dashboard now live at OUSD.org.  The PTA in conjunction with staff is currently working on plans to create space for increased communication between staff and families.

We do hear from so many of you about your students’ positive experiences in distance learning and we hope that we continue to hear this!  We are grateful to be in community with you all.

CMS Staff