Kelseyville Unified: Reopening in March
They say the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. A year into the pandemic, it feels like we’ve walked about a thousand miles. For most people, this year has been somewhere between inconvenient and devastating. For our students and staff, it certainly hasn’t been the year we hoped for, but I truly believe things are on the verge of getting better. We’ve just received word from Lake County public health officer, Dr. Gary Pace, that our elementary schools are allowed to open using a hybrid model.
At Kelseyville Unified, we will welcome K-5 students back on school campuses the week of March 8 via the hybrid model. This means students will log in for online classes Monday, March 8 and will attend
classes on campus Tuesday, March 9 according to each school’s hybrid schedule. When Lake County reaches the Red Tier, we will be allowed to open our secondary schools, grades 6-12. The exact date will be determined once we hit the Red Tier.
In our county, the COVID case rate is dropping and the number of people getting vaccinated is rising, both of which help improve the health of our community and speed our progress toward fully reopening schools. You can review the details at covid19.ca.gov/safer-economy and health.co.lake. ca.us/Coronavirus/COVID-19_Data.htm.
I know some people are nervous about our bringing students back on campus, and I understand that, but I believe we can provide a high degree of safety. Part of keeping students and staff safe includes vaccinating as many people as possible as quickly as possible. We were able to offer the vaccine to all Kelseyville Unified employees, most of whom opted in. They will get their second doses between February 18 and March 3.
Even those who are vaccinated will continue to maintain social distancing and wear masks. We will also maintain rigorous cleaning and disinfecting for all KVUSD facilities, and we will require students to adhere to safety measures for their own protection and the protection of their peers and Kelseyville Unified staff.
Part of our goal in bringing students back to the classroom is related to their academic success. Although we’ve seen some truly excellent online teaching, we know the best place for students to learn is in the classroom with their teacher and peers. Another reason we want to bring students back to campus is related to their social development and emotional health. At school, young people learn to interact with others their age; school is a place where students learn to give and receive social and emotional support. They also have the opportunity to engage in sports, the arts, clubs, and other hobbies where they can connect with others who enjoy the same activities they do.
According to the California Interscholastic Federation and North Coast Sections, the organizations that govern school sports, as of February 1, when we’re in the Purple Tier student-athletes at Kelseyville High School may begin practicing for the following spring sports: cross country, tennis, swimming, golf, track & field, plus cross country. Once we reach the Red Tier, we can start baseball and softball. We’re holding off on sports at Mountain Vista Middle School until we move from the hybrid model to regular school, which may not happen until next year.
I recognize that not everyone is ready to send students back to the classroom, so we will continue to offer a distance learning option for families who prefer to wait. If you would like to learn more about how Kelseyville Unified is preparing to welcome students back to the classroom, visit our website at www.kvusd.org.
Part of our goal in bringing students back to the classroom is related to their academic success.
According to information released by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, over the weekend a woman had to be taken to hospital after she was found suffering from the effects of overdosing from drugs.
On Saturday, Feb. 6, 2021, at approximately 2:40 p.m., inmates at the Lake County Jail reported to a tower officer that there may be an inmate overdosing in a female dorm. Deputies rushed to check the status of all inmates. A single female inmate was found lying on her side, she did not appear to be breathing and was blue in the face. Deputies administered a dose of
Narcan, a medication used to reverse the effects of opiates drugs. They requested jail medical staff respond as well as paramedics.
When nurses from jail medical staff arrived they found it necessary to administer two more doses of Narcan. After a short period of time the Narcan began to take effect. Within 10 minutes the woman began to slowly regain consciousness and was breathing on her own. Paramedics from Lakeport Fire Department arrived and transported the woman to Sutter Lakeside Hospital by ambulance. She was treated and later returned to the jail facility.
Deputies conducted a search of the dormitory as well as the inmates. They did not find any contraband. The inmates from that dorm were tested to determine if they recently used drugs, but all tests were negative. Sheriff’s correctional staff uses several different methods in an attempt to keep contraband from entering the facility, but drugs are easy to conceal and hard to detect.
The Sheriff’s Office would like to remind the public that taking any medication/ pills that have not been prescribed to you by a physician or provided to you by a pharmacist is dangerous. Opiates such Fentanyl can be fatal with the ingestion of only two to three milligrams.