Please make onsite testing available to all kids at all OUSD schools. Regular onsite rapid tests during hybrid learning were very helpful. Please also figure out how to get PCR tests for symptomatic kids processed more quickly. The back-up in processing recently meant some results didn't come back for 5-6 days, keeping kids who just had colds out of school days longer than necessary.
Regular on-site testing is necessary this year. Both of my children's schools have had positive cases already. One of them (Montera) has not yet tested my student, even though he reportedly had prolonged exposures to two cases. Sequoia immediately tested the children who had exposure. Montera and other schools must receive the support they need to provide testing to all students as needed. To not provide on-site regular testing is a certain way to continue the spread of covid among our children, who are too young to be vaccinated.
We have decided to test our children weekly at the District Santa Fe site, which means we have to take time out of our schedule. If the students can be tested regularly on campus, this would be helpful for all families. Also, having to wait for a reported COVID infection is not the proper way to control and protect out children. I support on campus weekly testing!
Easy, free, convenient weekly testing at all school sites is critical for keeping our kids (and community) safe. The District must adapt to the new realities of the Delta variant.
I am so thankful that the district has reopened our schools! I support more frequent testing at school sites. I support masks on campus. I support required vaccination for all staff. Whatever it takes to keep our community healthy and allows our kids to thrive, count me in! Thank you for your hard work to make this possible!
Pass T-4 with no amendments to use our COVID relief dollars to offer weekly COVID testing at every school. I am at Peralta and 5 parents including myself are paying out of pocket to weekly test our kids to keep our family safe. It's been difficult to find tests since the Oakland sites you have to be symptomatic. Also, we cannot get tests without seeing a doctor. This is a HUGE barrier for other parents which is why we don't have more participation. This is the ONLY way to ensure that we don't have COVID in our classrooms. I voted for Sam Davis and am regretting I did with his horrible watered down amendments that do nothing but make it less safe our our children and harder for our parents. As well as make it more confusing. I hope he reads this and all of the other supervisors that WE ARE WATCHING YOU and your votes on this issue is a deal breaker for most if not all of us.
I support the resolution with the amendments from Dir. Davis. Increasing testing and expanding hours at testing sites would be incredibly helpful for many families who aren't able to make it until after 5pm.
We are so grateful for in person schooling, as the mental health impact of Zoom school was brutal. Yet we must balance their mental health with physical safety , twice weekly testing would go a long way towards stopping the spread. 180,000+ kids have contacted Corona nationally since the school year began. We've got to do better.
I OPPOSE the original HUTCHINSON resolution because it could inadvertently make our kids less safe by forcing the district to put at risk the things that are working: rapid response testing, at-school pop-up testing for students and families, and testing hubs.
I SUPPORT the amended DAVIS resolution because it makes more sense. It reflects careful listening to what our community wants and was drafted in consultation with district staff about how to make that happen. Like the original proposal, it would result in more frequent (biweekly) surveillance testing. Unlike the original proposal, it would call for expanded hours at testing hubs and would not de prioritize the important work of our rapid response teams. I also appreciate the out-of-the-box thinking about how to expand testing staff capacity and the call for greater data transparency.
Pass this motion with no amendments! OUSD should already be providing testing at every school. Mandatory testing with parental permission is probably necessary under certain circumstances.
I support Sam Davis's amended resolution and not Mike Hutchinson's resolution. Davis's plan is in response to the needs expressed by communities including myself (longer hours at testing sites and prioritizing testing sites in communities with higher infection rates). It appears to have been done in consult with district staff and in line with priorities to already expand upon existing testing while focusing on deploying it where most in need (rapid response, high need areas). It also directs OUSD to make testing data available on the Covid dashboard which has been a missing component in the current data picture parents are getting. Lastly, it also directs that while tests should be offered to anyone, those who are unvaccinated should be prioritized which is in line with CDC and CDPH guidance. This amended resolution by VP Davis is a thoughtful response to the communities concerns regarding testing and the board should support it. Thank you for everything you do!
I strongly support Dir. Hutchinson’s original proposal for weekly testing at all Oakland schools. If it’s watered down to “every other week as soon as feasible” it simply won’t meet this dire moment in the pandemic. Dr Scott Gottleib, one of top Covid experts in US, stated on Face the Nation this week that weekly or TWICE weekly testing is absolutely essential to keep kids safe and school open. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/transcript-scott-gottlieb-face-the-nation-08-22-2021/?intcid=CNM-00-10abd1h
We are already in a crisis by not testing prior to school opening! The only way to rectify this now is through weekly testing of all students. You are currently doing only around 3,500 tests weekly for 42,000 students & staff. You are likely missing hundreds of cases- less than 10%! It would take 3 months at this rate to test everyone once! Please decide tonight to spend your covid funding to finally meet this crisis head on!
Additional testing is important for many families to feel safe sending their kids to school. I support the resolution with the amendments from Dir. Davis.
-Having access to RAPID tests kits at all sites is a good idea.
-PCR tests that take days for a result are useless in preventing outbreaks.
- I do not support weekly/bi-weekly required testing as it is not effective at timely detection of cases. Unvaxxed kids under 12 are statistically in a lower risk category than vaccinated adults. Required testing could be effective if we test kids daily for the next decade, but seems over-the-top for something that we are all going to contract multiple times. All focus should be on 12+ getting vaccinated and making rapid kits available.
I am the parent of a 6th and a 2nd grader at MLA in district 6. I support Director Hutchinson's resolution to provide weekly, on-site COVID testing. I understand it's expensive, but I also understand that the district has received additional COVID resources ($300 million), which should be used for this purpose. We need more testing at every site on a weekly basis.
Twice in as many week, I’ve registered and attempted to get my children tested at two of the 10 sites. We were unsuccessful both times due to a site running out of tests and another site testing past 3.40pm because staff are not paid beyond 4pm (and rapid testing requires at least 15 minutes of wait time).
We need to make sure there are enough tests for all teachers, staff, and students; that they are available at all schools (not just a few sites a week); and for extended hours to ensure actual testing.
Our son is attending 5th grade at Chabot elementary. We need to make sure that our students can learn and thrive in a safe environment. Weekly COVID testing is a crucial step into protecting our kids and the staff!
Please please take this action ASAP
Please make onsite testing available to all kids at all OUSD schools. Regular onsite rapid tests during hybrid learning were very helpful. Please also figure out how to get PCR tests for symptomatic kids processed more quickly. The back-up in processing recently meant some results didn't come back for 5-6 days, keeping kids who just had colds out of school days longer than necessary.
Regular on-site testing is necessary this year. Both of my children's schools have had positive cases already. One of them (Montera) has not yet tested my student, even though he reportedly had prolonged exposures to two cases. Sequoia immediately tested the children who had exposure. Montera and other schools must receive the support they need to provide testing to all students as needed. To not provide on-site regular testing is a certain way to continue the spread of covid among our children, who are too young to be vaccinated.
We have decided to test our children weekly at the District Santa Fe site, which means we have to take time out of our schedule. If the students can be tested regularly on campus, this would be helpful for all families. Also, having to wait for a reported COVID infection is not the proper way to control and protect out children. I support on campus weekly testing!
Easy, free, convenient weekly testing at all school sites is critical for keeping our kids (and community) safe. The District must adapt to the new realities of the Delta variant.
Please vote in favor of this resolution with NO amendments.
I am so thankful that the district has reopened our schools! I support more frequent testing at school sites. I support masks on campus. I support required vaccination for all staff. Whatever it takes to keep our community healthy and allows our kids to thrive, count me in! Thank you for your hard work to make this possible!
I support this resolution and anything that keeps our kids safe and our teachers focused on education and caring for their students.
Pass T-4 with no amendments to use our COVID relief dollars to offer weekly COVID testing at every school. I am at Peralta and 5 parents including myself are paying out of pocket to weekly test our kids to keep our family safe. It's been difficult to find tests since the Oakland sites you have to be symptomatic. Also, we cannot get tests without seeing a doctor. This is a HUGE barrier for other parents which is why we don't have more participation. This is the ONLY way to ensure that we don't have COVID in our classrooms. I voted for Sam Davis and am regretting I did with his horrible watered down amendments that do nothing but make it less safe our our children and harder for our parents. As well as make it more confusing. I hope he reads this and all of the other supervisors that WE ARE WATCHING YOU and your votes on this issue is a deal breaker for most if not all of us.
Proactive testing at school sites will help prevent Co-Vid outbreaks in our schools.
I support the resolution with the amendments from Dir. Davis. Increasing testing and expanding hours at testing sites would be incredibly helpful for many families who aren't able to make it until after 5pm.
We are so grateful for in person schooling, as the mental health impact of Zoom school was brutal. Yet we must balance their mental health with physical safety , twice weekly testing would go a long way towards stopping the spread. 180,000+ kids have contacted Corona nationally since the school year began. We've got to do better.
I OPPOSE the original HUTCHINSON resolution because it could inadvertently make our kids less safe by forcing the district to put at risk the things that are working: rapid response testing, at-school pop-up testing for students and families, and testing hubs.
I SUPPORT the amended DAVIS resolution because it makes more sense. It reflects careful listening to what our community wants and was drafted in consultation with district staff about how to make that happen. Like the original proposal, it would result in more frequent (biweekly) surveillance testing. Unlike the original proposal, it would call for expanded hours at testing hubs and would not de prioritize the important work of our rapid response teams. I also appreciate the out-of-the-box thinking about how to expand testing staff capacity and the call for greater data transparency.
Pass this motion with no amendments! OUSD should already be providing testing at every school. Mandatory testing with parental permission is probably necessary under certain circumstances.
I support Sam Davis's amended resolution and not Mike Hutchinson's resolution. Davis's plan is in response to the needs expressed by communities including myself (longer hours at testing sites and prioritizing testing sites in communities with higher infection rates). It appears to have been done in consult with district staff and in line with priorities to already expand upon existing testing while focusing on deploying it where most in need (rapid response, high need areas). It also directs OUSD to make testing data available on the Covid dashboard which has been a missing component in the current data picture parents are getting. Lastly, it also directs that while tests should be offered to anyone, those who are unvaccinated should be prioritized which is in line with CDC and CDPH guidance. This amended resolution by VP Davis is a thoughtful response to the communities concerns regarding testing and the board should support it. Thank you for everything you do!
I strongly support Dir. Hutchinson’s original proposal for weekly testing at all Oakland schools. If it’s watered down to “every other week as soon as feasible” it simply won’t meet this dire moment in the pandemic. Dr Scott Gottleib, one of top Covid experts in US, stated on Face the Nation this week that weekly or TWICE weekly testing is absolutely essential to keep kids safe and school open. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/transcript-scott-gottlieb-face-the-nation-08-22-2021/?intcid=CNM-00-10abd1h
We are already in a crisis by not testing prior to school opening! The only way to rectify this now is through weekly testing of all students. You are currently doing only around 3,500 tests weekly for 42,000 students & staff. You are likely missing hundreds of cases- less than 10%! It would take 3 months at this rate to test everyone once! Please decide tonight to spend your covid funding to finally meet this crisis head on!
Additional testing is important for many families to feel safe sending their kids to school. I support the resolution with the amendments from Dir. Davis.
-Having access to RAPID tests kits at all sites is a good idea.
-PCR tests that take days for a result are useless in preventing outbreaks.
- I do not support weekly/bi-weekly required testing as it is not effective at timely detection of cases. Unvaxxed kids under 12 are statistically in a lower risk category than vaccinated adults. Required testing could be effective if we test kids daily for the next decade, but seems over-the-top for something that we are all going to contract multiple times. All focus should be on 12+ getting vaccinated and making rapid kits available.
I am the parent of a 6th and a 2nd grader at MLA in district 6. I support Director Hutchinson's resolution to provide weekly, on-site COVID testing. I understand it's expensive, but I also understand that the district has received additional COVID resources ($300 million), which should be used for this purpose. We need more testing at every site on a weekly basis.
Twice in as many week, I’ve registered and attempted to get my children tested at two of the 10 sites. We were unsuccessful both times due to a site running out of tests and another site testing past 3.40pm because staff are not paid beyond 4pm (and rapid testing requires at least 15 minutes of wait time).
We need to make sure there are enough tests for all teachers, staff, and students; that they are available at all schools (not just a few sites a week); and for extended hours to ensure actual testing.
Our son is attending 5th grade at Chabot elementary. We need to make sure that our students can learn and thrive in a safe environment. Weekly COVID testing is a crucial step into protecting our kids and the staff!