New at SOS
School Spring Bulletin
The Safely Opening Schools team has put together a list of resources regarding testing and vaccination across California schools. If you are enrolled in the California K-12 School Antigen Testing Program, please visit the California Department of Public Health Bulletin. If you are enrolled in the Los Angeles County Heluna Health Rapid Antigen Testing Program, please visit the Los Angeles County Bulletin.
Vaccine Policy Brief
Schools are safe to attend, but the pandemic is not over. We need to continue to keep schools as safe as possible for students and education workers. COVID-19 is a resilient virus, consistently mutating into new variants like Delta and Omicron. Read more here.
Tools for Schools
Safely Opening Schools partners with the California Department of Public Health to support the rollout of school-based rapid antigen testing across the state. We provide technical assistance to school districts about how to set up school COVID-19 testing programs and work with school communities to incentivize consents for broad support for on-site COVID-19 testing. Read more here.
Updates from SOS
Berkeley schools show “bold leadership” by reinstating mask mandate, says @SOSacrossCA’s Ana Vasudeo on @KCBSRadio. Data clear: To keep schools open & safe CA needs holistic approach, incl. #Vaccination, #Masking, & #RapidTesting of students & staff.
Berkeley public schools reinstate mask mandate through end of the academic year - KCBS Radio: On-Demand - Omny.fm
Berkeley is bringing back mask requirements for public school students through the end of the academic year. For ...
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News and Updates
Stay up to date and informed by visiting News & Updates.
About the Pilot
Implemented as an eight-week pilot, SOS promoted rapid antigen testing twice weekly in 10 California elementary and middle schools committed to reopening safely during the Spring of 2021.
Easy, Fast & Reliable Testing
Rapid antigen testing for COVID-19 is easy to use, can be administered onsite by trained non-medical district staff, and provides results within 15 minutes.
Parents and Families
We understand that in-person learning can be critical for a child’s development, with the help of COVID-19 testing and vaccine rollout, we can help bring children back to schools safely.
Mission
The Safely Opening Schools (SOS) mission is to keep schools safer by implementing COVID-19 testing for students and education workers in California School Districts. Continued testing—as new variants spread and vaccination hesitancy continues to be present—remains an important step to reduce community transmission and to keep children, school staff, and families including those at highest risk, safer.
Commitment to Racial and Health Equity
SOS is committed to advancing racial equity in health and education across California, and will prioritize pilots where reopening is most urgent, i.e. schools serving: large numbers of children of essential workers; predominantly Black and Latinx communities hardest hit by COVID-19; students requiring special education and other special needs; and those not doing well with remote learning.
© 2021 Safely Opening Schools. All rights reserved. Site design by Doug Rider Consulting.
Safely Opening Schools is a project of the Public Health Institute, (PHI) PHI has been a leader in public health and development for over 50 years. PHI is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a vision of creating healthy communities where individuals reach their highest potential. Safely Opening Schools is part of PHIs Prevention Policy Group, which works on policy approaches involved in safely opening public schools after Covid-19.
