District News

The CDC and state and local public health departments are closely monitoring new developments regarding the Novel Coronavirus outbreak. A woman in the San Franscico Bay Area who became ill after returning from a trip to China has become the ninth person in the U.S. to test positive for the Coronavirus, bringing the national total to 11, as of February 3, 2020.

Dr. Sara Cody, Health Officer, Santa Clara County Public Health Department (SCCPHD), reiterated the importance of common-sense precautions to prevent the spread of all infectious diseases:

1. If you’re sick, stay home.
2. Wash your hands and don’t touch your eyes, nose, and mouth.
3. Recommends to get your Flu shot.

Dr. Cody also summarized the Federal Guidelines as follows:

1. Any staff or student who has been in the Hubei province within the last 14 days should not attend school. They should be at home, in a separate room, with separate bath, until 14 days after last exposure to Hubei. They should monitor for symptoms and report any symptoms to Public Health. They should not seek medical care without calling ahead first and letting care providers know of their exposure history.
2. Any staff or student who has been in China, in a province other than Hubei province, within the last 14 days should also not attend school. This would be voluntary quarantine, with symptom watch.

A letter with more details about the coronavirus guidelines is being emailed to Campbell Union School District families and is also available online.

When new viruses surface, it is important to stay informed. Reports about the new coronavirus first identified in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, have heightened awarenss about ways to avoid infection. Campbell Union School District and public health officials are closely monitoring developments.

Fortunately, many of the good health habits we use to prevent the spread of other communicable illnesses—flu, common cold, stomach virus—can also reduce the spread of the coronavirus.

To date, there are no confirmed cases in California, and there is low risk to Santa Clara County residents, unless they recently traveled to Wuhan or were in close contact with someone who was ill who recently traveled in that area. 

Recommended Precautions

As we do during every cold and flu season, we encourage everyone to take these common-sense precautions:

• Promote hand hygiene among students and staff through education, scheduled time for handwashing, and availability of soap and water or hand sanitizer.
• Avoid touching your face, particularly your eyes, nose, and mouth.
• Teach and encourage proper cough etiquette—cough or sneeze into a tissue, sleeve, or arm (do not use hands).
• Perform routine surface cleaning. (Our custodial staff cleans surfaces routinely.)
• Encourage students and staff to stay home when they are sick.
• Those who have a fever at school should go home and stay home until at least 24 hours after they no longer have a fever without the use of fever-reducing medicine.

In the unusual event that a child or staff member is identified who recently traveled from Wuhan, China and has symptoms of fever, cough, or shortness of breath, he or she would be sent home and the school would contact the Public Health Department for additional guidance. The Public Health Department is monitoring the situation. They will advise us of any additional recommendations, which we will pass along to you. 

“Design thinking is an approach to teaching core academics that will develop our students’ skills as collaborative, innovative, self-directed, empathetic critical thinkers who can be successful in their yet-to-be-defined future,” says Shelly Viramontez, Superintendent of Campbell Union School District (CUSD).

Design thinking, a process for empathy-based creative problem-solving, is spreading to classrooms across the district. While it is a primary focus of the district’s new Campbell School of Innovation, more teachers in other schools also are using it. Over the past year, nearly 25% of the district’s more than 380 teachers have experienced the design thinking process and how to incorporate it into their lessons.  (See related story about first-grade teacher Megan Delaye.)

“Students are becoming more energized about owning their learning, and their teachers are seeing student achievement rise as they incorporate more of these relevant problem-solving projects into their instruction,” says Kami Thordardson, CUSD’s Director of Innovation & Digital Learning. She says CUSD Equity Coaches have been working this year with teachers from several schools, both groups and individuals, and all teachers had the option to participate in a design project through the district wide library design project last year.

“We’re preparing students for jobs that haven’t even been imagined yet,” says Viramontez. “Design thinking is one of the ways we can educate students to their highest potential.”

Campbell Union School District is pleased to announce that two of our schools are being recognized with the prestigious California Distinguished Schools Award. Village and Castlemont are two of 323 schools out of the state’s almost 4,500 elementary schools receiving this honor.

The California Department of Education will recognize the schools in February at a ceremony at the Disneyland Resort. The awards are part of the California School Recognition Program and are given to schools that perform well on the California School Dashboard’s five key indicators. 

“These outstanding schools don’t just educate students; they also provide the young people of California the tools they need to be successful after graduation,” said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond. 

“I want to thank everyone at these schools—teachers, administrators, classified employees—and parents who are working together to provide high-quality learning experiences and educating students to their highest potential,” said District Superintendent Shelly Viramontez.

This is Castlemont’s third Distinguished School award and Village’s second since 2000.

Click for more information about the California Distinguished Schools Award.