Joint Communique Extending School Closures

Dear Parents/Guardians,

The Buena Park, Fullerton Elementary, La Habra City School District, and Lowell Joint School District serve nearly 25,000 students combined in the north Orange County area. As the Superintendents for each of these districts, we continue to collaborate and communicate daily with each other and with the Orange County Department of Education while following the guidance received from the Orange County Health Care Agency, the CA Department of Public Health, and the Center for Disease Control. Out of an abundance of caution, care for our students, families, and staff, and in an effort to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), all schools within the districts listed above will remain closed through May 8, 2020.

We are scheduled to open schools on Monday, May 11, 2020.

On Wednesday, March 17, you may have heard a statement by Governor Gavin Newsom about schools remaining closed until summer break across the state. At this time, his statement is still just a prediction and not a definite statement on the status of our District’s closure. We are following the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Public Health Agencies and will remain closed until May 11, 2020 guiding us to remain closed for eight weeks. As you are aware, guidelines are changing daily and we will continue to make decisions in the best interest of your children. As information continues to evolve, we will communicate with our communities collectively and reassess our approach. These dates are subject to change as we receive further guidance from the Public Health Agencies and Orange County Department of Education.

Families can expect to receive specific communication from their district and schools pertaining to the instructional and educational expectations due to the extended school closure.

We encourage you to stay informed of the situation by regularly checking updates from Orange County Health Care Agency and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and on each of our district websites. We will work through this together to keep our students, families, and staff Safe.

Sincerely,

Mr. Jim Coombs         Dr. Joanne Culverhouse             Dr. Robert Pletka        Dr. Ramon Miramontes

Lowell Joint SD           La Habra City SD                       Fullerton SD                Buena Park SD