Thousands of San Diego students are headed back to school Monday for the first day of classes.
SDUSD is one of the last school districts in the county to head back to school. SDUSD recently updated its masking policy after the county moved back to a medium COVID-19 community level on Aug. 11.
In its COVID-19 Safety update, the district said it will no longer require districtwide masking if the county enters the high tier in the COVID-19 community level but will instead utilize school site metrics and county data to determine whether or not masking is needed at each school.
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Seventh grader Faith Vargas chimed in, “I bought this binder for English and then I bought some paper for math, science, color pencils to color some things in social studies. I'm actually really excited to go back to school.”
“I’m excited because I don’t have to wear a mask anymore or not as much and I get to see people’s faces,” said high school junior Sofia Taviau.
It's not just the middle schoolers who are eager to return to the classroom.
"You do exercises and it's like playing games. I'm excited to make new friends," said second grader Mason.
On Saturday, some students heading back to school were given back-to-school supplies like backpacks, notebooks, markers, and pencil pouches.
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria was joined by San Diego Unified School District Superintendent Lamont Jackson, nonprofit partners and community leaders for the event.
"As mayor, I want to ensure our students are prepared to go back to school and have the resources they need to hit the ground running," Gloria said. "Our youth are a critical part of our city and investing in them today to help ensure their bright future is a key priority of my administration."
