Dear SAISD Family Member,                              
 
Each and every day, we are faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as difficult situations. We identify these opportunities as defining moments. The insight gained from embracing these moments provides us with the knowledge and expertise to make the right decisions and positively move forward as a school district.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, SAISD has continued to prioritize the health and safety of our staff and students. We saw early on that our commitment to the safety and well-being of our SAISD Family members was our pathway out of the pandemic, securing our students and educators back into our classrooms. 
 
We have implemented sound strategies and best practices around mask wearing, weekly COVID-19 testing, vaccination clinics, social distancing, sanitizing, and ventilation.
 
Over time, an additional safety measure was made available to combat the virus; this vaccination for students in elementary grades and older made our classrooms an even safer environment to learn, grow, develop, and dream.  
 
We have also continued to closely monitor our district’s COVID-19 numbers so we can make the best-informed decisions based on the best-information provided. To date, we are witnessing our district’s positivity rate continue to decrease significantly and to a much safer level. 
 
We went from a 2.5% positivity rate in mid-February to a 1% positivity rate as of last week. Additionally, Bexar County’s positivity rate has also seen dramatic improvement. On Tuesday, March 1, 2022, Metro Health updated the current risk level in Bexar County to “mild.”
 
We rely on this very important data to implement safety measures, and we will continue to trust this data to inform us when it may be time to shift our protocols. Upon our return from spring break, we will continue to monitor the positivity rates and plan on requesting your input through a survey to determine your views on the possibility of lifting the mask mandate.
 
We realize that there is a delicate balance between safety and learning, and we will continue to strive to meet both expectations to the best of our ability. The health and safety of our SAISD Family remains our number one priority, just as much as academic progress remains our number one focus. 
 
Abraham Lincoln once stated, “In the end, it is not the years in your life that count. It is the life in your years.” As we leave for spring break, let us take a moment to reflect on our lives and the things that are most important to us.
 
Imagine life as a game in which you are required to keep five balls juggling in the air. Let’s name these five balls: work, family, health, friends, and spirit. You soon realize that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce right back up. However, the other four balls - family, health, friends, and spirit - are made of glass. If you drop one of these balls, they will become irrevocably scuffed, nicked, damaged, or even shattered. They may never be the same again. 
 
During spring break, let us take time to slow down and understand how this truly pertains to us. Let us take this time to revisit our family, health, friends, spirit, and many blessings. Let us not take for granted the things that are closest to our heart because these are the things that make life meaningful. 
 
On behalf of our Board of Trustees and our entire 79 square miles of excellence, have a “Terrific Thursday” an “Exceptional Spring Break.”
 
We truly appreciate you and all that you do. 
 
"Dr. J"

Robert Jaklich, Ed. D.

"Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever."
~Mahatma Gandhi