Press Release

San Francisco (March 12, 2020) - SFUSD is closing schools to students for 3 weeks beginning Monday, March 16 through the end of regularly scheduled spring break (which ends Friday, April 3). Staff will be working part of this time to prepare and train on how to educate and support community health during this epidemic.

“Health officials have advised that it is likely our community will be seeing many more cases of COVID-19 in the coming weeks and months and this will require a measured, sustained response,” said Board President Mark Sanchez. “Our schools are an essential support for the community of San Francisco. We know that we are all in this together and we need to better equip our staff who are on the front lines of serving students in the midst of this epidemic.”

During this 3-week period, all school building activities for students, including school day instruction and extracurricular activities, childcare, before and after school services, health services, and enrichment will be canceled. The district is exploring with the City and County of San Francisco and community organizations what it can do to support students and families while schools are closed for the two weeks before spring break.

“All staff -- teachers, principals, administrative assistants, custodians, cafeteria workers, substitutes, administrators, paraeducators, central office leaders, and more -- are already going above and beyond to support our students and families,” Superintendent Dr. Vincent Matthews said. “I am immensely grateful for their commitment to their school communities.”

Public health officials recommend that families who need to make arrangements for childcare during closure should try to avoid leaving children with older relatives and others who are more vulnerable to complications from COVID-19. Students should stay home and minimize social contact as much as possible to keep their adult family members safe.

SFUSD will continue to provide frequent updates, including more details in the following days.