Between Sundays – Religious Education Program Has a New Safety Policy

Dear UUCV Community,

The UUCV Religious Education program has a new safety policy to continue keeping our children safe as COVID-19 risk factors & restrictions are easing in California. See below for a summary of the most important changes.

From the very beginning of the pandemic, UUCV’s Religious Education program has done as much as we could to keep our kids as safe and socially connected as possible. Though we recognize that the path forward has not always been easy, we are grateful for our community’s commitment to safety measures like masking, moving kids and classes outdoors, asking RE teachers for verification of full vaccination status, and encouraging social distancing.

Very often, I’ve heard caregivers & families remark that UUCV has been much more serious about our COVID safety protocols than other youth organizations they participate in. There are no easy answers in how to make these decisions, but we always begin with the questions, “How do we do the most for the least of us? How do we protect the most vulnerable?”

Following the science, checking in with families & RE teachers, and taking great care in making these decisions have all been central to the process.

On Monday, the UUCV Board of Trustees approved a new Religious Education COVID-19 Safety Policy moving into the Spring. This policy was written by Fidelity and the UUCV Reopening Team considering several factors including: the latest announcements about ending mask requirements in California schools (link), continuous survey results from UUCV families, and the decrease of COVID-19 cases in Ventura County.

You can read the policy in full here (link). Though much will look familiar, there are some significant changes. Please read the policy in full and let us know what questions you have.

Below are the most important changes summarized.

General Safety Changes under the Spring Policy:

• The Spring 2022 policy no longer restricts group sizes to 15 children or less.
• Caregivers no longer need to RSVP for RE classes.
• Children ages 0-4 will be invited indoors for a nursery.

Location:

• Religious Education classes will remain outdoors for children ages 5-17. Children 0-4 are invited indoors for a nursery.
• The UUCV Youth Group (middle school & high school) & adult advisors can use Berg Hall for special events while wearing masks. Attendance is limited to 20 for these events.

Social Distancing, Masks, and Vaccines:

• Social distancing is no longer required.
• Masks are encouraged but optional for outdoor Religious Education.
• Children ages 2-4 in the nursery are required to wear a mask indoors. Children ages 0-2 are not asked to wear masks indoors.
• Adult staff and volunteers working with the 0-4 group indoors will be required to wear masks.

Though it will take some time to get the indoor nursery fully staffed & up and running again, we hope this next step will help in the path forward to having our children and youth once again return indoors.

Thank you for bearing with us in the messy & difficult process of continued changes.

With care,
Fidelity Ballmer
Director of Religious Education
Fidelity@UUVentura.org