News Update

West Contra Costa Unified reopens after two-day closure

After closing Friday and Monday due to staff shortages related to Covid, West Contra Costa Unified reopened Tuesday for in-person classes.

The district has taken aggressive steps to improve safety measures, including opening three new testing sites, giving out 13,000 at-home test kits to families, requiring medical-grade masks for staff, asking families and staff to quarantine during the closure, and requiring vaccines for students ages 12 and older beginning Feb. 18, according to the district.

“In our district, we had far more absences than usual, we also had more students testing more positive for the Covid-19 virus,” Superintendent Kenneth Chris Hurst said in a video address to families. “It also put a strain on our system, and the rapid spread of the virus requires an aggressive response for us all.”