Dear Friend --

Today was an enormous day for kids and families across Long Beach as they returned to classrooms — many for the first time in over a year. I spent the morning touring classes at Roosevelt Elementary with State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, Superintendent Dr. Jill Baker, and Board President Dr. Juan Benitez. The excitement we saw on kids' faces was absolutely infectious, and it was so great to see classrooms fully back in use.

Long Beach has been a leader throughout our vaccination roll out and we were the first city in the state to begin vaccinating educators. Because of these efforts, LBUSD became the largest school district in California to begin bringing students and teachers back to classrooms in March and is now the largest to require vaccinations or testing for all employees and staff.

We had the great opportunity today to bring together education leaders from both the state and region to celebrate this important day. I want to thank Principal Gamboa at Roosevelt Elementary School for welcoming us to campus.

I also want to acknowledge that today's return to schools was made possible by the many teachers and staff who have done their part by getting vaccinated, and by the countless health care workers who are working to vaccinate our entire community. 

As of today, nearly 77% of all Long Beach adults have been vaccinated, and that number jumps to just over 80% when looking at our LBUSD faculty and staff. Our classrooms are safe for our children to learn. Today was a sign of great progress. 

Thank you and Go Long Beach,

Mayor Robert Garcia