Elk Grove district restarts academic, athletic events for next 2 days. Schools still closed

After canceling all school-related activities this week, the Elk Grove Unified School District announced Tuesday morning that academic and athletic team activities can resume for Tuesday and Wednesday.

The district also announced it will meet with labor leaders to discuss keeping the original spring break on the calendar and will consider seeking financial compensation from the state for this week’s missed school days. The district will also consider adding additional days to the end of the school year.

Schools remain closed for normal instruction.

The announcement that activities would resume means the Sheldon High School boys basketball team will play its Open Division game Tuesday night in the CIF State Northern California Regional playoffs.

And it means that Jason Stanley and 24 other students can take the $20,000 robot they programmed and built from scratch to a three-day competition in Fresno this week for a chance to compete for the National competition in Houston.

These events, and more, were abruptly canceled Saturday afternoon when the district, the largest in Northern California, made its announcement to close its schools Saturday after discovering that a parent of a child who attends a school in the district was ordered into quarantine by the Sacramento County Public Health Department.

The district later announced Monday evening that a Maeola R. Beitzel Elementary School student tested positive for coronavirus. The student is at home and doing well, said Dr. Peter Beilenson, the county’s health leader.

By Tuesday morning, word began trickling to families that events were back on.

Sharon Stanley, Jason Stanley’s mother, was relieved when she was informed Tuesday morning that her son and his peers could compete.

The EagleForce Robotics team from Pleasant Grove High School was initially told they cold not compete this week.

Stanley considered going to the event in Fresno anyway, especially because the robotics team is a non-profit organization that uses Pleasant Grove High’s shop to build the robot.

“But what kind of message does that send to the kids?” she asked. “It would be saying the rules don’t apply to us.”

The team had already spent two months building the robot. The robot was one of two machines the students build. It shoots, climbs and moves autonomously. It also provided an opportunity for students to score college scholarships, Intel internships and college acceptances in STEM programs.

Like others, Stanley said she took issue with the district’s decision to tentatively allow the Sheldon High School basketball team to play in the playoffs. Stanley said parents of the robotics team were willing to sign waivers.

Monday night, the 25 students resumed working on the robot at Sacramento City College since the high school shop room was closed due to the district’s orders.

“If Sheldon is allowed to play, why can’t we all compete as well? In a game, students are sweating. That’s not happening at our competition,” Stanley said.

Beilenson acknowledged the Elk Grove school district had consulted with his staff in coming to the decision to close schools, but suggested that it may have been a hurried process.

The county and the school district met for hours on Monday, and given the county’s new approach at mitigating the risk of the virus, canceling all school activities is not necessary.

Of the 13 cases Elk Grove Unified was monitoring with Sacramento County Public Health regarding potential exposure to CoVID-19, Sacramento County Public Health has cleared all but one case. The family of the student who tested positive is on quarantine.

This story was originally published March 10, 2020 at 10:46 AM.