Sacramento-area school districts finalizing reopening plans. See where yours stands

As California continues to grapple with a surge in coronavirus cases, school districts around the Sacramento region are beginning to approve plans to begin classroom and virtual instruction this fall.

Districts are taking a wide range of approaches, interpreting new Sacramento County guidelines to best suit their staff, students and parents who were surveyed in recent weeks. Some school districts approved plans this week to return to classrooms two days a week, while others could launch in-class instruction five days a week.

In a widely-cited report, the American Academy of Pediatrics this week said it was in favor of children physically returning to classrooms in the fall to help their social and emotional well being.

But with a spike in coronavirus cases, plans for districts to bring students back in the fall will need to be flexible, allowing schools to easily move back into campus instruction or to distance learning as needed.

The American Academy of Pediatrics said time away from school could cause social isolation, making it difficult for schools to address learning deficits or identify issues like depression and substance abuse. In a statement released this week, the AAP said that there was already strong evidence that students struggled when schools closed in the spring.

“Beyond the educational impact and social impact of school closures, there has been substantial impact on food security and physical activity for children and families,” read the statement.

The institution laid out its own set of recommendations on how to reopen schools for different grade levels, including how to keep students physically distant from one another.

School districts in the Sacramento area that met Tuesday night are developing similar reopening plans, based on the guidelines provided by Sacramento County Office of Education: desks will be positioned 6 feet apart, a requirement according to Sacramento County public health officer Dr. Olivia Kasirye. And students as young as 5 years old will wear masks after all, following Gov. Gavin Newsom’s order. Students are only expected to wear masks when physical distancing isn’t possible.

County superintendent of schools David Gordon said schools expected the guidance to be fluid, and dependent on circumstances in the region. Sacramento County registered two days this week with more than 200 news case, by the far the most the county has seen since the pandemic began in March.

“Our guidance from the very beginning was pretty clear,” Gordon said. “It’s a moving target and a changing landscape.”

Distance learning will be available for students and families who choose not to return to campus for the 2020-21 school year.

Here’s the latest plans for many of the school districts in the Sacramento region:

Elk Grove Unified

Elk Grove Unified approved a “transitional model” this week that will allow students to physically return to class in different cohorts. Elementary students will go to campus twice a week – either on Tuesday and Thursday or Wednesday and Friday – from 7:45 a.m. to noon. Afternoons and Mondays are reserved for distance learning, office hours and intervention.

High school students in Elk Grove are in similar cohorts, but will only be on campus four days a week for 2 hours and 15 minutes, and will still engage in distance learning with their teachers.

The new transitional model is an addition to the distance learning model that students engaged in during the spring. Both models, and independent study, are available to parents and allow the district to transition to a full return back on campus.

“Much will depend on the current health conditions during this COVID-19 pandemic and the ability of public health to effectively test and contact trace,” said district officials.

Classrooms will be cleaned between cohorts. Elk Grove Unified decreased the number of students on campus at once by half.

Superintendent Chris Hoffman said regardless of how schools transition between one model and another throughout the school year, students will remain with the same classmates and teacher.

Folsom Cordova Unified

Board members of Folsom Cordova Unified voted on Tuesday 4-1 to bring students – transitional kindergarten to grade 12 – back into classrooms four or five days a week on an a.m./p.m. schedule. Students will also have the option of continuing with distance learning and not returning to campus.

It’s unclear how long the morning and afternoon classes will be or how long into the school year students will be on this schedule. District officials want to be able to pivot based on local and state health guidelines.

Board member Joshua Hoover voted against the plan, stating one of his concerns was for working parents who will be working while students need to be dropped off and picked up and spend longer days at home in the fall.

“Does it seem like it will be safe to do that?” Gordon said to The Sacramento Bee, referring to parent requests to reopen schools to a more traditional model. “We don’t have a more important responsibility than to keep people safe. Who wants to deny kids to be in band or football? The circumstances demand that we all work together to keep everyone safe.”

But early on in the discussion, board member JoAnne Reinking proposed that the board not consider bringing students back to a traditional schedule, stating it would be impossible to do so safely. The approved model will allow schools to open at 50 percent capacity

While school officials went back and forth on how safe it would be to allow students to return to school everyday, responding to parents’ calls for normalcy, Kasirye, the county public health officer, weighed in on the virtual board meeting

“There is a lot we don’t know about COVID-19 that we are discovering as we are going through this,” Kasirye said. “Children were spared to a great extent because it (schools) was one of the first sectors that was closed.”

Kasirye said while many indications point to children receiving mild reactions to the virus, schools must remember that teachers – many of whom are in their 60s or have underlying health conditions – are vulnerable.

Twin Rivers Unified

Twin Rivers Unified voted on a rough outline Tuesday to bring students physically back to school two days a week and implement distance learning three days a week.

Lori Grace, Associate Superintendent of Educational Services, said the decision reflects the community’s decision, after thousands of surveys were submitted to the district.

“There is a desire to look over the fence and see what’s happening in different places, but at the same time we have to be grounded and look at the desires of our parents, students and staff,” Grace said.

The district’s model also allows it to pivot back into a fully virtual model if a stay-at-home order is issued in the coming months, said Grace.

The district will provide masks for all students.

San Juan Unified

San Juan Unified announced to families they do not have a final plan in place, but are offering in-person learning, distance learning, and independent learning. It is unclear if in-person learning will be a hybrid model or resemble a traditional school schedule. The board expects to make a definitive recommendation by mid-July.

Natomas Unified

The district is providing three options: in-person learning with smaller class sizes, independent studies taught in groups no larger than 20 students, and a hybrid learning program where students will attend class in person and online on different days.

The district is asking families to register in the chance that the school allows some students to return to school five days a week. That plan is not official, however. Schools will set aside 50 percent of each school’s grade level enrollment for this option.

Sacramento City Unified

Sacramento City Unified has not announced a decision on how to reopen schools. The district is meeting with the Sacramento City Teachers Association on Thursday to discuss plans and plans to conduct another survey asking families for their reopening preferences.

Buckeye Union School District

Buckeye Union, which serves El Dorado Hills families just outside of Sacramento County, announced it will be returning to five days a week on August 12. Families who want to continue distance learning may choose to do so with the district. Masks are strongly encouraged.

School and health officials across the region said they will not close entire districts if someone tests positive for coronavirus. With contact tracing, schools may be able to close specific wings on campus and send certain student cohorts home.

Districts are still working on the finer details of their recommendations, including bus schedules, unique schedules for students in special education and cleaning protocols between classes. But many teachers across the region questioned how practical some of the plans are.

Rebecca LeDoux, Twin Rivers United Educators president, said expecting teachers to teach both in-person and online will be challenging, even for the most experienced teachers.

“Part of the school reopening model must have additional preparation time and training, as well as added safety measures to ensure that schools do not become outbreak zones,” she said.

Brenda Borge, the Natomas teachers association president, said school districts can only reopen if health guidelines are closely followed.

In school districts where plans have not been finalized, like Sacramento City Unified, the teachers union has met with school officials and say they are concerned over how classes will resume safely.

“SCUSD can’t afford to repeat the poorly thought out distance learning program from the spring, and continued lack of transparency and unwillingness to constructively engage with educators, parents and students,” read a statement from SCTA.

This story was originally published July 2, 2020 at 12:29 PM.