Elk Grove Unified gives students attendance choices in reopening plan for the fall

Elk Grove Unified announced formal school reopening plans on Friday morning, staying largely on course with its earlier plans to have students attend in-person or continue distance learning in the fall.

The district will offer students two new educational models for the school year: a transitional and full distance learning model.

The transitional model will be an in-person model.

Preschool students will attend two-to-four days a week depending on their program.

Students in transitional kindergarten and kindergarten will attend two days per week, three hours per day on an a.m. or p.m. schedule. Students will engage in distance learning when they are not on campus.

Elementary-aged students will attend in person four days a week for two hours and 50 minutes each day, Tuesday through Friday in an a.m. or p.m. cohort. On Mondays, students will receive independent practice and distance-learning education.

Middle school and high school students will attend school in-person two days per week for either three 80-minute periods each day or four 75-minute periods each day depending on their school. On days when they are not on campus, they will engage in distance learning.

Full distance learning will be available through live, recorded and virtual instruction, and will be provided during school hours. Students will receive direct, live sessions through an online platform, which will include full class sessions and small group sessions, according to the district. All live sessions will be scheduled in advance, and will take into consideration a student’s age, grade level, English learning level, and personal abilities and accommodations.

The district is also providing alternative education through Calvine, William Daylor and Rio Cazadero high schools. Students can attend two 55-minute sessions a day, four days a week, or engage through distance learning.

Last month, the district approved a transitional model that would allow students to return to class in different cohorts. The initial proposed plan scheduled elementary students to return to campus twice a week from 7:45 a.m. to noon. That has since changed to four days a week.

District officials said information and feedback from the school board, parents and community was critical in the development and refinement of the models.

The district’s reopening plan is similar to those of other Sacramento area districts.

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.

“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.

In June, Elk Grove Unified announced school won’t restart until August for all students, rescheduling the annual plans to bring students on the year-round schedule back in July. The decision was made so that students and staff concerned over the coronavirus pandemic would no longer return to their classrooms in mid-July.