Students of all ages begin in-person instruction at Rocklin district’s 17 schools
Rocklin Unified School District reopened classrooms Monday, and more than 10,000 students returned to their campuses — the first time since closures were ordered in March.
All students from transitional kindergarten through 12th grade are able to return to the district’s 17 campuses in some capacity.
“We were very pleased to welcome back our students to our hybrid learning model today,” read a statement from the district. “We are grateful to our labor partners, Rocklin Teachers Professional Association and our California School Employees Association for working with us to make today a great start! We will continue to collect feedback from all in our Rocklin Unified School District to continuously improve. We will, as always, maintain safe campuses as the health and safety of our students, families and staff are a top priority.”
COVID-19 infection rates in Placer County have dropped enough in the last few weeks to allow it to be moved from California’s most restrictive closure category to the second-most restrictive, in which COVID-19 is “substantial.” That permitted it to reopen schools without first getting a waiver.
Sacramento is in the “widespread” category, a tier above Placer. The tiers are part of a color-coded reopening system launched last month by Gov. Gavin Newsom that assesses coronavirus prevalence and testing rates.
Under the district’s plan, students in grades TK to first will return five days a week in morning or afternoon classes.
Grades two through six will return two or three days a week in “A” or “B” groups. On days that they are not on campus, students will engage in independent work.
Grades seven through 12 will also return two to three days a week, with groups “A” and “B” alternating days on campus. During at-home days, students will complete independent work.
About 68 percent of teachers said they felt they were not ready to go back to school next week, according to the teachers union.
When surveyed in July, 60 percent of families said they wanted to return five days a week, while 30 percent said they wanted to return in a hybrid model. About 10 percent of families said they will continue using the online option, according to a district survey.
Nearly 1,400 of the district’s 13,500 students have opted to continue distance learning with the Rocklin Virtual Campus. That program has separate staff and a separate principal. Some parents and teachers voiced their concerns about continuously readjusting their schedules, particularly with those who chose to continue learning online.
On Sept. 16, the district’s teachers union filed a grievance raising concerns about whether enough safety precautions are in place to keep students and teachers safe from COVID-19.
In addition to the grievance, more than 2,500 people have signed a petition that called for the district to delay reopening campuses and continue providing a distance learning program.
The district is holding a special meeting on Sept. 29 to determine what in-person will look like in the beginning of the second quarter. It potentially could move to in-school learning five days a week for all grade levels as soon as October.
This story was originally published September 21, 2020 at 1:21 PM.