The largest school district in the Sacramento region is returning to campus

The Elk Grove Unified School District, the largest public school district in Northern California, has set several target dates to bring its more than 60,000 students back into classrooms in March and April.

The school board voted 6-1 Tuesday on an agreement it signed with its teachers union to implement in-person instruction after its 67 campuses have been closed for nearly a year.

Students will return in a staggered schedule, with the youngest students returning sooner than older students.

Some students in preschool through third grade will return as soon as March 16.

Elementary aged students on Track A, middle schoolers and high schoolers will return to campus on April 1 and 2.

Associate Superintendent David Reilly said the multiple calendars and various return dates were a result of differing year-round track schedules district schools are on. Middle school and high school students are scheduled to return later than elementary students because they travel from class to class.

Students will not return to campus five days a week. A hybrid model will still be in effect in which students will return two days a week for shorter in-person instruction. The MOU, which includes details for each school schedule, can be found in the school board meeting agenda packet.

“Considering the roll out of vaccines, new guidelines from local, state and federal agencies, rapidly declining case rates leading us to be in the red tier shortly, and all the health and safety mitigation that will be in place, the conversation between EGEA and EGUSD led us to explore setting specific dates for the return to in-person instruction under the concurrent model,” said Rick Stancil, president of the Elk Grove Education Association.

Stancil also noted that two-thirds of the 2,600 union members who responded to a survey said they could either “live with or agree” with the dates recommended. About one-third of those who responded said they disagreed with the dates and continued to have concerns.

Distance learning still an option

The district is still offering distance learning as an option for students along with its concurrent learning model. Teachers will be teaching students who are in-person and at home at the same time. The concurrent model will allow students who are in distance learning to remain with their teachers and their schools.

“The concurrent model came out of the idea of not having to switch all of the kids and it also maximizes the amount of time that teachers and students spend together,” said Superintendent Chris Hoffman. “If you go to a hybrid model, you cut the amount of time that teachers and kids directly interact….We are trying to maximize relationships between our teachers and kids, and maximize instructional time within these constraints.”

The concurrent model, according to Hoffman, will also prevent disruption to student progress if the district needs to revert back to full distance learning.

The district has placed COVID-19 signage at all of its campuses, created isolation rooms, installed plexiglass barriers in offices, installed disinfectant technology to be used by custodians, and other safety measures. The district reconfigured classrooms, installed hospital grade air filters and prepared support services for small cohorts.

Elk Grove Unified partnered with California Northstate University to offer COVID-19 vaccines to district employees, beginning in mid-February. Reilly told school board members that vaccines were not a condition of returning.

Dozens of comments from parents were read at the virtual school board meeting. Many felt that the district should attempt to bring students back on a pre-COVID-19 schedule sooner.

School board President Beth Albiani said she hopes that the district will be able to bring students back in the fall on a normal, full day, five-day schedule. But much of that depends on the coronavirus infection rates in the months ahead.

Like many school districts across the state, Elk Grove Unified has not finalized its fall plans, but set plans to open summer school classes to help mitigate any learning loss due to campus closures and distance learning.