Another school district finalizes plans to reopen. Twin Rivers sets April 6 return date
Twin Rivers Unified School District and its teachers union have finalized an agreement to bring students back to campuses on April 6, making it one of the last districts in the county to finalize reopening plans.
Elementary students will return to campus in a hybrid model, starting April 6. Middle and high school students will return the same day if Sacramento County enters the red tier before then, which is expected.
Twin Rivers Unified Superintendent Steve Martinez said he is hopeful that students will be able to all return on the earlier date but if the county enters the red tier later than anticipated, middle and high schoolers will return the following week.
The district’s school board will vote on the Memorandum of Understanding, which permitted the return, at a special board meeting Wednesday night. District officials expect the board to approve the already negotiated reopening dates and safety measures.
The district, which serves 23,000 students, represents neighborhoods that were once hardest it by COVID-19 in the county.
In the MOU with the Twin Rivers United Educators, both parties agreed to bring teachers back on campus on March 22 for a transition week. The MOU expires Dec. 31, allowing the school to remain on this schedule if COVID-19 infection rates do not improve.
“Despite buildings being closed for 12 months, educators never stopped teaching and students never stopped learning through a comprehensive distance learning model,” said sixth grade teacher and teachers union president Rebecca LeDoux. “As we begin this new phase, educators can safely return to in-person instruction and continue to support our students.”
Classrooms will have MERV 13 or HEPA filters, CO2 monitors, six-foot distancing between desks and district employees will have access to free COVID-19 testing every week.
“For the last eight years, luckily, we have really worked on our HVAC systems,” Martinez said. “We were very fortunate when this issue came up with ventilation that we were in a position that we didn’t have to change out filters.”
About 40% of the students in the district surveyed said they will remain in distance learning, according to Martinez.
Twin Rivers Unified chose not to move those students to a virtual distance learning academy with new teachers, or have teachers simultaneously instruct in-person and online students at once. Instead, students in-person will be instructed in hybrid cohorts in the morning, and students who choose distance learning will be instructed online in the afternoon.
“This will allow us to continue to get through our curriculum, and get through our grade level standards in a timely manner,” Martinez said.
Twin Rivers Unified returns from its spring break on April 6, and district officials say they have received clarity on how Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed incentives to reopen by April 1 will apply to them.
Because the district has a planned week-long vacation that extends to Monday April 5, the district will not lose 1% of its funding.
Several school districts in the county have announced reopening plans, including San Juan Unified, Elk Grove Unified, and Sacramento City Unified. Some school districts like Natomas Unified have already started to bring students back on campus in their spring reopening.
This story was originally published March 3, 2021 at 1:04 PM.