‘A huge strain.’ Sacramento area schools enter another week of a COVID surge

Sacramento-area school districts are being hit hard by a wave of omicron cases.

The Sacramento City Unified School District has 1,366 positive cases and 10,041 students in quarantine, according to its dashboard. The district is hiring substitute teachers to fill gaps left by sick or exposed staff.

San Juan Unified has 2,237 positive student cases and 4,725 student exposures across its dozens of campuses. Elk Grove Unified, the largest district in the region, reported 286 active cases on Friday. And Folsom Cordova had 772 active cases among students and staff as of Wednesday, with nearly 1,800 students in quarantine.

The precipitous rise in cases has stressed districts, leaving some campuses low on staff and parents seeking alternatives to sending their children to school.

“This is putting a huge strain on our schools with many teachers and other staff members out sick,” San Juan Unified Superintendent Kent Kern wrote in an update to families. “We have continued our efforts to recruit more guest teachers and we have staff from the district office and other central departments stepping in to substitute when possible.”

In a news release Friday, Sacramento City Unified officials said people interested in substituting only need a bachelor’s degree and a background check after an executive order from the governor’s office making it easier to obtain an emergency teaching credential.

Students cases are climbing, too.

Bella Vista, one of the largest high schools in San Juan Unified, appears to have been hit particularly hard by the omicron wave, with 235 positive cases and 500 student exposures.

Stephanie Chandler, a parent of a sophomore at Bella Vista, said the rising cases has prompted her to keep her son home.

“The first day back last week, he said five to 10 kids that were missing out of each class, and that made me uncomfortable,” she said. “We have a vulnerable family. I want my kid in school but I feel like we need to give it a couple of weeks and have consistent testing and safety measures.”

The stress on staff and teachers has made it difficult to get guidance, Chandler said. She sent multiple emails to school and district officials before getting a response, and was told she would need to disenroll him from his school to continue with an independent study program.

Raj Rai, a spokeswoman for San Juan Unified School District, said the district is offering “a short-term independent study option for TK-12 students that are quarantining due to exposure to COVID-19 or are isolating due to being COVID positive that families can access through their school sites.”

“There is no limit to the number of students that can access the short-term option,” she added

School districts in California can’t switch to remote learning and receive state funding.

San Juan’s long-term independent study program is also still accepting middle- and high-school students, but requires an application and disenrollment from the child’s existing school, according to an email obtained by The Bee.

“San Juan Unified is committed to doing everything possible to ensure a healthy and safe environment for students,” Rai said.

Sacramento City Unified is also offering a short-term independent study program, said spokesman Al Goldberg.

“During short-term independent study they receive packet of grade-level assignments to complete and return so that they continue to learn during their quarantine period,” he said.