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The San Marcos Unified School Board voted to bring elementary students back in phases in January and February, but said middle and high school students will stay in virtual learning until COVID-19 rates decline dramatically.
The decision last week to delay reopenings came in response to new, stricter direction from the state on school reopening protocols. And it met angry protest from parents, who said students’ grades and mental health are deteriorating amid school closures, with little sense of when or if older students will return to campus.
“Your sole job is to consider what is best for the children,” said parent Rachael Wunderlich. “And hands down, that is putting them back in the classroom. Online learning is failing an entire generation.”
The San Dieguito Union High School Board voted last week to reopen schools starting in January, despite warnings from district administrators, the teachers union and others that there won’t be enough staff and that the reopening violates state rules.
The board voted 3-2 late Tuesday night to offer all students one-day-a-week, in-person instruction starting Jan. 4, and five-days-a-week in-person instruction starting Jan. 27.
The board voted at 11 p.m., after receiving hundreds of public comments from students, parents and teachers arguing for or against reopening next month.
San Dieguito serves about 12,900 middle and high school students at 10 schools.
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Many parents told the district that their children are suffering socially, emotionally and academically during school closures. Some said it’s not fair that other schools in the San Diego area have been open for months.
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As schools reopened in the fall, teachers and administrators struggled with the effects of the pandemic, striving to follow COVID-19 precautions and keep classrooms safe.
One by one, however, districts that reopened have shut down campuses again, as positive COVID-19 cases have emerged. The problem isn’t that the virus is spreading widely on campus, but that scattered positive cases set off chain reactions that make it difficult or impossible to keep schools running in-person.
The schools that reopened have taken steps to prevent COVID-19 transmission, and imposed quarantines when positive cases were reported. If a student, staff member or teacher turns up positive, school officials trace and notify close contacts, and place those people in isolation as well. When teachers or other employees are sent home, schools must find replacements to fulfill their duties.
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Poway Unified School District said it plans to re-close schools for two weeks in January because it is running out of staff needed to safely operate its campuses.
Many of its staff have had to quarantine due to positive COVID-19 test results or due to close contact with people who tested positive, the district said.
For the record:
7:57 AM, Dec. 16, 2020This article has been updated to reflect that Poway sent the letter to families on Tuesday, not Monday.
If Poway’s plan is approved by its school board on Thursday, it will join a growing number of local districts that are temporarily shutting down campuses a second time amid the worst COVID-19 surge that San Diego County has seen.