|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
The San Ramon Valley Unified School District has announced that it will be allowing many of its youngest students to return to elementary school campuses starting on Wednesday, using a hybrid in-person learning model after nearly a year of remote-only instruction due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Announced on Tuesday afternoon, the process will see the district will allow students in transitional kindergarten through second grade to return to in-person learning on Wednesday (Feb. 10), while students in third through fifth grade and special day classes (SDC) are set to return on Feb. 17.
“Wednesday is a day we have all long anticipated,” Superintendent John Malloy said. “I am profoundly grateful to see this day arrive, and to watch our dedicated staff welcome students back to their campuses, and, in the case of our youngest children, to see them come to school for the very first time.”
The first phase of the district’s plans to eventually return to full-time in-person learning, families will have the opportunity to stick with remote learning for their children through the end of the year, or return to school in-person for at least a portion of the week.
The district also noted that many families have already opted to keep their children home for remote learning, and that enrollment numbers will be lower at all campuses than they traditionally would be.
For families who do opt to send their elementary-aged children off to learn in-person, district officials say social distancing and other related safety measures will be taken where possible.
Students will be required to wear face coverings while on campus and tape markers will be used to teach and reinforce the importance of maintaining social distancing while on campus, according to an informational video posted by the district.
Hand sanitizer will also be available at the entrance of every classroom that students will be strongly encouraged to use before taking their seats for the day.
Elementary students will also have traditional recess within their classroom cohorts, with shared equipment being sanitized between use. Students will additionally stay within these cohorts whenever possible, with cohorts being discouraged from interacting with one another.
District officials have said they are not yet sure when students in grades seven and up will be allowed by the state to return to in-person instruction. The return of sixth-grade core classes — language arts and social studies — is set to be discussed at Tuesday’s school board meeting.
According to state guidelines, secondary school students may not return to in-person learning until the county moves out of the most-restrictive purple tier into the less-restrictive red tier — which is achieved when the county averages no more than seven new cases a day per 100,000 residents for five consecutive days.
As of Tuesday, Contra Costa Health Services has reported 21.5 cases per day per 100,000 residents countywide and a positive test rate of 5.7%.
“We haven’t forgotten about our secondary students. We continue to plan for their return as soon as the county enters the Red Tier. Additionally, we are working on bringing them back in small groups while still in the Purple Tier,” district officials said in a statement. “Thank you for all of your patience, flexibility, and understanding during this challenging time in our nation’s history. We are truly looking forward to seeing our students back on campus.”
Residents can read SRVUSD’s full COVID Safety Plan on the District website at: www.srvusd.net.
