SRVUSD: Secondary students might return to in-person learning next week

With coronavirus cases throughout the East Bay generally trending downward, the San Ramon Valley Unified School District has announced that secondary school students may be able to begin hybrid in-person learning as soon as Wednesday, March 17.

According to district officials, based on trends published by the California Department of Public Health, Contra Costa County is projected to enter into the state’s “red tier” as defined by the Blueprint for a Safer Economy for reopening by March 17. This will allow secondary school students to begin hybrid in-person learning for the first time in a year.

“We look forward to welcoming back our secondary students who selected hybrid very soon,” Superintendent John Malloy said in a letter to residents.

District staff said the county may even meet the red tier — which is achieved when the county averages no more than seven new cases a day per 100,000 residents among other qualifications — as soon as March 16. However, the date of March 17 has been set so a more solid plan can be created.

“In order to present our community with a concrete plan moving forward, together with our bargaining units, we have set the target date of March 17th to reopen our secondary schools for in-person instruction. If we do not officially enter the red tier on March 17th, we will return secondary students to in-person hybrid on the first day that we are allowed to do so after March 17th,” Malloy said. “We will continue to partner with our staff to ensure a smooth transition.”

Malloy added that bell schedules for March are currently being reviewed by district staff and families can expect additional information on their students’ hybrid cohorts on March 15.

The decision to bring high-school students back to the classroom has so far been largely controlled by the state, which disallowed schools from returning while their counties were still classified in the most-restrictive purple tier.

Overall SRVUSD residents have previously expressed a desire to keep their children home for the remainder of the school year. According to the district’s most recent survey, conducted in December, 75.85% of secondary school families opted to keep their students enrolled in remote learning.

Secondary school students will be following their elementary-aged counterparts, who began returning to hybrid in-person learning on Feb. 10.

Appeal over redevelopment project at old Chevron HQ coming to San Ramon councilApril 6, 2026 10:32 pm

Court orders revisions to Contra Costa County's Measure B ballot questionApril 6, 2026 6:42 pm

Danville council moves toward finalizing new assessment district structureApril 6, 2026 10:21 pm