It might be peak summer, but on California's broader reopening, school officials are thinking about back-to-school, in this unprecedented time. K-12 schools have been cleared to return to in-person learning, and the county superintendents of schools for Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz are encouraging parents to embrace full-time for full-time K-12 instruction in the tri-county area.
They are recommending school districts, parents and students team up and create plans for a full-time return to in-person K-12 classes for the fall 2021 semester.
“Going back to in-person instruction is extremely important,’” says Deneen Guss, Superintendent of Schools for Monterey County. “Many young people really struggled with distance learning and are looking forward to going back to school, five days a week, full day.”
Prior to the reopening of California on June 15, school districts had limited programs for in-person classes and offered hybrid models. Since the state reopened, there aren’t capacity and distance restrictions; however, healthcare settings, transit centers and schools have to follow the updated CDPH face covering guidance. In fall students will continue to use face coverings as risk reduction measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
The superintendents are following the recommendations of the public health officer from their respective counties and are following the guidelines from the California Department of Public Health and CDC.
“Public health leaders have learned from the research and from the experiences of classroom instruction from the fall of 2020 through the spring of 2021 that the risk of transmission among children wearing masks is very low,” Krystal Lomanto, San Benito County Superintendent of Schools, said in a press release.
As of Friday, June 18, 63 percent of the population 12 or older, have received at least one vaccine of Covid-19 in Monterey County. “I think we're really in a good place right now, between the percent of individuals that are vaccinated, and good knowledge about what health and safety strategies need to be implemented to not allow the virus to spread both in the community or in our schools,” Guss says.
She adds that alternative programs for families who decide to opt out from in-person learning will be available but details are still under discussion at the state legislature. “We expect by the end of this month, or hopefully, by July 1, for the legislators, to come to some agreement,” Guss says.
In some cases, there will be whole new models for digital, remote learning.
To learn more about plans for return to in-person classes, contact a specific school or school district.