Superintendents: Reopening schools depends on Stanislaus knocking down coronavirus numbers
Modesto City Schools never has changed its 2020-21 academic calendar from having Aug. 10 as the first day of school. That’s been the one certainty during the shelter-at-home period brought on by the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Starting the school year doesn’t necessarily equate to reopening schools for in-person learning, though that remains the goal for MCS and other Stanislaus school districts.
It’s the goal even as Stanislaus County remains on the state’s COVID-19 watch list because of an uptick in cases. And even as county Public Health Officer Dr. Julie Vaishampayan told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, “If we do not change our trajectories quickly, I told them (local schools superintendents) I can’t see full opening the first week of August.”
Vaishampayan also wrote in a StanEmergency Facebook page post Wednesday that she’ll be working with superintendents over the next four to five weeks “as school districts begin final preparation for the new school year.” Five weeks would extend days into the scheduled start of many local school districts’ academic year, including Riverbank and Oakdale, Aug. 6; Sylvan, Aug. 10; Patterson, Aug. 11; and Turlock and Ceres, Aug. 12.
The great majority of families want their children back in school, MCS Superintendent Sara Noguchi and county Superintendent of Schools Scott Kuykendall said this week, expressing optimism that districts can get them there with the help of the community.
“Many of our local districts conducted surveys, and more than 90% of parents indicated they prefer their children attend on campus, classroom-based instruction,” Kuykendall said in an email to The Bee.
To lower infection rates, Noguchi said in a phone interview, residents need to adhere to the simple steps repeatedly asked of them: wear face coverings when out, wash hands frequently, maintain social distance and don’t participate in mass gatherings. “If we can do that ... we can get our kids back to school,” she said.
Should the state and county say in the next few weeks or even the next few months that school campuses can’t reopen, or have to close again, her district will comply, Noguchi said. The pandemic is “a long game. This isn’t this isn’t going away by October, November or January,” she said. And communities, just not schools, will be required to adjust: “We open, we close, we open, we close. I think that we’re going to see that for a while.”
MCS employees have had spring and summer months to work on distance learning, Noguchi said, and about 12% of district families, or 3,200 kids, have indicated the independent-study Modesto Virtual Academy is the way they want to go this school year. So should the district have to return entirely to home study, it will be a “much more robust program” than the distance learning that ended the last school year, she said.
There will be clear accountability for teachers to connect with their students, teach them, assess their progress and grade their work, Noguchi said, and accountability for families to have students sign in each day and engage in learning.
Still, a safe, in-person learning environment remains the priority for county schools and most families, Kuykendall said. “Children rely on schools for multiple needs, including but not limited to academics, nutrition, physical activity, socialization and mental health,” he said. “Special populations of students receive services for disabilities and other conditions that are virtually impossible to deliver online.”
Day care had clean bill of health
Though a widely available COVID-19 vaccine is a long way off, Noguchi got at least a shot of confidence as she and district staff work toward reopening schools. The boost came from a day care center MCS operated from March 22 through June 30, serving dozens of children of front-line health and safety workers daily.
“We had kids there every day, and there wasn’t a single positive case in adults and there wasn’t a single case in kids,” Noguchi said.
A report by the American Academy of Pediatrics, titled “COVID-19 Planning Considerations: Guidance for School Re-entry,” says the best evidence indicates children are less likely than adults to be symptomatic and less likely to have severe disease resulting from SARS-CoV-2, the infection that results in COVID-19. “In addition, children may be less likely to become infected and to spread infection,” the report says.
How AAP and CDC differ on COVID guidelines
The AAP’s guidance aligns with that of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the importance of students wearing masks, but differs with the CDC recommendation that classroom desks be spaced 6 feet apart. “In many school settings, 6 feet between students is not feasible without limiting the number of students,” the AAP says. “Evidence suggests that spacing as close as 3 feet may approach the benefits of 6 feet of space, particularly if students are wearing face coverings and are asymptomatic.”
The World Health Organization also says 3 feet is the minimum safe distance among people, and Noguchi said 3 to 6 feet is the acceptable measure county health and SCOE are following. “By moving out some of the peripheral furniture and other things in the classroom, we can spread kids out to be able to accommodate the World Health Organization guidelines,” she said.
In an email to The Bee, a teacher in another district within the county said the classroom plan leaves much to be desired. “This leaves the classroom with only a teacher desk and student desks,” the teacher wrote. “Then student desks are arranged so that they are 4-5 feet apart. The teacher is to remain in a ‘bubble’ 6 feet away from students. I teach 3rd grade. I cannot teach from one spot in the classroom.”
No one would say that what’s ahead for students, parents, teachers and other educators is ideal, but rather a way for schools to “survive” the pandemic, as Noguchi put it.
Kuykendall said district superintendents continue to meet weekly, and will meet again Monday with Vaishampayan.
Noguchi hopes there is clarification well before Aug. 10. But if Stanislaus remains a hot spot at that point, the one certainty, the first day of the school year, might end up being changed after all, she said. The district could “push out by two weeks” or take some other action.
“We really can’t predict the future,” Noguchi said, “but what we can do is be prepared to pivot in whichever way we need to.”
This story was originally published July 9, 2020 at 2:39 PM.
