Update: Here’s where individual Stanislaus County school districts stand on reopening
Updated Oct. 22, 8 a.m.
More school districts in Stanislaus County are submitting waivers to reopen TK-6 in-person learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, among the latest being Turlock and Salida, whose boards approved plans Tuesday.
Stanislaus County finally has met the criteria for leaving the most restrictive tier of California’s coronavirus reopening program. But it will have to maintain the numbers for another week to move from the purple to red tier, which would ease some of the limits on business, schools and other activities. Purple is the most restrictive of the four tiers.
Here’s where public school districts in Stanislaus are with regard to reopening elementary schools:
Ceres Unified School District — The district’s waiver application was submitted Oct. 15 and is pending approval. It proposes opening on or after Nov. 2.
Chatom USD — Its plan was submitted Sept. 11 and approved by the state on Sept. 24. Students returned Monday, Oct. 5.
Denair USD — The district board discussed reopening at its Oct. 9 meeting. By the Nov. 12 board meeting, Superintendent Terry Metzger said she will work with parents and staff members to formalize a hybrid learning plan. As of Thursday morning, Oct. 22, no waiver application had been submitted.
Empire USD — Its waiver application was submitted Oct. 2 and was approved Oct. 16. The plan proposes opening no sooner than Nov. 2.
Gratton School District — Its plan was submitted Sept. 15 and approved Sept. 24. Students returned Oct. 1.
Hart-Ransom USD — As of Thursday morning, Oct. 22, no waiver application had been submitted.
Hickman SD — The waiver application was submitted Sept. 15 and approved Sept. 24. The stated plan for Hickman Elementary School is to return grades TK-1 on Oct. 12, grades 2-3 on Oct. 26 and grades 4-5 on Nov. 9.
Hughson USD — The plan was submitted Sept. 23 and was approved Oct. 9. The district’s two elementary campuses will reopen Nov. 2 to some students under a hybrid-learning format, district leaders announced last week.
Keyes USD — In an email to The Bee on Thursday morning, Oct. 22, Superintendent Helio Brasil said, “At this point, we are working on plans to reopen a blended learning model of in-person and distance learning for all grades TK-12 (phased over a period of time) once we meet the 14-day Tier 2 Red requirement. Keyes chose not to apply for a waiver, based on community, staff and administration concerns.”
Knights Ferry Elementary School District — Its plan was submitted Sept. 3 and approved Sept. 16. It was the first public school waiver in Stanislaus County to be OK’d. Students began returning Sept. 29.
Modesto City Schools — At its Oct. 19 meeting, the Board of Education approved the waiver application. The district submitted its final TK-6 waiver application and final TK-6 reopening plan to the Stanislaus County Office of Education and public health on Thursday morning, Oct. 22.
Newman-Crows Landing USD — The plan was submitted Oct. 8 and is pending approval. It calls for reopening no sooner than Nov. 2.
Oakdale Joint Unified School District — On Aug. 28, Oakdale was the first public school district in the county to submit its waiver application. It was approved Sept. 24. It began bringing back students the week of Oct. 19.
Paradise ESD — Its plan was submitted Sept. 8 and OK’d Sept. 28. Students began returning Oct. 12.
Patterson JUSD — The district submitted its waiver application Sept. 22. It won approval Oct. 5. Superintendent Philip Alfano told The Bee in an email Oct. 22, “We have not finalized a reopening plan with our board, but we are looking at reporting information on our website similar to what has been used in other districts that have reopened. One of the issues I think we are all struggling with is how to put the real numbers in context for parents and staff. We are also continually communicating about the additional resources for mitigation strategies that we’ve been developing and refining since May. Every study I’ve seen puts positivity rates in schools that have reopened at significantly less than 1%. Of course, we have to be prepared for individual cases and cluster outbreaks that can and will occur. We are taking our revised plan back to our board on Nov. 2.
Riverbank USD — Submitted Sept. 23, the plan was OK’d Oct. 2. Superintendent Christine Facella told The Bee in an email, “We have not yet established our opening date but have informed our school community that we are looking at October 26 or the first week of November.”
Roberts Ferry SD — The plan was submitted Sept. 11 and approved Sept. 24. Students began returning Sept. 28.
Salida USD — The district’s plan was submitted Oct. 7 and approved Oct. 16. It proposes opening on or after Oct. 26.
Shiloh SD — The plan was submitted Sept. 15 and approved Sept. 28. Students were set to return Oct. 12.
Stanislaus County Office of Education/Great Valley Academy Charter School — The plan was submitted Oct. 7 and Approved Oct. 19. It says students will return to the two campuses — one in Modesto, the other in Salida — no earlier than Oct. 26.
Stanislaus Union School District — The plan was submitted Sept. 17 and was OK’d on Oct. 5. Transitional kindergartners through second-graders are to return Nov. 2.
Sylvan USD — The plan was submitted Sept. 30 and was approved Oct. 9. It proposes reopening no earlier than Oct. 26.
Turlock USD — Its plan was submitted Oct. 7 and approved Oct. 19. It says the first students will return Oct. 26.
Valley Home Joint School District — The plan was submitted Sept. 9 and approved Oct. 5. Students were to return Oct. 12.
Waterford USD — Its waiver application was submitted Sept. 29 and was approved Oct. 9. It calls for returning TK through first grade no sooner than Oct. 19 and grades two and three no sooner than Nov. 2. The date to bring back fourth through sixth grades is yet to be determined, the plan says.
Links to all the waiver applications submitted by public school districts in Stanislaus County are at stancoe.org/division/administrative-services/school-waivers-public-schools.
This story was originally published October 8, 2020 at 4:30 AM.
