Merced Union High School District resuming in-person classes next month, says board
Merced Union High School District’s Board of Trustees voted Friday that its schools will reopen for in-person classes on Nov. 2.
The decision to offer in-person classes is contingent on Merced County transitioning from the purple tier into the red tier under the state’s reopening plan.
The board vote, which happened during a special meeting, was unanimous.
“Our job in this process, us the governance team, is to take the information that Merced County Public Health gives to us and then use their guidance to inform this body’s decision making,” said MUHSD Superintendent Alan Peterson, during the board meeting.
“Until this past Tuesday, we were told the most probable outcome was that we would not be able to return until later in the fall — and because we have to switch at a grading period this meant this meant January for MUHSD.”
“This board has very publicly, along with myself, said they want parents to have the right to choose what is best for their child during this pandemic — in-person instruction or distance learning,” he added.
MUHSD schools include Merced, Golden Valley, Atwater, Buhach Colony, El Capitan, Yosemite, Independence, Sequoia, and Merced Adult.
Last month several schools in Merced County were given waivers allowing them to reopen.
County’s COVID-19 numbers must improve
Under the statewide reopening plan, the Merced County is classified under the purple tier, the most restrictive of four color-coded tiers for counties. That means the state defines Merced County as having widespread risk for COVID-19 transmission.
If Merced County moves to the second reopening tier, its color-code will change from purple to red and its transmission risk will be reclassified from “widespread” to “substantial.”
“If the numbers hold or continue to improve over the next two weeks, the county will officially move into the red allowing schools to reopen under County Health Department guidelines,” MUHSD stated in a release.
The school district has asked parents to fill out a survey that expresses whether they wish to have their child continue with distance learning — or return to campus for in-person classes.
According to Peterson, 62.5% of the surveys filled out have requested their child to participate in in-person classes and 37.5% to continue with distance learning.
Peterson said the survey responses aren’t binding. Parents will be allowed to change their decision based on the latest data.
“It’s highly likely we would be able to offer an A-B schedule to students that report to campus,” Peterson said. “A-B means students come every other day. That’s the best outcome for teachers and students that want in-person instruction relative to an A-B-C schedule which is every two days.”
The original plan by the district was to offer only distance learning through the first semester. However, the board stated they left the option to change if conditions improved.
“MUHSD believes that the best place for students to be is in schools and (the district) is committed to returning students to campuses when it is safe to do so,” the release stated.
This story was originally published October 4, 2020 at 12:32 PM.
