Los Banos Unified in Merced County to resume in-person classes. Here’s what we know
Los Banos Unified School District officials on Friday said they plan to resume in-person learning for all K-12 students in March.
The district, which has primarily held remote classes online for several months, plans to follow a hybrid model where students will alternate between in-person and distance learning.
The announcement comes as the number of estimated number active coronavirus infections and positive tests have gradually decreased in a pandemic that has killed 384 people in Merced County.
Mark E. Marshall, Los Banos Unified superintendent, detailed the plan in a letter to parents in the district, which serves more than 11,000 students and has 14 schools.
“We look forward to the moment when we can safely work with our students in person again,” Marshall wrote in the letter. “
“Throughout this process, the safety of students, staff and the community remains our highest concern. We strive to also provide parents with predictability and transparency about our plans going forward.”
Under the plan:
Pre-kindergarten to first grade are expected to return to campus March 8.
Second to sixth grades are expected to return March 15.
Seventh to 12th grades are expected to return middle to late April.
The dates also depend on the rate of COVID-19 cases in the county. Information will be updated depending on pandemic conditions in the county.
Other aspects of the plan
The district will be able to open K-6 schools for in-person hybrid form of learning with an approved COVID-19 Safety Plan once the case rate per day per 100,000 people reaches 25 or less in Merced County.
Currently the county’s rate is at 26.9 and in January it was at 80, the district said.
Schools serving grades seven through 12 may reopen when Merced County gets to red tier status under the state’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy, a sliding scale of criteria for reopening businesses and social activities from measures aimed at limiting spread of the coronavirus in a county.
Merced County, like most of the state, remains in purple tier — the most restrictive for businesses and gatherings. To get to red tier, case rates must fall to 7 per day per 100,000 or less and remain at that level for two weeks.
However, if the county does not reach the red tier level that would allow 7-12 grades to return to campuses and alternate between in-person and online learning, then the district will have to discuss other curriculum plans for the rest of the school year, the letter said.
Other districts
Some smaller Merced County school districts like Atwater Elementary School District, Dos Palos-Oro Loma Joint Unified School District, Le Grand Elementary School District, Le Grand Union High School District and Snelling-Merced Falls Union Elementary School, are already doing in-person hybrid forms of instruction, according to Nathan Quevedo, spokesperson for Merced County Office of Education.
Also, Hilmar Unified School District has in person, minimum day instruction for elementary and middle school students, and high school students undergo the hybrid model of learning. Merced Union High School District plans to have students return to campuses, following a hybrid model, by March 15.
Green light required to reopen
Once Los Banos Unified School District is allowed to reopen for hybrid instruction they will adhere to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.
That means requiring staff and students to wear face coverings, washing and sanitizing hands and social distancing.
Staff and students will also complete wellness checks before coming to school, and anyone exhibiting flu or COVID-19 symptoms will be sent home, the district said.
Parents will be given the option of continuing distance learning. The district encourages parents to notify their schools as to whether they will accept the in-person, hybrid form of learning or continue with in-person learning.