Merced County schools launching campaign to get kids back to in-person classes
In an effort to get Merced County K-12 students back into classroom, education officials plan to launch a campaign Monday emphasizing the importance of in-person learning.
Merced County Office of Education officials plan to kick off the “Ready to Return” campaign with an 11 a..m. press conference at the MCOE Downtown Professional Development Center.
MCOS Spokesperson Nathan Quevedo the office is spending $50,000 on the campaign from state COVID relief funds. The campaign will include video and radio commercials, billboards and social media.
All 20 school districts in Merced County have agreed to participate, Quevedo said. “We’re here to launch this public awareness campaign to show people that it’s safe to return to school, that it’s important that students are at school, ready to learn,” Quevedo said.
“Being in class, in person, with adults who care about students’ well being is the best place for them to learn and succeed.”
The first day of school for most districts in the county is Aug. 11. Los Banos Unified School District junior high and high school students will return Aug. 13 and elementary school students will return Aug. 16.
As schools in Merced County prepare to open for fall instruction, concerns have grown among public health officials as the number of COVID-19 infections increase locally and statewide.
Merced County Department of Public Health on Wednesday reported 26 COVID-19 hospitalizations over the last week, marking a rise from prior weeks.
Recent daily case counts of COVID-19 have regularly tallied in the dozens this month compared to counts of 10 or less in June.
Plus, there are also growing concerns over the Delta variant, now the nation’s dominant COVID-19 strain. Thus far only 30 percent of Merced County residents are fully vaccinated.
Amid concerns some parents may voice over the rising COVID infections among unvaccinated residents, school officials say they will continue to follow state and county public health guidelines by requiring masks to be worn indoors, regardless of vaccination statuses.
Other precautions being taken in local schools include hand washing stations and upgraded ventilation systems.
If parents are still uncomfortable with sending their children back to school despite the safety measures set in place, they can look into independent studies offered at their child’s school district, Quevedo said.
Parents interested in that option should contact their local school districts.
Hesitancy about return to in-person learning?
Merced County school officials who spoke with the Sun-Star have said the parents they’ve talked to overwhelmingly support sending their children back to the classroom.
For example, Atwater Elementary School District, which serves nearly 5,000 students will have 99% of its students return to school, and there have been a very low number of requests for independent studies, Superintendent Sandra Schiber said in an email.
“With the safety protocols in place, parents and staff in the AESD community seem excited and happy about a full return to in-person Instruction. With the low number of independent study requests it is evident our community is ready for our schools to fully reopen,” Schiber wrote.
The safety protocols set in place as well as a wavier, also allowed AESD, among very few districts in the county to reopen for hybrid in-person instruction last October.
“AESD is prepared for full day In Person Instruction,” Schiber wrote. “We are diligent in collaborating with public health authorities and will continue many of the safety mitigation strategies we put into place when we opened our doors last October. AESD was among the first to open schools for Hybrid In Person instruction last October to over 70% of our students and had success keeping all schools open.”
Los Banos Unified School District, which serves nearly 11,000 students, will have 95% of its students come back to school, LBUSD Superintendent Mark Marshall wrote in a statement to the Sun-Star.
Marshall said there hasn’t been pushback from students or parents regarding the mask mandate, which requires public schools in California to have everyone on school grounds wear masks indoors, while making it optional outdoors.
“LBUSD is very well prepared. Our health and safety protocols are consistent with County, State and Federal Heath Guidance,” Marshall wrote. “This summer we offered comprehensive summer programs at most of our sites with our safety procedures in place. Nearly 3000 students attended. No classrooms or schools were closed due to outbreaks of the COVID-19 virus. This is a testament to the effectiveness of our preparedness.”
Other aspects of the campaign
Workforce Investment is partnering with MCOE as part of the campaign, in order to showcase various job opportunities available to Merced County residents who may have been impacted by the pandemic.
Quevedo explained some parents may have had to quit their jobs in order to stay home with their children due to distance learning.
The county public health department will be there to encourage the community to get vaccinated, especially as the Delta variant has made its way around the county.
Department of Public Health is also participating in the campaign to encourage parents and eligible family members to get vaccinated.
Merced area school districts, like Merced City School District, have also been encouraging faculty and students 12 and older to get vaccinated in the hopes of getting to “some normalcy.”
“Vaccination remains one of the best tools against this pandemic and we continue to encourage individuals who are able to get vaccinated to do so,” Interim MCSD Superintendent Doug Collins wrote in a statement posted on the district’s website.
The Merced County District Attorney’s Office is playing a role in the campaign by addressing school truancy. The office has an investigator that works in most county school districts to pay attention to incidents of chronic truancy.
This story was originally published August 2, 2021 at 5:00 AM.