There’s no indication the world will return to normal anytime soon, but life doesn’t stop, and neither can school.
Both Las Virgenes and Oak unified school districts are adapting to the pandemic by shifting and molding the classroom experience. The change to a purely digital classroom this spring was a reaction to the spread of the virus, but with several months to prepare, the districts have announced additional options for the coming year.
When classes resume Aug. 19 at Las Virgenes, parents can send their kids back to either the campus or to a “virtual academy” with digital instruction only.
District Superintendent Dan Stepenosky said he and his staff are hoping to make parents more at ease about sending children back to school before a COVID-19 vaccine is available.
“We don’t know what’s going to happen between now and the end of fall. . . . We surveyed our families, and about 30% said they’d be interested in a virtual academy. I think we have about 150 families signed up,” Stepenosky said.
The virtual academy will be similar to the Zoom classrooms students began using when campuses closed in March. In August, however, there will be more support for the students. The district says it will collaborate with other digitally focused institutions to strengthen its overall offering.
LVUSD parents can choose the virtual or the in-person model, but not both. A child cannot switch between distance learning and on-campus education whenever they choose. Stepenosky and his staff might consider ways that allow students to toggle between options, however.
He said the district is still discussing how to bring students back to campus while observing social distancing and health and safety guidelines.
The biggest change is that the kids probably will not be on campus five days a week. Nothing is settled yet, but classes will likely be conducted in staggered groups to prevent crowding.
“For kindergarten through fifth grade, we’re trying to go right into school because we can cohort those children. That probably means . . . separate areas on the playground,” Stepenosky said.
“We’re not going to have 400 kids mingling and having lunch together. We can isolate those classes effectively.”
For kids in the lower grades, school is a chance to develop social and emotional skills, so it’s imperative that they be able to return to campus and spend time together, yet have minimal risk of contracting the virus, the superintendent said.
Students in middle and high school are more independent, so while spending time with their peers is important, their education is also a priority, he said.
The district is exploring its options for the upper grades.
“We’re looking at a staggered start for them where maybe half the students would be on campus each day,” Stepenosky said.
Other formulas might work, too. Some school districts are looking at having students remain with a single class for, say, 30 straight days, then moving on to the next class. The so-called cohort approach prevents students from frequently changing classes and mingling in the halls between periods. The disadvantage is that a student might finish their math class in February and not see their final exam until May.
LVUSD plans are expected to be finalized by July 15.
Oak Park
Classes resume Aug. 10 in the Oak Park Unified School District, the first local district to return.
District officials say students will be offered three options for the new year: a hybrid schedule, in which kids will be on campus two days a week and participating in distance learning the rest of the time; a digital-only setting similar to the protocol established after the campuses closed in the spring; and an independent school in which students will work on their own and meet with a teacher for an hour each week to review homework and receive assignments.
Students in the independent school will have access to academic workshops and instructional labs for core subjects including math, English and the sciences.
The grade levels will be divided into A and B cohorts with staggered in-home and in-class schedules so as to keep campuses operating at no more than 50% capacity.
OPUSD Superintendent Tony Knight said his district has been working hard to make sure it can hit the ground running once the school year returns.
“We have two task forces working on this, each with about 25 or more teachers, parents, support staff, counselors, administrators, board members and maintenance staff, you name it,” Knight said.
Both staff and students returning to campus will be expected to conduct regular temperature checks to ensure they are healthy. In addition, faculty will perform symptom screenings at designated checkpoints on campus.
The school district hosted a virtual town hall meeting Wednesday night to discuss plans for the fall. It can be viewed at www.oakparkusd.org/townhall.