May 3, 2020

Dear Alvord Families,

Trustworthiness. Who do we trust during these unprecedented times now that we are faced with tough choices as the pressure to reopen California heightens? Frustration with stay-at-home orders is mounting and the Governor responded this past Tuesday during his daily coronavirus briefing by outlining a 4-phase plan to reopen California, including reopening schools as soon as July. His announcement came exactly a week after he cautioned everyone that large gatherings would be “negligible at best until we get to herd immunity and a vaccine," suggesting that when schools do reopen, presumably after the traditional summer break, they will look far different since herding is common in all schools at all levels. Social or physical distancing on a bus, in a classroom, during assemblies and recess and lunch are all possible with a new set of protocols, but is it the right thing and the safe thing to do?

We closed schools on March 13 by Order of the Riverside County Public Health Officer. That Order was extended on April 1 and remains in place until June 19. Both Orders proved to be the right call since COVID cases in Riverside County have since surged to 4,079, with 156 deaths, despite strict social distancing and other preventive measures having been taken. As of May 1, however, a plan by the County Board of Supervisors to rescind Riverside County public health orders is scheduled for debate this Tuesday, May 5, despite an announcement just days earlier on April 29 from Dr. Cameron Kaiser, the county’s public health officer, to extend the face covering and social distancing mandate to June 19. Dr. Kaiser warned that “COVID-19 has not been eliminated” and that face coverings and social distancing are the new normal in Riverside County. Mixed messages simply complicate an already complex issue.

But the pressure to reopen schools as soon as possible is not purely for political or economic reasons, as many people are suggesting. It’s also in recognition of the threat and significant risks for many children who are now living in isolation and without a safety net and support from their schools and peers. While a distant second to wellbeing, learning loss is also a consideration for opening schools sooner rather than later. Watch the podcast segment with our counselors later on in this newsletter. Children of all ages respond to and process emotional experiences and traumatic events in ways that are very different from adults. It’s neither an exaggeration nor an overstatement to suggest that this unprecedented disruption in the developmental process in the lives of our most vulnerable youth can have lifelong implications.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and a stark reminder for all of us that fear and anxiety caused by a crisis of this magnitude can be overwhelming and cause powerful emotions in adults and children. Add isolation to the mix of potential stressors and it’s no wonder we are all anxious to reopen our State and schools and get back to normal, but when it's safe to do so. In the meantime, we will continue to reach out to our students and their families to provide educational services and learning opportunities, and wherever necessary, social-emotional support. Find a variety of resources to support mental health later on in this newsletter. Our school counselors will continue to focus their efforts as they always do on helping our students access learning by supporting their social-emotional needs.

So, what might next year look like?

As I had written in my message last week, we are planning to prepare our schools and staff to reopen on August 10, as planned (see 2020-21 calendar here). Preparing our schools includes sanitizing the campuses using innovative electrostatic spray technology (see a brief video on the Total 360® System below in the newsletter). But for us to reopen as scheduled we will need to be confident that we can control for social/physical distancing and ensure other preventative practices can be strictly followed and maintained. Since there’s over three months between now and August 10, it would be premature to make any decisions other than to stay with the planned 2020-21 school year calendar, at this point in time. Meanwhile, we will begin the process of working with our employee groups and other experts to determine how to most effectively control variables such as the number of students in any given space at any given time, adequate amounts of personal protective equipment are available, cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched surfaces and objects in and out the classroom, and closely monitoring attendance and absenteeism for signs of illness.

While all of the above-stated variables require a commitment of time and dedicated personnel, the greatest challenge will be reducing the number of students on campus while still maintaining a consistent academic program and opportunities for students to socialize, and in the case of younger children, to play while social distancing. There are models from the era of year-round schooling that could be implemented, along with other models that utilize a multitrack year-round calendar, effectively dividing the student body and staff into quarters or fifths. But all come with significant modifications to existing routines, practices, and facilities.

Regarding playing, from PE to sports, see last week’s podcast featuring CIF Southern Section Commissioner Rob Wigod for a discussion on high school athletics in the age of COVID. If social distancing as we currently practice it remains in place, the fall athletic season will likely be postponed until such time that social distancing no longer has to be observed or other protocols can be put in place, such as COVID-testing athletes, for example. Another option districts are considering is to delay the start of school from August 10 to after Labor Day to increase herd immunity and perhaps have more direction from the medical establishment using science to make sound decisions. Any local decision will be made collaboratively with input from all stakeholder groups and only after significant discussion and debate.

After Governor Newsom announced his 4-phase plan to reopen California, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond said, “We share the Governor’s aspirations for re-opening our schools as soon as possible. If we are going to do this, it can only be done when we are sure we can protect the health and safety of everyone in our school communities. Our students, families, teachers, and classified staff have been amazing and inspiring in their hard work to shift to distance learning under unprecedented circumstances. Even if schools re-open sooner than anticipated, it’s possible we will need to continue some form of remote learning to maintain social distancing. What will that look like, and what resources need to be in place to make that possible? Our broad coalition of leaders from across California and beyond will rise to this challenge by seeking answers to these hard questions.”

Stay tuned as the discussion continues and deepens as we approach the conclusion of the 2019-20 school year on May 28. Distant learning summer school begins on June 1 (see more on summer school here). Depending on the direction of the State’s and County’s response to COVID in next couple of weeks, we will look at a variety of additional summer school opportunities within our means to further remediate for learning loss and prepare students for the next level of curriculum.

Thank you and be well.

In partnership,

Allan Mucerino