The Coast News INLAND EDITION
VISTA, SAN MARCOS, ESCONDIDO
VOL. 5, N0. 26
.com DEC. 25, 2020
Vista Unified delays decision on reopening By Steve Puterski
MAY YOUR NIGHTS BE MERRY AND BRIGHT The Del Mar Fairgrounds is doing its best to lighten the holiday mood during the pandemic with its Holidays in Your Car drive-thru light show, running through Jan. 2. The show is put on by CBF Productions, the same company behind the successful Concerts in Your Car series at the Fairgrounds this fall. Tickets can be purchased online or at the Fairgrounds. STORY ON PAGE 13. Photo courtesy CBF Productions
Escondido Union high schools push back in-person learning By Tigist Layne
ESCONDIDO — The Escondido Union High School District (EUHSD) last week announced that they are postponing a blended learning option that includes in-person classes until later in the spring semester due to a countywide surge in COVID-19 cases. At a board meeting last Tuesday, Dec. 15, the district said they will offer two online learning options for the upcoming semester through the first grading period, but may return to campus later in the spring, depending on the county’s COVID-19 status. All students at EUHSD are currently taking classes virtually, though the district began allowing small
groups, including special education students and English learners, to return to campus in September. These small groups are taking classes through learning pods or cohorts that do virtual classes on campus with support from teachers. “While 78% of our students very much desire to return to campus, 22% find that working virtually and from a distance is the best fit for them and their families and have opted to continue in distance learning in one of two models throughout the spring semester,” Superintendent Dr. Anne Staffieri said. “The third learning option we have added, Distance Learning via Canvas Learning Management System, has provided addition-
al such flexibility to both groups, and the 12% of students who have opted into this model show that they are interested in continuing.” Staffieri told The Coast News that the board will continue to monitor the county’s COVID-19 status and, if conditions allow, students who choose the blended model will return to campus part-time. “Our decisions will continue to be based on local data and state and county guidance. We are hopeful with the launch of the vaccine and additional testing sites that our local area metrics will improve and allow us to return to campus,” TURN TO EUHSD ON 18
ARTIST CLAYTON PARKER works on his world-record mural in Vista on Dec. 18. Steve Thomas, who owns Barrel & Stave Pour House at North Indiana Avenue and Main Street, commissioned Parker to restore the fading historic mural. STORY ON PAGE 9. Photo by Steve Puterski
VISTA — After two meetings and nearly eight hours of discussion, the Vista Unified School District Board of Trustees delayed making a formal decision on reopening plans. The district voted, 3-2, at its Dec. 17 special meeting to meet Jan. 13. The board also met Dec. 15, but after several hours of discussion, called a special meeting. Some parents in the district believe the board’s decision to reconvene on Jan. 13 is a decision to not allow schools to re-open, despite county evidence contrary to concerns about COVID-19 outbreaks in schools. Trustees Rosemary Smithfield and Debbie Morton pleaded with the board to continue to follow the district’s plans of virtual and classic (in-person) models. They said the evidence of falling grades, declining mental health, lack of engagement and parents begging to allow their children back warrants reopening. “We’re dropping the ball for our kids,” Smithfield said. “I can’t ignore the phone calls of parents, crying, asking where to take their student. The parents know better than I do.” Also, the district’s own survey showed an average of 76% of teachers rated the district’s personal protection equipment (PPE) and health and safety protocols at high or excellent levels. According to a report from KPBS, schools account for 12 outbreaks of COVID-19, according to data provided by San Diego County. During the Dec. 15 meeting, Mary Trompeter-Ermis, president of the classified union, also requested the district reopen, stating virtual schooling is a job killer for custodians and support staff. “Virtual learning is a threat to our jobs. Thousands have been laid off,” she said. The longer the students are not on campus, and the less of them that are there, the less that classified workers can do their job. TURN TO VISTA ON 18