6 minute read
Dr. Rodriguez Answers Your Back-to-School Questions, Q&A With Dr
FEATURED COLUMNIST Dr. Rodriguez Answers Your Back-to-School Questions
Q&A With Dr. Michelle Rodriguez, Superintendent, Pajaro Valley Unified School District
Advertisement
Dr. Michelle Rodriguez, superintendent of the Pajaro Valley Unified School District, answers back-toschool questions on safety, masks, and virtual learning options. •••
Are we returning to school in August?
Yes, we look forward to welcoming our students to the first day of the 20212022 school year in person on Thursday, Aug. 12, 2021.
With Delta cases rising in Santa Cruz
County, if the cases continue to grow, is there a plan to go back to distant learning?
At this time, there are no plans to return the District back to distance learning. PVUSD is committed to following all California Department of Public Health guidelines and additional mitigation factors to ensure that we can safely maintain our schools open for in-person learning.
With all this about the new variant, how will you be able to assure our kids’ safety in class this coming school year. If kids below the age of 12 can’t get vaccinated yet, what are the procedures that will be carried on and is online classes a thing we can continue doing?
The health and safety of our students, staff and families has and continues to be our No. 1 priority. We have safely held seven weeks of full day in-person learning throughout this summer and are confident that we can continue to use the same protocols for the upcoming school year. Information regarding our safety plans and requirements can be found at https://reopening.pvusd.net/ in English and at https://reopening-esp.pvusd.net/ in Spanish.
To ensure the safety of everyone, students and staff will be required to complete a home symptom screening prior to arriving at campus. Students will use the Five Star application on their Chromebooks as they have since returning back to school in April. Staff will continue to use the Company Nurse application as they have for the past year. Once on campus, everyone will be required to wear face coverings while indoors. All students riding the bus to and/or from school will be required to wear a face coverings while on the bus.
While there are no longer physical distancing requirements, out of an abundance of caution, PVUSD will maintain student desks with three feet distancing. In addition, while it is not required, we will continue to provide and encourage surveillance testing of all of our staff every two weeks. We will provide optional testing of asymptomatic students in a classroom where there is a positive case.
Surveillance testing and asymptomatic testing will resume on Monday, Aug. 16. For families who do not choose to return to in-person instruction, they may complete the waitlist form with our PVUSD Virtual Academy, understanding this is a full semester or year commitment.
Picking up my child from opt-in last year,
I didn’t see distancing outside (I don’t know if there was distancing inside). With the CDC saying COVID is as contagious as chicken pox, will distancing and masks be required/enforced outside? My child is in 3rd so he’s not vaccinated.
As noted above, PVUSD will maintain the three feet of physical distancing within classrooms.
California Department of Public Health has mandated use of face coverings for everyone in K-12 school settings regardless of their vaccination status while indoors.
The following link was updated July 28, 2021: https://D/DCDC/Pages/ COVID-19/Face-Coverings-QA.aspx#.
Universal masking in schools while indoors will enable more in-person instruction time by reducing the frequency of outbreaks that could otherwise lead to quarantines and temporary closures. All schools, including private schools, are required to follow the CDPH face covering requirement.
PVUSD has established the following Standard Operating Procedure for students and visitors who do not adhere to the CDPH requirement: https://tinyurl.com/ yf3483q7
Will our elementary-aged students have to wear a mask outdoors? I don’t think students should have to wear masks at all, but if they have to in the classroom
I think it should be optional to wear them outside. I was under the impression that they wouldn’t have to wear masks outdoors but when I drove by our school the other day I noticed summer school students were wearing them outside.
Students will not be required to wear their masks while outdoors. Students may choose to continue to wear them outdoors if they feel more comfortable.
I worry about returning back to classes in person. Is there another option?
Yes, the PVUSD Virtual Academy currently has space available for students for the 2021-2022 school year. Families who do not wish to return to in-person learning may complete the waitlist form at virtualacademy.pvusd.net.
I was under the impression that virtual academy was an option for the 2021- 2022 school year? I do not feel comfortable sending my child to school in person yet as I have a baby at home and my child does not qualify for a vaccine due to his age. What are my options?
Yes, the PVUSD Virtual Academy is still an option for families. For the 2021-2022 school year, the PVUSD Virtual Academy has expanded offerings beyond the standard curriculum through partnerships with El Sistema to offer a virtual and/or in-person K-12 Music Program, in-person Youth Cinema Project for grades 6-12 and STEAM Toolkits from Watsonville Science Workshop.
PVUSD Virtual Academy is not distance learning as experienced last year and requires someone to assist students with academics. The Learning Coach can be a parent, guardian, family member, tutor, babysitter, etc. The educational program is an Independent Study model with opportunities for virtual daily or weekly direct instruction with the teacher and other grade-level students.
Each K-5 student will meet daily with their teacher between 25-45 minutes with a focus on literacy development. Each student grades 6-12 will meet twice weekly with their teacher for 60 minutes with optional daily virtual office hours.
Each student will meet with the supervising teacher weekly to review the student’s progress and discuss student work. Each student has a personalized learning plan for organizing assignments due as well as current progress/grades. The curriculum is provided by Florida Virtual School and is CA state standard, Common Core and UC Doorways A-G approved.
The curriculum is available online through the Schoology Learning Management System. Students will also have access to Clever Apps such as Lexia, ST Math, Accelerated Reader, and MAP Accelerator -Khan Academy. Upon enrollment, students must commit for a full semester or full school year. PVUSD Virtual Academy is ideal for self-motivated and independent learners.
Are students allowed to share communal supplies again or do they need to each have their own separate set of materials?
There are currently no requirements regarding the sharing of materials as it has been found that COVID-19 is a respiratory disease and is rarely transmitted through inanimate objects.
However, out of abundance of caution, PVUSD purchased individual math kits for the Bridges Curriculum in elementary schools. Additionally, we purchased individual art supplies for both elementary and secondary students. Use of hand sanitizer and hand washing will continue to be a standard health safety practice.
