SDUHSD Reopening Plan | Ivan Chen

Back in March of 2020, schools and students were drastically affected by the coronavirus pandemic. All over the world, schools were shut down in order to slow the spread of the virus, and schools were viewed as danger zones in early March because students were packed in classrooms for hours breaking the guidelines of the recommended 6 feet apart rule and not wearing masks. March 13th was the last day students went to school and sat in a classroom with fellow classmates in the SDUHSD school district. Students all over the world had to adapt to a new form of learning in such a short period of time and had to learn through their computers at the comfort of their homes during quarantine. As summer came to an end, there was not much change and students apart of the SDUHSD district still had online school and were not able to return to campus for learning. This led to a range of mixed emotions from both parents, staff, and students, with some urging to go back to school and others still wanting to learn from online platforms.

The SDUHSD district first planned on having students and staff return to campus during the end of October and early November. This was a very controversial decision made because many students know that COVID-19 cases are still rising and it would not be a wise decision for students to return this early without a safe and effective vaccine. On the other side of the spectrum, a number of parents want their kids to return to school in order for their children to have a better education, either because they are not as motivated through online schools or because there are some other problems they are facing. The SDUHSD district is put in a difficult situation because they are trying to please both sides. Eventually, the school board came together to have another meeting and sent out an email to all saying they pushed back the date for on campus learning to be January 4th. In the email sent by superintendent Robert Haley, he stated, “We originally recommended a goal of expanding our access to campus for one day a week of in-class instruction for students beginning in the month of November. In order to provide a safe, stable, and sustainable return to campus, and in consideration of maintaining the integrity of our instructional model, we are moving that date to the week of January 4, 2021, for the remainder of Quarter 2.” This would be a wise decision made by the SDUHSD district because it allows staff and teachers more time to plan out how they will go back to on campus teaching. Teachers are put in a difficult situation because they need to know how to effectively teach both students who want to learn online and those who are in person.

All in all, it will be interesting to see how this situation will play out in the future. With flu season right around the corner, things could take a drastic turn for the worse and may become more severe than it already is. It will not be an easy process because no one saw this situation playing out back in January 2020. We will be patiently waiting for updates made by the SDUHSD district.