Schools continue to weigh reopening options
By Rachel Levin, Copy Editor
As of Jan. 15, the Los Angeles Department of Public Health (LADPH) has recommended that all schools in the Los Angeles area are to be closed for the rest of the 2020-2021 school year due to COVID-19 health concerns. All schools in the SMMUSD district have been and will remain closed. Though some schools are attempting to accommodate certain aspects of in-person learning, the cases are still too frequent to authorize a full reopening.
On Feb. 4, the case rate in LA County was reported as 54 cases per 100,000 people, which is far above the safety levels required for in-person learning. An alternative education model, distance learning plus, was approved by the SMMUSD school board on Dec. 18, 2020. In this model, classes would be shortened to 60 minutes to allow for a 90 minute period at the end of the day that students could use for activities at school such as athletics and theater. Despite the comprehensive plan, LA county is still not within safe case range—less than 20 cases per 100,000 people—so the implementation of this model may be slow going.
“Our goal is to have the details fleshed out by February with common agreements regarding the aspects of ‘Plus,’” SMMUSD’s Superintendent, Dr. Ben Drati, said in a press release about school reopening.
Special needs students and educators will also be able to return to campus for extra support in the next few weeks, but that will be the extent to which distance learning plus enriches actual instruction. The “plus” model is overall more for outside enrichment than for instructional purposes.
“People just want to be on campus to be around one another. Just being able to connect in a way. We believe we can come up with something that supports students, especially their social and emotional wellbeing,” Principal Antonio Shelton said.
As for steps being taken to remedy this situation, or at least speed up the process, teachers are next on the list after health workers and people over the age of 65 to receive the Pfizer strain of the COVID-19 vaccine. This process will begin sometime in February, though all staff may not be vaccinated until the spring. There is also a live COVID-19 update page on the SMMUSD website that records how many people are on campus each day and how many have been infected: https://www.smmusd.org/Page/6297
President Joe Biden, as well as Los Angeles’s Governor Gavin Newsom, have their own plans in regards to school opening separate from Drati’s. Biden’s new stimulus package sets aside $182 billion towards revamping schools to accommodate safe in-person learning. This plan does put an emphasis on elementary and middle schools, so high schools may have to wait a bit longer than their younger counterparts. Specific to California, Newsom’s “Safe School For All” plan puts $2 billion towards more schools reopening in 2021. Samo’s priority remains its students and staff’s health.
“The science will determine whether or not or what we will do as we proceed. We’ll make a decision when we know the numbers are right and that everybody is safe,” Shelton said.
In terms of AP testing, the College Board is still prepared to accommodate in-person testing. Currently, there are two testing dates available for each subject, one at the end of May and one in early June, to give schools as much time as possible to prepare. As of now, whether or not schools who do AP testing online will get the full test or a modified version remains to be seen.
The SMMUSD School board survey results also showed that both parents and students district-wide agree that the health and safety of staff and students should be the priority. Junior Lauren Kozmor (’22) shares that belief.
“I am much more willing to learn online and at home than in an environment where I don’t feel completely safe and comfortable,” Kozmor said.
Once every concern has been considered—from health to logistics—it can be determined that returning to in-person learning will be a long process.