July 7, 2020: Second Study Session on Reopening Schools

At a special meeting held as a study session over Zoom, staff recommended opening the 2020/2021 school year in a blended model of alternating in-person days, and the recommendation went to the board's July 16 meeting. President Joe Schaffer called the session to order at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 7, 2020, with board members Andrew Cruz, Christina Gagnier, James Na and Schaffer present via Zoom; Irene Hernandez-Blair was absent 1. Superintendent Norm Enfield and staff gave the overview, and the minutes record that comments, questions and discussion followed; they record no action, and the session adjourned at 7:19 p.m. 2.

This page draws on the signed minutes. They credit the presentation to the superintendent and staff together, so the recording's details below are attributed to "staff" rather than to any one person.

🏫 The recommendation: start in blended learning

• Blended first, traditional later. Staff recommended opening in blended learning "with the goal to transition to traditional learning," a move that "could be a week it could be a month it could be several months" away 3. Students would be split into cohort A or B, attending class on alternating days and working at home the rest of the time 4.
• Cal Aero and distance learning. Cal Aero Preserve Academy, the year-round school already running distance learning, would move to blended learning on Monday, August 3, for tracks A, B and D 5 6. Families meeting the Senate Bill 98 criteria could choose distance learning for the year instead 6.
• Why not traditional. Staff pointed to the recent rise in COVID-19 cases in San Bernardino County 7 and to the value of fewer students on campus while new routines are taught: in a worked example, a school of 800 where a quarter of families chose distance learning would see about 300 students a day 8 9.
• Next step. The recommendation would go to the board at its July 16 meeting 10.

The Chino Valley Champion reported the session as the superintendent's recommendation, ahead of a planned Monday, August 10 start 11. Across the county, the San Bernardino County Sentinel reported three days later that most of the 33 districts were firming up plans to bring students back two to three days a week 12.

📊 Two surveys

The survey figures below are as captioned; the captions are garbled in places.

• Parents. About 11,000 parents answered the district's first survey (the captions give 11,029). Overall, 46% picked traditional instruction, 30% blended and 25% distance learning, figures staff noted were rounded and add up to 101 13 14 15. Traditional led at every level: 49% in high school, 45% in junior high and 43% in elementary 14 15.
• Teachers. Of 834 teachers who answered, 45% overall picked traditional, 31% blended and 24% distance learning, with elementary teachers the most in favor of traditional 16 17. Staff called the two surveys "very close" 18.
• The next survey. A second parent survey would open on July 8 and run through July 14, one survey per child, with an application required for anyone choosing distance learning 19 20 21 22.

🦠 What reopening would look like

• Stage 3. The plan had changed because San Bernardino County had moved into Stage 3 of the state's reopening roadmap 23.
• Masks. Under the state face-covering order as it then read, face coverings for students were "no longer a should," with accommodations for students whose medical issues prevent them from wearing one 24 25 26.
• Screening and attendance. Families and staff were asked to check for symptoms at home and stay home when in doubt, because "this is not a year that we're looking for perfect attendance" 27 28. Schools would also take temperatures on arrival with non-touch thermometers 29.
• Buses. Riders would get a temperature check, wear masks, sanitize their hands and fill the bus from the back 30. Under blended learning, each route's riders from last year would be divided between the two cohorts 31.
• Field trips and visitors. While the county stayed in Stage 3, in-state trips would be reviewed case by case, and a sixth-grade science camp would probably not be approved 32 33. Out-of-state travel would not be scheduled 34. Visitors and volunteers could come on campus only for non-classroom purposes, after screening and wearing a face covering 35 36.
• Senate Bill 98. The new state law calls for in-person instruction "to the greatest extent possible" and allows distance learning only in two circumstances 37, one of them for pupils who are medically fragile or would be put at risk by in-person instruction 38. Staff read that language as leaving the judgment to the parent, not the district 39. If public health officials asked the district to close a classroom or a school, those students would move into distance learning 40 41 38.
• Jobs. Staff noted the state budget barred districts from laying off custodians, nutrition services workers and transportation workers for the year 42 43.
• Distance learning 2.0. Students would check in every day and receive live instruction daily, plus teacher office hours, and their teachers might come from other schools 44 45 46.

❓ Board questions

Board members questioned staff at length after the presentation. The minutes do not record who asked what, so the questions are not attributed here. Among the answers, staff described one approach to cleaning between classes that was still being worked out: desks marked A and B, sprayed and left to dry between classes, with passing periods lengthened from five minutes to about ten 47 48 49 50.

📧 Email comments

Under the public advisory posted with the agenda, staff read emailed comments related to reopening schools into the record, for up to 30 minutes 51 52. The minutes list the 31 people whose emails were read: Gabby Jones, Marian Mendez, Melissa Sanchez, Sam Secor, Cathleen Earle, Carlos Sanchez, Andy Lagos, Sima Patel, Nikoo Khatibloo, Heidi Goulding, Ellie Puente, Alexandra Lalama, Anh Hinh, Kelly Goetschel, Chelsea Brooks, Vanessa Watters, Rachel Aquino, John Johnson, Jennifer Saley, Sarah Clarence, Kara Beth, Jordan Puente, Elizabeth De La Cruz, Ashely Boehmer, Jennie Grime, Natalie Chamberlain, Melissa Mujica, Amanda Carrillo-Perez, Riley Cardoza, Sarah Nguyen, and August Decker-Curry 1. The minutes record who wrote, not what each said.

Proposals to hear more of the emailed comments, after the first 30 minutes and again at the end of the session, did not reach board consensus. The board was then told from the dais that every comment submitted within the window had been sent to members to read and respond to as they saw fit 53.

What the press reported. The Chino Valley Champion reported that several of the emails read asked board member Andrew Cruz to recuse himself from the reopening vote, and wrote that Cruz "has made statements that coronavirus is not a real threat and twice took out an advertisement in the Chino Valley Champion about his beliefs on the virus" 11. The paper also reported that Cruz said during the meeting that he was against students wearing masks 11. The minutes record no remarks by individual members, so that account is the Champion's.

🔜 What came next

• July 16 decision. At its next meeting the board adopted a resolution directing the superintendent to adopt a reopening plan with blended learning districtwide, to limit the number of students on campuses, and distance learning for students who are medically fragile or would be put at risk of COVID-19 54. The July 16 minutes record the motion as moved by Hernandez-Blair (printed "Blair") and seconded by Cruz 54.
• A different start. Two days later the Champion reported that the district would instead open the year in full distance learning, with a possible move to blended learning on August 31 55.