San Francisco school officials released more details on Monday about their plans to take some of the city’s more than 52,000 students back to classrooms this spring, after a year of distance learning that left many families struggling and generated a lawsuit over the reopening of schools.
According to the plan, starting on April 12, some students in the initial grades would return for four full days and a partial day each week, while others would return two full days a week and spend three days in distance learning, depending on the level of demand for people-learning in each school. The plan brings preschoolers back through fifth grade, and special education students and other vulnerable groups through high school, by the end of April. Families can also choose to stay in distance learning.
The detailed plan came after district officials on Friday announced an agreement with the teachers’ union after months of tense negotiations. The union has long expressed concern about the potential for unvaccinated educators to return to classrooms, but last week the state reserved enough vaccines for most teachers to receive their first doses immediately.
The deal took place almost exactly a year after schools closed in the city, and amid growing concerns about the academic consequences and emotional isolation of distance learning. Some parents organized demonstrations, promoted a school board recall and performed “zoom-ins” outside closed schools to demand reopening, while other large urban districts in New York, Washington, DC and Chicago welcomed students back.
During a press conference on Monday, Superintendent Vince Matthews said that the first group of schools will open on April 12, followed by another group on April 19 and a third group on April 26. Pre-school through the second grade will return on April 12th and 19th. fifth graders and older vulnerable students will begin returning on April 26th. For third to fifth graders, the hybrid plan is likely to be what instruction will be for the rest of the school year, officials said.
The plan would be subject to a vote by the school board, probably on Thursday.
Officials acknowledged on Monday that the new plans will not make everyone happy, with Matthews saying he knows that “some students and families who want to return now will not be able to.”
Matthews also acknowledged that the district plan would fall behind the state-defined schedule for schools to offer face-to-face classes until March 31, which means that the San Francisco school district may not be eligible for all money set aside by the state this personal instruction curriculum for schools.
Authorities said that most elementary and high school students – except those at risk or with disabilities – will not see the interior of a classroom before the end of June 2.
Parents responded at the weekend to Friday’s announcement with a mixture of enthusiasm about the possibilities, confusion about the details and disappointment that older students did not return to the classroom.
While parents and parent organizations on Monday applauded the move to begin reopening, some questioned why it hadn’t happened before.
“These are great steps, but I think a lot of people want to run now, instead of taking steps,” said Yvette Edwards, mother of two SFUSD children – one in fourth grade, one in second grade – and an organizing mother of Distance Decrease , who has defended the return to classes.
Edwards said she remains confused about how the new model will work for parents like her, with one child at the door to return to personal learning and another child in a more obscure situation.
The plan outlined by the school district would make sense in November, Edwards said. But now, she is not sure if she is going as fast as she should, especially for children from the third to the fifth year.
“There are a lot of things there that are absolutely wonderful,” said Edwards. “But I feel that this plan could be more robust. It could bring back more kids, it could bring back more grades – and it could do it faster, to be honest with you. “
In December, the school district sent surveys to thousands of families who would be among the first to return to face-to-face education. Of the 11,645 who responded, 57% said they plan to send their children back for face-to-face learning, the district reported.
Mayor London Breed expressed optimism over the weekend about the reopening, although she said she would like to see all students return.
City prosecutor Dennis Herrera, who opened the case to force the district to reopen, said through a spokesman on Monday that the case would not be dropped.
“We have not seen a written agreement,” said spokesman John Coté. “We are concerned that the school district’s statements do not provide all the information necessary for parents to know when their children will receive face-to-face classes.”
Michael Williams is a writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected] or Twitter: @michaeldamianw.
Here is the complete schedule presented by San Francisco school officials on Monday, with schools divided into three “waves”. Details are at www.sfusd.edu.
April 12th: Preschool through second grade, students from moderate and severe elementary school on special days and municipal programs will return in all 12 schools in Onda 1, 27 out of 28 schools in Onda 2 and 27 out of 52 schools in Onda 3.
April 19th: Preschool through second grade, students from moderate and severe elementary school on special days and county programs will return to the last school in Onda 2, along with 13 of the remaining schools in Onda 3.
April 26: Pre-school through the second grade and