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While Los Angeles Unified and other large school districts across the state are grappling with how and when to resume in-person teaching, some smaller districts are already starting to welcome at least some of their youngest students to campus.
Public school districts of The second, Manhattan Beach and Redondo Beach are all reopening campuses this week to serve students from Transitional Kindergarten to Grade 2. These students will follow a hybrid model, some taking in-person lessons and others virtually.
These districts are also once again welcoming students who need specialized services. They also resume in-person athletic conditioning for student athletes.
Last fall, before the last regional stay-at-home orders that closed schools, some districts had partially reopened thanks to waivers granted by the county health department. These South Bay districts were among those that got their waiver.
In January, they followed the advice of the LA County Public Health Department to keep schools closed. Now, with the drop in coronavirus cases and the easing of restrictions in the county, these districts are implementing their COVID-19 blended learning and safety plans.
Beginning Tuesday at El Segundo Unified, cohorts of Transitional Kindergarten to Grade 2 students will spend two and a half hours on campus in the morning or afternoon, four days a week. Students and school employees must distance themselves and wear masks.
District Superintendent Melissa Moore says she is confident in her district’s decision to resume in-person classes. It already enjoys the support of the school board, the teachers ‘union, the mayor’s office, parents’ associations and other community groups.
“Being a small school district – we have just under 3,500 students – we can be more nimble,” Moore said.
Moore is also working on a proposal to bring 3rd year students back to campus in mid-February. Throughout the process, she plans to keep tabs on local reported cases of COVID-19.
“We have a very small residential population … so our case rates have been very low,” Moore said.
In the past two weeks, El Segundo has reported 310 cases per 100,000 residents. Other cities in LA County have reported thousands of cases during the same time period.
Redondo Beach Unified also reported relatively low cases and launched TK-2 hybrid classes on Monday for the first time since the start of the pandemic. Superintendent Steven Keller said the first day was a success.
“We can confirm that we did not see a child cry while his parent walked away,” Keller said. “What we remember is that the children are delighted to be coming back to school.”
Keller District is testing concurrent teaching, meaning one cohort of students learn on campus every day while another group learns virtually. Keller said he plans to assess parents, teachers and students’ opinions on the program later this year.
At Manhattan Beach Unified, TK-2 students will also be split into two cohorts. This week the district will offer two days on campus and next week it will increase to four.
As for LA Unified, Superintendent Austin Beutner said in his weekly video address that the coronavirus case rate remains too high to safely resume in-person classes. “There is a lot to do for schools to reopen,” he says.
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