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San Ramon Valley Unified School District administration will be presenting options for how school will function next year during the Board of Education’s meeting on Tuesday, joining in a national conversation as communities attempt to adapt to the coronavirus pandemic.
Detailed specifics have not yet been made available to the public on the district’s so-called “Reopening Together” plan; however, district staff say a series of potential options will be presented to the board for deliberation that have been crafted using input from health officials and the SRVUSD community at-large.
“Staff continues to work every day to hammer out details, account for the unexpected and plan for changes that we don’t even know are coming, yet,” district officials said in a statement, adding:
“(Staff) are engaging, asking questions and advocating for families and staff to find options that put kids first while keeping everyone safe. While these tasks seem insurmountable at times, they are the reality in which we now live and we must adjust accordingly. Our promise to you is that the safety of our community is our number one priority and a commitment that we take very seriously.”
To help guide the process of planning the eventual reopening of schools (the 2020-2021 school year is scheduled to begin Aug. 11), district officials have listed three key drives for guiding the reopening process.
Those drives include:
* The health, safety and well-being of the entire district community: students, staff and families.
* Providing options to accommodate as many situations as possible.
* Allowing for school schedule flexibility to adjust as public health direction changes.
According to a statement released on Friday, community input has played a major factor in reopening, with more than 9,000 parents, 1,575 staff members and 1,776 middle and high school students filling out surveys related to reopening.
In addition to the surveys, district officials added that 156 parents participated in various focus groups and hundreds of comments have been received online.
Pending the board’s decision, district officials said they will communicate with each SRVUSD family after Tuesday’s meeting, asking them to select a scheduling option for the fall semester that will best suit their needs.
“We are designing all options with the goal of getting back to the traditional rigor in the curriculum that we have all come to respect and expect for students at all levels. There is much work still to be done around all of the details and fine points that we must address, but following the July 14 (Board of Education) meeting, it is our expectation that you will have enough information about the options to make an informed decision for the fall semester,” district officials said.
District officials added that the plan is designed to be fluid and will most likely change as new information and directives emerge from county and state health officials.
The SRVUSD Board of Education meeting on reopening schools is set for a special time, 11 a.m. on Tuesday (July 14). Residents can view a live recording of the meeting on the SRVUSD’s official YouTube account.
Public comments and questions can be submitted to Cindy Fischer at cfischer@srvusd.net or by fax by 838-3147 before the meeting time. Emails should include the words “public comment” in the subject line.