California Area approves school reopening plan

By JEFF STITT
jstitt@yourmvi.com

California Area School District students attending school in-person for the 2020-21 school year are heading back to the classroom Aug. 26 under the “Yellow Phase” of the district’s “Blended Learning Model” reopening plan.
The school district will continue to offer a full-time virtual option for students whose families do not feel comfortable sending their children back to school for in-person learning.
Board directors Barry Niccolai, John Bitonti, Eric Amber, Benjamin Neil, Chad Ross, Diane Scrip, Diane Zielensky and Maria Ziolecki voted in favor of approving starting school on Aug. 26 in the Yellow Phase. Board Director Amy Todd was absent.
Under the Yellow Phase, according to the “CALSD COVID-19 Return to School Handbook,” instruction “will be provided in a face-to-face environment on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.”
Instruction will be provided in Google Classroom in a virtual setting on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
There will be district transportation on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Masks and social distancing are required at all times in the face-to-face environment, as a result of a recent order from the state Department of Health, according to Superintendent Dr. Laura Jacob.
During Wednesday’s meeting, Jacob said students will be offered 10-minute “mask breaks” during the school day and that students must also wear masks during physical education and recess periods, which will both be held outdoors for the time being.
One-to-one electronic devices will be distributed to cyber academy students from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. today and Friday in the high school cafeteria, Technology Director Jacob Shingle said Wednesday.
Students who are returning to school on Aug. 26 will receive their district-owned one-to-one device in their homeroom on the first day of school.
The handbook states that hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipes will be available in the classroom and that “high touch areas” will be frequently sanitized. UV-C lighting and other chemical free options for disinfecting are being installed in high-traffic areas.
Visitors will not be given access to buildings unless pre-authorized by the principal.
To read the COVID-19 Return to School Handbook visit www.calsd.org, click on the “COVID-19” tab and then click on the “Return to School Plan Handbook” link at the bottom of the page.
High school Principal Leigh Ann Folmar said a “brick-and-mortar freshman orientation” will take place Monday in the hallways of the high school.
Incoming freshmen and new students have been invited to walk through their scheduled classes, find their lockers and their home room and become familiar with building.
Folmar said families are scheduled to arrive according to the student’s last name. Those touring the school will be put into a group of 25 people and will have 30 minutes to tour the school to adhere to state guidelines about social gatherings.
A virtual orientation video will be uploaded to YouTube by Friday.
The kindergarten orientation is from 5 to 7 p.m. today at the elementary tennis courts, according to Principal Rachel Nagy. Kindergarten students who are attending school in-person and those who are attending virtually are invited to attend the in-person orientation.
Parents will remain outside listening to a presentation from the principal while their children tour their classrooms and meet their teachers and classmates.
Masks must be worn at both orientations and social distancing will be practiced.