Education:

For these South Bay school districts, distance learning is back for the fall

Despite demands from President Donald Trump that schools reopen their doors for face-to-face instruction this fall, some Bay Area school districts are opting to resume the distance learning approach they were forced to adopt this spring after shutting down.

Two — San Jose’s Alum Rock Union and East Side Union High school districts — encompass some of Santa Clara County’s ZIP codes hardest hit by the coronavirus. They announced this week the vast majority of their students will start the 2020-21 year in virtual classes from home.

The districts’ decisions came after months of weighing the health of their students against the obstacles many face at home without uninterrupted access to the internet and computers.

But they stand apart from most districts in the Bay Area, which are waiting to see what their county’s health orders allow before deciding how to start the new school year in August.

The two San Jose districts are planning to bring back only students with the highest needs, including those in special education, those who are homeless and those new to America who do not speak English. In-person instruction also may be an option for small specialty classes such as art and music, as well as tutoring, mental health and college application support.

Alum Rock Superintendent Hilaria Bauer estimates that will mean about 600 of its 8,500 students will return to campuses.

“Since our community has been so heavily impacted by the cases, we knew from the beginning that we would need to be very cautious,” Bauer said in an interview Wednesday. “But especially in the past couple weeks when we saw a spike again, it was clear to us that this was the only way to reopen in Alum Rock safely.”

East Side Union High School District reached its decision after watching the county’s case counts climb and in response to a districtwide survey and several forums that revealed nearly half of its staff, students and parents wouldn’t be comfortable attending in-person instruction this fall.

Although Superintendent Chris Funk said he recognizes there are some families who may have to choose between work and staying home, he “can’t make decisions based on each individual household and their ability to work or not.”

“My No. 1 priority is the health and safety of my staff, the students and their families, and then two, providing the very best online education for those that will be online,” Funk said.

In an effort to stimulate the economy, President Trump has been adamant in recent days about schools opening back up for the start of the new school year. On Twitter on Wednesday, he bashed the reopening guidelines released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — which include keeping classroom windows open, spacing desks at least 6 feet apart and sanitizing frequently touched surfaces — calling them “very impractical.”

Within hours, Vice President Mike Pence announced the CDC would issue new recommendations next week.

Guidelines released by California in early June called for schools to offer in-person learning to the fullest extent possible, depending on local health orders. About a week ago, Santa Clara County officials released detailed guidance that districts must follow — such as stringent social distancing and mask requirements — if they reopen in-person classes this fall.

Funk said adhering to those guidelines with a student population and class sizes as large as those at East Side Union would be impossible.

“How do I social distance and keep 6 feet apart in classrooms of 32-1? Our classrooms aren’t large enough,” he said.

Raymond Mueller, the father of a sophomore student in East Side Union, said he supports the decision despite the added challenges it will cause for some families and parents who work outside the home during the school day.

“I can see that it’s definitely a mixed-bag situation here, but I think it’s important that we acknowledge the fact that things are not getting better and I’d rather we’d err on the side of caution and move forward at the same time,” Mueller said.

In the East Bay, Brentwood and Oakley Union school districts announced this week that they too will be keeping students at home. Brentwood Superintendent Dana Eaton said the district’s decision to reopen with complete distance learning prioritized the safety of the district’s nearly 10,000 students and more than 1,000 staff members.

“(The board) found it hard to say, ‘OK, as a teacher you’re going to have 25 to 120 students come through your classroom a day, but after work, it’s not going to be safe for you to go out and eat with your family in a restaurant,’ ” Eaton said.

However, most Bay Area school districts are waiting to find out what public health orders will be allowed in August.