‘Red tier’ means little to Woodland schools
No public school in Yolo County has immediate reopening plans
The news of Yolo County’s move into the less restrictive or “substantial” Red COVID-19 Tier 2 was a small step toward the normalcy for most restaurants and gyms and other establishments, but it means little to nothing for Woodland public schools.
Should Yolo County remain in the red tier for 14 days, schools would have the option to return to in-person instruction.
While some private campuses in Woodland — including Holy Rosary Elementary and the kindergarten through the sixth-grade portion of Woodland Christian — have returned to in-person learning via a waiver granted by the Yolo County Health Officer and the California Department of Public Health after a brief stint with distance learning, schools under the Woodland Joint Unified School District umbrella will remain unchanged in their current operations.
Kindergarten through sixth-grade schools within the county may apply for an elementary waiver to return to in-person instruction prior to the county maintaining the red tier for 14 days
The Yolo County Office of Education, which oversees schools in Woodland, Davis, Winters, Esparto, and West Sacramento, announced that the move into the red tier does not allow the immediate reopening of schools.
No public school districts in Yolo County have a planned reopening date.
Realistically, any opening of schools in Woodland would have to be planned weeks in advance.
According to Woodland Superintendent Thomas Pritchard, the district will still not be pursuing a waiver. He mentioned he hopes to get a letter out to parents later this week.
During the Sept. 17 school board meeting, Pritchard brought up equity issues with the waiver process that Woodland Christian and Holy Rosary did not have to deal with because they are only one campus.
A waiver process at one elementary school would mean the district would have to start on one for all 11 elementary schools.
“Right now, WJUSD is not in a position to meet the criteria for a waiver,” Pritchard explained previously. “First and foremost, all of our classrooms and schools cannot
“First and foremost, all of our classrooms and schools cannot meet the requirements, and as a unified district, that would provide equity and access issues.” — Thomas Pritchard, Woodland Superintendent
meet the requirements, and as a unified district, that would provide equity and access issues. At this point, we don’t qualify, and the district will not look to qualify for one because the conditions are not right for us.”
The waiver process also involves consultations with the labor unions, physical distancing, and facilities are other limiting factors.
In Yolo County, all school facilities have been closed to in-person instruction since midMarch. This fall, all school districts in Yolo County resumed instruction under distance learning. So far, it has understandably had mixed results within the community.
On the first day of instruction, Woodland district administrators mentioned that when coronavirus cases are low enough, and county health officials allow, they will wait for a natural break in the school schedule to move into phase two or three of their five-phase plan to reopen schools.