Some high schools could reopen Jan. 12
If coronavirus infections don’t surge again, students in the Liberty Union High School District will return to school part time Jan. 12.
School trustees on Wednesday night unanimously approved a plan for a hybrid model of in-person and distance learning despite objections from the local teachers union and others who said it wouldn’t be safe and would place an additional workload on teachers who would need to double the lesson plans to account for both methods.
The classes would resume at Liberty and Heritage high schools in Brentwood and Freedom High
School in Oakley.
Schools in Contra Costa County, which is in the red tier in the state’s fourtiered tracking system based on virus spread risk, have been allowed to reopen since Oct. 12. But administrators at that time decided it would be best to resume after the winter break rather than interrupting the distance learning in late fall.
Others, however, still worr y that reopening classrooms even for limited numbers of rotating students could expose to the virus teachers who are there all day. The danger is compounded by the fact not everyone shows COVID-19 symptoms right away, if at all.
Teachers also expressed concern about reopening schools in Brentwood and Oakley during the height of the flu season.
“This will put teachers and students at a major health risk,” retired teacher Mimi Costa-White said. “Students are required to have certain vaccines to attend school. I do not understand why you are not waiting for a COVID-19 vaccine to be available and required for all staff and students.”
Liberty Education Association President Hillary Pedrotti said she understands why people have become complacent or bored with the restrictions and guidelines to curb the virus’s spread. But with the current national average at 60,160 new COV ID - 19 cases per day — a 36% increase from the average two weeks ago — the approaching flu season and superspreader holidays around the corner, “Now is not the time for complacency,” she said.
“In Contra Costa County last week, there were still 798 new cases and two more deaths,” Pedrotti said. “… The natural tendency to get things back to normal can lull us into a false sense of security, but the pandemic is still very much a dangerous issue and the virus is far from leaving us.
“Having roughly 1,200 students on a comprehensive site every day, moving from room to room and struggling to stay socially distant during time between classes, will not be the festive return to school we imagine,” Pedrotti said. About 70% of teachers oppose the plan, she added.
She also pointed out that under the hybrid plan, a teacher’s direct contact with students will be cut from the current 300 minutes during distance learning to 180 every two weeks — a 40% decrease.
“T he LUHSD board needs to be very clear about the expectations under the drastically curtailed teaching times of a hybrid model,” Pedrotti added.
Myriad practical issues also were noted, such as having adequate Wi-Fi and enough laptops to provide students for the in-person classes.
Parents in some parts of far eastern Contra Costa County recently have been protesting distance learning and urging school officials to reopen the classrooms.
Trustee Roy Ghiggeri asked about the number of students who were failing under the distance-learning model.
“I understand the safety issue, but I understand there’s some concern here that some students are really struggling.”
Before the vote, Superintendent Eric Volta said Liberty Union has been in contact with other school districts that already have opened as well as with health officials and will be required to abide by state and county health guidelines when reopening.