Students will return to daily classes

Parents in Chico school district can still opt for online-only instruction, masks will be required on campus

After a lengthy meeting, the Chico Unified School District board voted to have students attend school on campus daily in a limited matter.

Students will attend school in person for five days a week, but will be divided into morning and afternoon groups. The plan, which was dubbed the AMPM model passed on a 4-1 vote during Wednesday night’s school board which was viewed on Zoom and live-streamed on YouTube.

“I strongly believe in the quality of our teachers and their commitment to our students,” said Board Vice President Kathleen Kaiser. “For secondary and elementary, I think the AMPM model works.”

Parents who do not feel safe sending their children back to school can opt into an online learning model through Oak Bridge Academy.

In the AMPM model, grades kindergarten through fifth will be divided into group A, which will attend school in the morning, and group B, which will attend in the afternoon. During the break between the two sessions, cleaning of the classrooms will take place. In grades sixth through 12th, students will take six classes all year, attend daily but on a morning or afternoon schedule.

The move allows for half the student body to be on campus at a time, however, teachers would still have contact with students throughout the day. School is scheduled to start on Aug. 17.

“A pattern of going to school every day is extremely important for kids,” said board member Eileen Robinson. “It’s a security blanket.”

Board member Tom Lando voted against having students return to campus.

“I don’t think we have to be face to face and put anyone in danger,” Lando said.

The duration of the school board meeting surpassed three hours as the board along with public comments from parents and teachers weighed the different options for the reopening of schools within Chico.

As many as 300 participants logged into the video conference and many parents and teachers voiced their concerns about the safety of their kids if attending school every day in the AMPM model.

Surveys were sent out to parents about what model they’d prefer to have their kids in. The surveys were sent out at the beginning of July and since then Gov. Gavin Newsom has ordered the re-closure of some businesses in the state. As of Wednesday, Butte County was not placed on the state’s watch list but had a total of 437 COVID-19 cases and four deaths.

If Butte County would have to scale back into Phase 1, schools will be closed and go completely online like in March when the coronavirus pandemic first hit.

The board also approved several safety protocols to be put into place. The protocols would evolve and change depending on the COVID-19 situation.

The safety protocols include all students and teachers being required to wear a mask. Special needs students or those with other medical conditions will be an exception.

Disposable or cloth masks will be accepted as will face shields. The district ordered 1,000 face shields and 50,000 disposable masks to be available for students and staff.

Temperature checks would be mandatory before school and plexiglass barriers will be installed in school front offices.