SCHOOLS Most will return on staggered schedules

tion in small groups of eight to 14 students per teacher.

“Looking back, those students last March were kindergarteners, so they essentially missed the last third of their kindergarten year,” said Lori Higley, executive director for educational excellence and innovation for elementary. “Within that last section of kindergarten, a lot of the higher-level early reading and early literacy

skills are taught: reading sight words, starting to blend words together. It was decided that ... we would bring them back, and hone in on those early literacy skills that they missed in the spring.”

Special education students with moderate to severe disabilities will return to three campuses, California Avenue School, the Vista Adult Transition Center and the Vista Academy of Visual and Performing Arts, for up to three hours of instruction and services several times per week and up to three hours per day. That will include academic instruction, as well as other services such as speech, physical or occupational therapy, in small groups of about six students, Doyle said.

The district will also bring English learners back for specialized instruction, he said, starting with elementary school students and extending that later to high schools. Meanwhile, it has also resumed full-time, in-person instruction for its dual language immersion programs at Grapevine and Alamosa Park Elementary Schools, with socially-distanced classes of about 20 students per teacher.

“Those are groups who would benefit from being on campus, because it’s hard to learn a second language when you’re at home,” he said.

After that, they will offer in-person help to homeless and foster youth, including study skills, social/emotional support and academic assistance. Families who

chose the Vista Virtual School program will continue with remote learning through the fall.

In Poway Unified School District, schools resumed on campus special education assessments on Aug. 23, and the district plans to bring special education students into schools for in-person special education services and small group instruction after Sept. 24.

The first set of elementary campuses will open to general education on Oct. 1, and the next set on Oct. 12, with students split between morning and afternoon groups, Communications Director Christine Paik said. Abraxas High School, the district’s continuation school, will open on Oct. 8, with students attending on alternate days. Middle and

high school students will be able to return on campus for targeted learning support, social emotional groups, special education services, and some activities, Paik said. The district will also offer a fully virtual option for all families who choose it.

At Oceanside Unified School District, select school sites offered small group enrichment programs with community organizations including the Boys and Girls Club and BASE, another after-school program. On Sept. 22, they plan to begin one-to-one assessments with special education students and English learners. Students with disabilities will return to campus in small groups starting Sept. 28. And on Oct. 19, elementary school students will return to campus for the

hybrid education model, which includes part-time, on-campus instruction and part-time, virtual learning.

Escondido Union School District will reopen its hybrid preschool programs on Sept. 28, as well as special education preschool, and inperson classes for students of all grades with moderate to severe disabilities. On Oct. 12, in-person hybrid classes will begin for transitional preschool to secondgraders, as well as all special education students with non-severe disabilities. On Oct. 19, third- through fifthgraders will start hybrid classes. And on Oct. 26, middle school students in sixth through eighth grade will begin hybrid instruction.

deborah.brennan @sduniontribune.com