School board vows to reopen in fall
The San Francisco school board pledged to reopen schools in the fall to all students for full time inperson learning in a unanimous vote late Tuesday.
The resolution on reopening, authored by San Francisco Unified School District board member Jenny Lam, pledges a full return to inperson learning at the start of the 202122 school year if public health guidelines allow, citing falling rates of coronavirus infection and the increase in vaccinations. Remote learning will still be an option for students who choose not to return for medical, social or academic reasons.
The vote serves as a step toward bringing students back to classrooms for inperson instruction five days a week. The resolution is largely symbolic, given that the district has been allowed to reopen schools since the fall, but union negotiations, facilities issues and other county health requirements caused delays. Teachers union president Susan Solomon thanked Lam for introducing the resolution, saying, “The best thing we can do is work together” to bring students back safely.
It comes as the district prepares to welcome preschool through fifthgraders, special education students and vulnerable older groups starting Monday. Despite calls to bring middle and high school students back as well, officials have said it is unlikely that most older students will return before the school year ends June 2.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said Tuesday that he expects all California schools to reopen for inperson instruction after June 15, when California is expected to eliminate its tiered reopening system.
State Superintendent Tony Thurmond shared the governor’s optimism, but cautioned that there “are still many unknowns about the COVID19 variants that public health officials are monitoring and have observed spreading among some youth.”
SFUSD’s spring reopening is already encountering roadblocks: Schools are shortstaffed less than a week
before they are set to reopen. Some staffers requested accommodations to work remotely because of increased risk for severe illness from COVID19, requiring the district to hire substitute teachers. While nearly 300 staff members were granted accommodations, the district is short 150 substitute staff members.
“I do not like teaching to a screen,” said SFUSD teacher Chris Clauss at Tuesday’s meeting, but for a full return in the fall to be possible, he said, “We need to get the current return process right.”
Amid school closures, student mental health is suffering. The rate of children’s hospitalization for mental healthrelated reasons has skyrocketed, and emergency room visits for suicide attempts in adolescents have increased at alarming rates.
Even with Tuesday’s vote to reopen, it’s still unclear what the fall will look like for many schools.
In the midst of the uncertainty, San Francisco schools Superintendent Vince Matthews agreed to stay in his position for another year after announcing his retirement about a month ago.