Newsom outlines plan for reopening state
Early start to school year could help offset ‘learning loss’
Laying out plans to revive the economy if the state’s coronavirus caseload holds stable, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday suggested starting the upcoming school year as much as a month early — a controversial idea that sparked a passionate reaction from Bay Area parents and educators.
After missing more than a month of in-person classes because of the COVID-19 pandemic, students are falling behind — particularly those who don’t have access to reliable internet and other tools for remote learning, Newsom said. To help make up for lost time, he proposed starting the school year in late July or early August.
“There’s been a learning loss, and you can either just roll over and just accept that, or you can do something about it,” Newsom said. “So that’s our thinking. If we can maybe start up the
school year a little earlier, that would help … close that gap a little bit.”
The suggestion was part of Newsom’s much-anticipated plan for reopening the state, for which he provided details Tuesday. Some businesses, including retail stores, nonessential manufacturing and office spaces, likely will be allowed to open within the next few weeks, he said. But Californians eager to have their nails or hair done or go to a movie theater will have to wait longer — likely months.
And the businesses that do open will have to modify their practices to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among customers and employees. Retail stores may rely on curbside pickup instead of swinging the doors open for walk-in shoppers, for example.
Newsom’s announcement comes a day after six Bay Area counties, plus the city of Berkeley, extended their shelter-in-place orders until June — meaning they could end up reopening their economies more slowly than the rest of the state. Mentioning the Bay Area in his address, Newsom said Tuesday he would respect local governments’ right to impose more stringent regional guidelines.
Over the last few weeks, the state’s COVID-19 hospitalizations and intensive care admissions have stabilized, said Dr. Sonia Angell, director of the Department of Public Health. And while California topped 45,000 COVID-19 cases total this week, the pace of new infections has slowed since the state’s all-time high of new daily cases on April 20, when it recorded 2,135.
The state also received a shipment of 3.1 million masks over the weekend and already has distributed 2.87 million, Newsom said. Another shipment of personal protective equipment is expected today.
As of Tuesday, 46,361 people throughout the state
“I think we all just want to keep our fingers crossed that we don’t get complacent in the next couple weeks. That if we continue to be disciplined, the reward for that will be to start to reopen the economy.”
— Rufus Jeffris, vice president ofcommunicationsfortheBay Area Council
had been infected with COVID-19 since the pandemic began, according to this news organization’s analysis of data reported by California counties, and 1,864 had died.
Alameda County and the city of Berkeley reported 1,533 coronavirus infections Tuesday and 55 deaths. San Francisco reported 1,468 cases and 23 deaths, San Mateo County reported 1,099 cases and 48 deaths, Santa Clara County reported 2,122 cases and 106 deaths, and Contra Costa County reported 842 cases and 25 deaths.
For people anxious to get back to work, the picture Newsom painted Tuesday — of the curve flattening and businesses just weeks away from reopening — offered a ray of hope.
“The signals from Gov. Newsom are encouraging,” said Rufus Jeffris, vice president of communications for the Bay Area Council. “I think we all just want to keep our fingers crossed that we don’t get complacent in the next couple weeks. That if we continue to be disciplined, the reward for that will be to start to reopen the economy.”
But not all of Newsom’s proposals Tuesday received the same warm reception. Bay Area residents had mixed feelings about overhauling an already disrupted school year by changing the calendar.
Asked if reopening schools in July would be feasible, Palo Alto Unified School District Superintendent Don Austin simply said, “No.”
Almost as soon as Newsom made the announcement, Austin said questions began streaming in from parents and administrators. But Austin reminded everyone the governor doesn’t determine start dates for schools and that the district would be getting its direction from local public health officials.
Austin already had intended to return to the negotiating table to discuss changing the school calendar in light of the pandemic — but he was anticipating a delayed start, not an early one.
“Until a few hours ago, our thought was rather than open virtually, we were looking at exactly the opposite approach: To delay the start of school so it can be as normal an experience as possible,” Austin said Tuesday.
“It would give teachers more time to gear up. If the idea is to jump back in potentially one month after an extended shelter-inplace expires — if it’s not extended again — I mean, it just doesn’t seem feasible.”
Palo Alto schools are scheduled to start the next school year Aug. 15, and the district was looking at plans to push the date out as late as Sept. 8.
In San Jose, East Side Union High School District leaders met for a closed session late Tuesday afternoon to discuss Newsom’s comments. Heading into the meeting, Superintendent Chris Funk said it’s “dangerous” for Newsom to talk about school reopening in such an off-the-cuff way. “Just creates confusion for everyone,” he said.
The idea for a summer start date hasn’t been finalized, the governor said, suggesting he’d have many more conversations with stakeholders. He didn’t provide details regarding how schools would accommodate the early start or lay out any plans to increase state funding to support the change.
If Newsom’s idea is adopted widely by public and private schools alike, Theresa Dillard suspects her kids would be devastated. Summertime is sacred for Dillard’s 9- and 7-year-old children, both students at St. Christopher School, a private Catholic school in San Jose.
“We’ve uprooted kids’ lives so much,” she said, “and then to take summer break away from them … would be upsetting.”
And while Dillard is excited for her own life to start getting back to normal, the prospect also fills her with anxiety.
“I’m looking forward to having more access to services and maybe being able to see some family members and friends again,” said Dillard, who has asthma. “But I mean, personally, I’m just still concerned about becoming ill. Because it doesn’t seem like we have effective treatments yet, and a vaccine is probably a long way off.”