As Santa Clara County’s COVID19 conditions improve, our District Fall Reopening Planning Committee met to begin preparing for the potential of moving into the next phase of our school reopening plan. This process will take several weeks of preparations, so planning is necessary to be ready for change. The Fall Reopening Planning Committee met Wednesday afternoon to discuss the needs for doing this transition well. 

I shared with the group that—as we have said from the start—we are planning for a gradual, phased-in approach with the goal, which is also a legal requirement, of providing as much in-person instruction as is safely possible (EC 43504). 

In addition to reviewing the Reopening Plan phases, I shared that the waiver approval process involved vetting by State and local public health departments, giving us added confidence that we have addressed all required and recommended safety protocols and processes. Our Committee members take their role of representing the various constituents of our district seriously. They brought with them ideas, observations, and questions that would be important considerations in planning for a transition to the hybrid phase of reopening, which we are reviewing and incorporating into our planning. 

I explained that we are particularly interested in understanding the readiness of our community—families and employees—for gradually moving to in-person instruction on campus. The group suggested that a survey of families and staff would be a good next step for determining readiness for when to transition to our plan’s Phase 2 (hybrid). This survey will go out this Friday, Sept. 18th. 

Conditions in Santa Clara County are trending in a positive direction. If they continue this way, schools will be able to begin bringing students back to campus. We will be very thoughtful and responsive about taking the next step in our Reopening Plan.

The Fall Reopening Committee will reconvene Sept. 30 to review survey data and input from staff.