news Fall virtual learning plans
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epending on the California legislature, Palo Alto Unified School District may be required to provide virtual learning options for the 2021-2022 school year, and plans are underway. At the March 23 school board meeting, Superintendent Don Austin and Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Education Sharon Ofek outlined the three distance learning options being considered for secondary students. The options include home hospital instruction (offered through a third party vendor to students with medical exemptions), an online curriculum through a third party provider with PAUSD oversight, and a newly developed virtual program based on the current distance learning model (essentially creating a separate digital and in-person school). “We do believe that any distance program would require real, clear purpose, year long commitments right from the beginning and a predetermined cap,” Austin said. According to a mid-March survey, 7.6% of PAUSD parents would be interested in a continuation of a virtual program offering for the 2021-2022 school year. PAUSD parent Bryn Ewen voiced her concerns on the twoschool virtual program during the board meeting’s public comment. “Distance learning has caused an irreparable harm and has disproportionately harmed low-income families, so knowing that, why on earth would you want to focus on creating a whole separate distance learning school?” Ewen said. by PAISLEY ANNES
10 APRIL 2021
FULL-TIME FRENZY — Superintendent Don Austin announces plans to bring elementary students to campus five days a week at a March 23 Palo Alto Unified School District school board meeting. “As a result [of the new three-foot distancing guideline], students currently in hybrid, grades kinder through five, will return for five days a week in-person instruction at all sites,” Austin said. Photo: Paisley Annes
Elementary to open full time
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ITH 90% OF PALO ALTO Unified School District staff vaccinated and new social distancing guidance, Palo Alto Educators Association President Teri Baldwin joins the district in supporting the five-day-a-week elementary school reopening on April 19. In the recent months, elementary students who selected hybrid learning have been attending school two days a week. However, with the California Department of Public Health’s new three-foot social distancing requirement, elementary students may now attend school full time. “At the request of PAEA and our site principals, we are reversing our staggered approach for the return, meaning when we started in October, we started the return with our younger students and we’re going to turn that around this time,” Austin said. One of the reasons PAUSD decided to postpone the full time elementary return is to allow for more teachers to receive their second COVID-19 vaccine dose. “Good news, now we are trending at 90% of our staff that have either completed or have taken their first vaccination shot,
which is a real big change in conditions and part of the reason we are waiting until April 19 to come back fully,” Austin said. During public comment, Baldwin stated her support for the April reopening. “We’re very glad that we won’t be bringing more students back until after the majority, if not all, of our educators and staff are vaccinated,” Baldwin said. According to Austin, students who elected full distance learning in October will continue to learn at home for the remainder of the year. During public comment, PAUSD parent Heidi Volkner voiced her gratitude for the full time return for Grades K-5, but requested that the same be done for secondary students. “I do feel that there is the flexibility and perhaps the capacity for us to bring back more of these students,” Volkner said. Austin plans to revisit more options for 7-12 grade students at a later date, and does not foresee any changes to the sixth grade student’s current four-day-a-week schedule. by PAISLEY ANNES
