San Francisco School officials plan to reopen classrooms for personal learning from April 12, officials announced Friday night after months of bitter debate over how and when students will return to personal tutoring.
Officials said they had reached a preliminary agreement with the teachers’ union to “return as many students as possible in focus groups to a full school day for up to five days a week.” These groups are mainly preschool to grade two, which is about 13,000 students.
See: A list of SFUSD schools is expected to reopen in April
The agreement means that at least some students will see the inside of a classroom before the end of the school year, but it is unclear how many of the 52,000 students in the district will return before the end of the term. School district officials on Friday declined to provide more details about the preliminary agreement, saying officials plan to share more information on Monday.
‘This is an important step on our path to reopening schools. “We are still committed to ensuring that every student and family in the San Francisco United School District receives the support they need,” Council chairwoman Gabriela López said in a statement. “Whether it is parents and caregivers who try their best to support their children, or teachers who work continuously to support learning during a pandemic. We are all in this together. “
The deal comes after weeks of increasingly tense negotiations. The district and council have come under increasing pressure from parents and city officials to reopen schools – including a lawsuit, rallies and ‘zoom in’ and possible recall, as concerns about learning loss and rising mental health risks have increased.
Mayor London Breed strongly insisted on the reopening of the schools, and criticized the school council for renaming sites instead of struggling on family members and students. She also supports the reopening lawsuit filed by City Attorney Dennis Herrera.
The district said basic students for those who return will, with a few exceptions, stay with their teacher. ‘Families who prefer to stay in distance education may do so.
It is not clear if and when Grades 3-5 will return, and officials said it is highly unlikely that middle and high school students will return to classrooms this year. At a board meeting this week, commissioners continued to show interest in bringing back middle and high school students for social or athletic activities.
Many teachers were afraid to return without vaccinations, although experts said it was safe to do so with the necessary precautions. Yet this week, the district sent 4,000 access codes to staff for vaccinations, making the road to reopening smoother. San Francisco Unified has approximately 4,600 teachers, as well as thousands of other school staff, including teachers, counselors, office and cafeteria staff, and guardians.
“Today’s agreement is the result of months of adjusting and re-imagining what a return to personal education for educators, students and families in a large urban district can look like in a pandemic,” said President Susan Solomon, president of the teachers, said in a statement. “Now we need the city and district to approve their commitment to have school staff vaccinated as soon as possible.”
Meredith Willa Dodson, a parent who pleaded with other parents for the reopening of schools, told The Chronicle on Friday night that families are still trying to understand what the preliminary agreement means for all students in the school district. Dodson said she instituted a ‘million texts’ from other parents who were deciphering the deal, saying she felt a little unbelieving.
‘There’s excitement that this is the most progress in a year, and we’re still waiting for information, so it’s hard to get too excited. What does this transaction mean? Dodson said. ‘In San Francisco, we open restaurants and indoor eateries, and we’re in the red. In a few weeks, it sounds like we’re going to be in the orange level. We know we’ve done a really good job in the city with distribution – we absolutely have to prioritize getting our kids back to school. ‘
The district said the health department had approved the return of the first group of schools; it contains five early education websites, six primary schools and one provincial program.
District officials said in a separate statement Friday night that families in the first group of returning students could update their preference for virtual versus personal learning next week and that the next group of families with students in line will investigate on March 9. word.
“We are enthusiastic about sharing this progress, and we also know that some students and families who want to return are unable at the moment,” Superintendent Vince Matthews said in a statement. ‘We realize that distance education is not ideal for most students, and many families have struggled with a full year of distance education. We really wish we could reopen schools for everyone. ”
This is a breaking story. Check back for updates.
Lauren Hernandez is a staff writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @ByLHernandez