Gilroy Schools To Continue Distance Learning

GILROY, CA — The Gilroy Unified School District voted unanimously Tuesday in support of a plan to continue distance learning to start the upcoming fall semester amid a surge of coronavirus cases.

The decision reverses a previous proposal to start the fall semester by fully opening campuses to elementary school students and implementing a hybrid learning program for middle schoolers. High school campuses would have remained shuttered under the previous proposal.

The district started a distance learning program when it shuttered campuses midway through the spring semester due to concerns over the spread of COVID-19.

Superintendent Deborah Flores issued recommendations for distance learning in a statement Monday based on Santa Clara County guidelines. The district voted in support of those recommendations the next day.

Flores cited a rising coronavirus case count, which topped 6,500 earlier this week, and the concerns of Santa Clara County Health Officer Dr. Sara Cody, who released a video over the weekend in which she urged residents slow the spread of the virus by staying home, wearing face coverings and practicing social distancing.

Flores said a majority of the district's staff members expressed concern about their safety as the district received reports of positive cases in the community.

“With the current increases in COVID19 in Santa Clara County, in addition to the latest guidance from Dr. Cody, stating the numbers are 'going in the wrong direction, the Gilroy Unified School District feels that a full return to school at this point provides too many challenges within the recommended safety framework provided by the PHD and SCCOE,” Flores said.

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