Gilroy Unified School District's New Recommendations For The Start Of The School Year

Press release from the Gilroy Unified School District:

July 13, 2020

Dear GUSD Staff and families,

Recently, the District posted the July 14, 2020 Board meeting agenda which included the District’s plan for the 2020-21 school year. The plan included elementary students returning to school five days a week, middle school students attending school two days a week and distance learning three days a week in a hybrid model, and high school students in distance learning five days a week. The Fall 2020 Plan was based on requirements and recommendations from the Santa Clara County Public Health Department (PHD) and Santa Clara County Office of Education (SCCOE), as well as input from the GUSD Fall 2020 Planning Committee and principals. I am grateful for the hard work and time that the Committee and our school principals devoted to this plan as we prepared to begin the 2020-21 school year.

Since posting the Plan, the District has received and reviewed considerable input from staff, employee unions, parents and others about the proposed plan. We have also continued to monitor COVID19 conditions in Santa Clara County. Here is what we know as of today:

• COVID19 cases are on the rise again in Santa Clara County with a total of over 6,500 cases with hospitalizations and deaths increasing.
• Santa Clara County Health Officer Dr. Sara Cody released a video statement this weekend expressing her concerns about these numbers and urging residents to take action together to slow the spread of the virus by staying home, wearing face coverings and staying six feet away from others.
• A majority of our staff indicated through recent surveys that they do not feel safe returning to schools at this time due to these numbers.
• The District received reports of positive cases in our school 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.

Therefore, at the July 14, 2020 Board meeting, I will be recommending that all GUSD students, TK-12, participate in distance learning when school reopens on August 12, 2020. Additional information regarding the distance learning plan will be shared in the next few weeks. We will continue to monitor conditions and be prepared to make adjustments when needed in the future. We will look closely at bringing back targeted and smaller populations of students per AB77 to the greatest extent possible as we continue to plan for the 2020-21 school year.

The board meeting can be accessed using this link: https://www.facebook.com/live/. A Facebook account is not required to access the meeting.

Public comment can be submitted prior to the meeting here: https://forms.gle/FhAvTf1km5tWYN8q8

The agenda packet, including the proposed plan, can be accessed here: https://bit.ly/GUSDBoardAgendas.

Questions regarding the reopening of GUSD schools can be emailed to questions@gilroyunified.org with the subject line: FALL 2020 REOPENING. Questions will be addressed as information is available.

Thank you for your time and continued patience as we work through this ever-changing process.

Sincerely,

Dr. Deborah A. Flores
Superintendent
Gilroy Unified School District

This press release was produced by the Gilroy Unified School District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.