1 RivCo School District Returning To The Classroom: Here's How

CORONA, CA — During a Corona-Norco Unified School District meeting Tuesday night, the district's Board of Education laid out its plans to reopen elementary school campuses for in-person instruction amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

After discussion and consideration of parent and staff input, the five-person board voted 3-2 Tuesday to reopen CNUSD transitional kindergarten through sixth-grade classrooms after the winter break, with members Jose Lalas, Bill Pollock and John Zickefoose casting the Yes votes.

According to the plan, year-round elementary schools will resume in-person instruction Jan. 4, while traditional elementary schools will start Jan. 11.

Once back in the classroom, the elementary schools will operate at 50 percent capacity with students being split into two cohorts, according to the district. The two groups will alternate between in-person and remote learning. For example, one cohort will attend in-person morning classes Monday through Thursday and work independently at home in the afternoons. The other cohort will attend afternoon classes Monday through Thursday and work independently at home in the mornings.

Both cohorts will learn from home on Fridays, according to the district.

Details regarding cohort assignments will be shared with families in the weeks leading up to school reopening.

On Nov. 3, the Riverside County Public Health Officer and California Department of Public Health approved the CNUSD’s waiver application to reopen TK-6 classrooms for in-person instruction. It is the only public school district in Riverside County that has applied for a waiver.

“This is one of the largest waiver applications in the state in terms of schools and students,” said Dr. Cameron Kaiser, Riverside County Public Health Officer. “We’ve reviewed the district’s precautions and safety plans and they meet all current state criteria for precautions. We want kids back in school, but we want to do it safely, and this will not only give us that chance but also the real-world understanding of how we can safely operate large school districts during the pandemic.”

Families who are not comfortable sending their kids back to in-person instruction can transfer to CNUSD's virtual program as space allows, according to the district. Dec. 8 is the deadline to make the request.

Safety measures that will be implemented during CNUSD's in-person instruction include mask-wearing at all times, temperature screenings, hand sanitizing stations, cleaning between cohorts and after-school hours, distancing and more (read the district’s approved waiver, which lays out its safety plan).

There are approximately 14,000 elementary students in the CNUSD. A district survey of parents and teachers showed that approximately 52 percent of parents who responded said they wanted their children to return to the classroom; about 41 percent of CNUSD staff said they were OK with a January return, according to district data.

The district’s plans come amid worsening coronavirus spread countywide and around the world.

Updated coronavirus figures for Riverside County were not provided Wednesday due to the Veterans Day holiday. On Tuesday, the total number of virus infections recorded in Riverside County since the public health documentation period began in early March was 72,341, compared to 71,621 Monday, according to the Riverside University Health System.

Officials said the number of deaths related to COVID-19 stands at 1,352, up 14 since Monday.

The number of COVID-positive hospitalizations was at 244 Tuesday, up 16 from Monday, including 70 intensive care unit patients.

"Unfortunately, our numbers are increasing," Riverside County Department of Public Health Director Kim Saruwatari told the Board of Supervisors Tuesday.

She said the county's overall COVID-19 positivity rate is at 6.7 percent, compared to 5.9 percent a week ago. The state-adjusted case rate is 13.9 infections per 100,000 residents compared to 11.5 per 100,000 one week ago.