Manhattan Beach School Superintendent Signals Reopening Dec. 8

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA —

Hello everyone,

I hope you all had an outstanding Thanksgiving. COVID changed this great holiday for everyone, including the Matthews family. My mom could not fly out from Little Rock like she usually does, and my mother-in-law and father-in-law (and I know I’m not supposed to, but I absolutely love my in-laws!) could not come because one of them developed a new cough. So my son and his girlfriend drove down from Sacramento, it was still special, and I am grateful for our small group. I still cooked for 20, and we sent out tons of leftovers to those who usually make it to our home.

As we all settle back into school, we are in the midst of COVID numbers (see below) that continue to be alarming. The County issued two separate new orders over Thanksgiving, the second of which went into effect today, and we all feel their impact. We are returning to a similar Safer at Home Order that we lived under in the spring. It’s another setback for the restaurants and small businesses in our community, and I urge us all to find ways to support them however we can in this time.

The big difference in the closures and restrictions this time is that there has been no order to close down the few schools that are open, or those that have permission to open. I am continuing to heed the advice of the LA County Department of Public Health (LACDPH), and therefore we are still moving forward with our plan to open our schools for students in grades TK-2 beginning next Tuesday, December 8. I have received several emails suggesting that we wait to begin these programs until after we return from Winter Break, but I believe that LACDPH’s guidance is rooted in science and medical knowledge, and they would not be permitting us to remain open if they did not believe it was safe to do so. Our gradual reopening phase-in, with the one day a week on campus for students/two days a week on campus for teachers and instructional staff provides an extra layer of caution for us as we begin in-person schooling.

There are two important new elements that families must follow:

• Students and employees who have traveled outside of state lines in the last 14 days cannot come to school (this is the state guidance)
• Students and employees (all of us actually) are prevented, as of today in the newest County Order, from attending a social gathering with others outside of the household. We are seeking guidance from the County about how long students/employees should stay out of school if they do attend such a gathering.

For those of you who appreciate podcasts, I listened to an excellent one (The Daily - New York City’s 3% Problem) over the break about NYC schools, their challenges in reopening, and their decision to close again. It outlines the frustrations and the fears that we have seen in our own community. Thankfully, our facilities here are much more modernized than NYC schools, but the lessons are similar. If we can follow the safety protocols that we have put in place, schools remain very safe places for our students and staff. As Dr. Fauci said this weekend, “The default position should be to try as best as possible, within reason, to keep the children in school, to get them back to school.”

I am grateful that our County is prioritizing education and that they are doing so with the safety of our students and staff in mind. I am so appreciative of every one of our employees who is already serving our children and our schools, and to those who are getting ready to return for in-person instruction. I am committed to the implementation of our safety protocols every day, and I urge us all to abide by these newest rules, so that our in-person schooling can be as safe as possible for our students and our employees.

Thank you,

Mike Matthews
MBUSD Superintendent