Murrieta Valley USD's Return To Campus Is 'Picture Perfect'

MURRIETA, CA — The Murrieta Valley Unified School District welcomed students in grades TK-5 back to class on Tuesday, and it was a special day after a year of remote learning for most of them.

Approximately 5,500 MVUSD elementary students (about 60 percent of the district's total elementary population) whose families opted for the hybrid in-person model were back in class, according to district spokesperson Monica Gutierrez.

"All 11 elementary school sites were picture perfect in executing one of the biggest changes of the year. Employees were energized," said MVUSD Superintendent Patrick Kelley, who explained the path to getting there.

"I must recognize that the road to successfully reopening was paved earlier in the school year by teams that brought back a little over 2,000 students in cohorts beginning last September," Kelley said. "Thanks to them, that early commitment paved the way for the successes we experienced today.”

The return to campus was not exactly the same as it was pre-pandemic, however. Students are under a hybrid model, where they attend class for 2.5 hours in either a morning or afternoon session that is augmented by remote learning.

The split schedule is part of the district’s COVID-19 safety plan to prevent virus spread — a plan that was required by the state and county.

“Currently, we are following the mandates and mitigation measures according to the California Department of Public Health (physical distancing, face coverings, small classroom sizes, sanitizer stations, Plexi-shields at desks),” Gutierrez explained in an email to Patch. “Our objective in making classroom modifications was to consider all students and staff’s health and safety needs. As we return to in-person, and conditions improve, adjustments to various measures, such as Plexi-shields, may be modified based on unique circumstances in each classroom as long as we continue to meet health guidelines and directives.”

On Tuesday Riverside County entered the red tier of the state’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy framework, which means MVUSD secondary students may return to campus as well.

Gutierrez said their schedule is set. MVUSD students in grades 6 and 9 who are registered for hybrid in-person instruction return to campus March 23, while students registered for the model in grades 7-8 and 10-12 come back April 6 after spring break.