Novato School District Expands Reopening

NOVATO, CA — Starting next month, many Novato public school students will spend more time in classrooms and less in front of Zoom screens.

The Novato Unified Board of Trustees on Tuesday voted to expand class time for elementary and middle school students, the Novato Unified School District said in a statement.

The move goes into effect April 12.

Novato and San Marin high school students will remain on their current schedules.

Tuesday’s vote followed an agreement reached Saturday between the district and the Novato Federation of Teachers to amend the Flexible In-Person program.

The program is based on a hybrid learning Memorandum of Understanding between the district and the teachers union that aims to reduce remote learning.

“Nothing is more important than returning our students to campus as safely as possible,” Superintendent Kris Cosca said in a statement.

“I want to thank NFT for their collaboration in this timely negotiation process for amending the MOU. NUSD has heard from many families how important it is for their children to have more in-person time in school. Now that all of our teachers have been offered a Covid vaccine and Marin County has reached the red tier, it was the appropriate time to revisit our schedules.”

Under terms of the deal, TK-8 students will attend school on campus five days per week and grades 9-12 students will be on campus four days per week.

The April 12 start date allows time for classrooms to be reconfigured and teachers and staff to get fully vaccinated, district officials said, noting many teachers and staff are expected to receive their second dose around March 27.

Elementary school students in grades TK and Kindergarten will attend school Monday through Friday from 8:40 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and students in grades 1-5 will attend school 8:40 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Middle school students will attend school Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 8:20 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. They will be released at 12:05 p.m. on Wednesdays.

Novato and San Marin High Schools will maintain their current schedules with students attending the morning session on campus from around 9:00 a.m. to 12:20 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.