San Ramon Middle And High Students Return To Class Wednesday

SAN RAMON, CA — San Ramon's middle and high school campuses will once more come alive with students Wednesday.

This marks the first time in a year that San Ramon Valley Unified School District middle and high schoolers have been able to return to school, though some students were able to gather for small group instruction, said district spokesperson Denise Jennison in an email. Sixth graders had recently begun meeting on campus for core classes.

Students are now back in the classroom for good, unless the state requires the district to close classrooms for health-related reasons, Jennison said. Remote learning will continue for families who chose that option.

The school board has committed earlier this month to have all students back on campus in the fall — as long as they choose to be there. Students may also opt to continue with remote learning. The board believes "that students need to be back in school for learning purposes, as well as for their social-emotional wellbeing," the district said in a news release.

An informal survey taken last week indicated that about six in 10 staff members had been vaccinated or had appointments to receive their vaccine, Jennison said, though that number has likely changed since. All teachers have been offered the vaccine and have access to the vaccine.

SRVUSD began welcoming younger students back to the classroom — with safety restrictions in place — in phases, beginning with preschoolers through second-graders on Feb. 10.

SRVUSD moved forward with plans to return older students to class this week after Contra Costa County moved from the most-strict purple tier into the less-strict red tier Sunday.

The school board committed late last year to bringing back middle and high schoolers after the county moved into the red tier, which is the second-worst tier on the state's four-tiered, color-coded COVID-19 risk assessment system. The red tier indicates substantial COVID-19 risk.

On Tuesday the school district posted cohort information for students returning to the classroom. School leadership began contacting families to notify them of their plans.

Students have been split into two hybrid cohorts — A and B — and each school day will be either an even or odd block day. The full March schedule can be found here.

"We want to thank the community for working together with us to get to this place," the district wrote.

SRVUSD is currently discussing its plans for summer school and determining which courses will be offered, Jennison said.

Correction: A previous version of this article misstated which SRVUSD employees indicated they had received a vaccine.

See also:

• Contra Costa County Moves Into Red Tier; See What's Open Now
• SRVUSD Students Could Start Returning To Class
• San Ramon Valley Unified Pauses Reopening Plans Amid Surge