Schools close campuses

Canyon Lake youth will be staying home when school classes begin next month and will take courses online, the Lake Elsinore Unified School District announced last week. COVID-19 restrictions by the state issued the following day matched what the local school district announced.

While school will begin on its usual start date, Aug. 12, it will be “in a full distance learning format,” the district said. Students will not learn on campus (in a hybrid model or full traditional instruction) until it is deemed safe to do so. Rather, they will receive virtual materials and instruction five days a week.

“Out of an abundance of caution and concern for the health and safety of our students, staff and families,” the district announced last week, “…(we announce) our intention to re-open instruction on Aug. 12 in a full distance-learning format.”

The district said it is hoping the full-remote learning model is short-lived.

“This plan of action has not been reached lightly,” the district said. “All possible options for opening our schools in a safe manner have been thoroughly considered. The only safe option at this time is a temporary full-distance learning option. When it is safe to move into a hybrid model or full traditional instruction during the 2020-21 school year, that is our intent.”

Arielle Dalton participates in an online “class” as part of her Tuscany Hills Elementary School’s distance learning program. Photo by Elizabeth Dalton

When the schools were shuttered in March as the pandemic began to result in restrictions, school work became optional for the students. If students chose to do school work at home, the graded result could only improve a student’s grade, not lower it. However, beginning with the new school year next month, traditional grading returns.

“We will also use this time to work with our teachers and staff to ensure that in the Phase One-Distance Learning model, all students shall receive instruction and content five days a week in a 100% virtual format,” the district announced. “All content and instruction shall be mandatory, graded and aligned to grade-level standards.”

The district intends to transition back to campus with Phase Two-Hybrid Model and then eventually to Phase Three-Full Traditional as soon as possible, the district said.

The district said it announced these plans now in order to give families more time to make the necessary plans for their students to begin the school year online. Support for English learners, students with disabilities, foster students and homeless youth will be provided.

“The COVID-19 pandemic cannot be taken lightly,” the district said. “Our school district and Board of Trustees are committed to continually monitoring the COVID-19 situation and to reevaluating the public health data related to this phased reopening plan. It continues to be our goal to return to full traditional instruction as soon as it is safe for our students, staff and families to do so.”

The district said it will update the community with additional details the closer it gets to the beginning of classes on Aug. 12.

Students doing school work at home can encounter obstacles. Like Harrison Richardson, 4, who contends with jealous one-year-old brother Hendrix who wants to join in on the lesson. Photo by Patti O’Malley

State Governor Gavin Newsom announced new statewide guidelines for the state’s schools the following day. Had the local school district made an announcement other than the one it did, it would have been prohibited from on-campus classes by the state and would have needed to reverse its course.

“Schools located in counties that are on the Monitoring List must not physically open for in-person instruction until their county has come off the Monitoring List for 14 consecutive days,” the governor said. Riverside County is one of the 32 counties included on the Monitoring List.

High school fall sports have also been postponed until at least December, the California Interscholastic Federation announced this week. Football, girls volleyball, cross-country, boys water polo, girls golf, girls tennis and field hockey are fall sports forced to be delayed.

The CIF Southern Section, of which the local high schools belong, said football practice will begin on Dec. 14 and the first games will take place Jan. 8.

Many of the fall sports will now overlap with some winter sports, causing athletes that typically participate in multiple sports to be forced to choose which sport in which to compete.