Same Distance Learning extended into new year

To the surprise of nobody, school district plans to return to in-person classes was nixed after COVID-19 cases skyrocketed and Riverside County has not been able to exit the most-restrictive Purple Tier.

The Lake Elsinore Unified School District Board of Trustees, under which Canyon Lake students are administered, met last week and approved an updated school reopening strategy. The board decided to maintain its current Distance Learning model when the spring semester begins on Jan. 12 with only a few modifications. The plan remains the same as discussed last month, the district said, to return to in-person learning once the county retreats back to the Red Tier.

Students in Elementary Grades TK-5, in order to facilitate a smoother academic transition for all elementary students, will have their current semester extended through Feb. 11. Distance learning under existing elementary teacher and student assignments will continue unchanged.

Spring semester for those grades will then begin on Feb. 17. Parents of those children will receive spring semester class rosters the second week of January.

For students Grades 6-12, the spring semester will begin on Jan. 12 under the distance learning model. Those students’ classes will be subjeact to teacher and student roster changes to accommodate both virtual learning for families that expressed this preference when surveyed and on campus cohort/hybrid instruction once it is safe. Parents of students in these grades will receive spring semester class rosters in early January.

Protecting the medical needs of students and staff members remains a priority for reopening under California’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy, the board said.

Grab and Go Meal Service will resume Jan. 12 at the same school locations.

Athletic conditioning is currently suspended until Jan. 4. State and regional championships have been removed from the CIF Season 1 Sports Calendar. As allowed under guidance from the California Department of Public Health and local health orders, the district will evaluate conditions in order to notify student participants as to when activities such as conditioning and competition can safely resume.

A modified sports season and calendar for the district’s high schools will also be explored.

The district’s goal of moving into phase two cohort/hybrid instruction when Riverside County is in the red tier and it is safe for students and staff members to return remains unchanged. Conditions to return teachers and students to classrooms include being in the Red Tier or better, and Regional Stay at Home Order terms no longer applying to the Southern California Region.

Since Oct. 20, Riverside County has been in the most restrictive Purple Tier. The Governor’s Regional Stay-at-Home Order became operable in Southern California earlier this month.

Terms of the state order remain in effect for a minimum of three weeks or until ICU availability in the Southern California Region is 15% or better. The ICU availability this week is 0%.

The board granted authorization at the meeting last week that enables the superintendent to call an emergency board meeting at the earliest opportunity so reopening can begin two weeks after returning to the Red Tier, which is the soonest schools can open to in-person classes.