Colton Joint Unified School Board votes to remain in distance learning through end of school year

The Colton Joint Unified School District Board of Education unanimously voted to remain in distance learning through the end of the 2020/2021 school year during the Feb. 24 meeting.

CJUSD Superintendent Dr. Frank Miranda presented the board with a comprehensive and detailed reopening plan that includes guidelines, COVID-19 statistics, site preparation, and classroom and sanitizing logistics.

According to Miranda, the process, that involved over 200 people comprising teachers, classified employees, and community stakeholders, was approached with the district’s Theory of Action in mind –  the commitment to providing evidence-based recommendation based on data, resources, and supports, ensuring safety remains a priority.

“We were able to provide a recommendation from the Executive Cabinet to our Board and also the greater CJUSD community… we want to provide a recommendation that provides an avenue for safety, efficiency, and the equitable return to schools,” Miranda stated.

State guidelines require 25 and under daily new cases per 100,000 residents for grades K-6 to reopen; 7 cases or less per 100,000 residents for 7th – 12th grade. Each district will decide when they will reopen schools, and when that occurs, it must be conducted in small cohorts while maintaining 6 feet physical distance. The county met that threshold on Feb. 19 when positivity rates fell below 25 per 100,000 cases and school districts received word that schools may reopen. 

Miranda underscored the fact that the community CJUSD serves remains in the purple tier: Daily new case rates/100,000 for Bloomington – 35.9; Colton – 24.6; Fontana – 25.9; Grand Terrace – 16.1. The positivity rates are still high in the district overall, posing a high widespread risk.

Board President Dan Flores noted the county average of 14 new cases per 100,000 includes expansive and remote areas that span to the Arizona border and do not reflect local communities’ statistics.

“The numbers being thrown around by the state, by the county and the CDC even, are not necessarily indicative of our community, so I think it’s key that we hone in on the numbers and data that affect our community,” Flores remarked.

Significant effort has gone into the preparation of school sites; Lewis Elementary, Ruth O’ Harris Middle School, and Colton High have served as models for the district, featuring different types of desks, formations, and floor plans. 

Accordion to Rick Jensen from Facilities, two committees were involved with the logistical considerations of school sites:

• Site Layout Committee – logistics of entering, transit, exiting sites (comprised of directors from M&O, IT, Risk, Nutrition, Facilities, Safety, Printshop, Transportation, Purchasing);

• Classroom Layout Committee – guidelines for desk layout, disinfecting between classes (comprised of teachers, principal, classified, SLC members) 36 people.

The return to in-person instruction would not be full-time, but based on a hybrid model; students would not be in school all day.

Miranda noted that 75% of the academic year is completed; students and teachers have developed their routines, and it would be challenging to retrain routines by bringing students back to school. 

“Still a high risk out there, the new variant out there is a concern. While we see promising trends within our community, however, we need to be cautious,” Miranda remarked. “My strong recommendation is that we continue to stay in distance learning through the end of the 2021 school year.”

In doing so, the district can focus on bringing students back to school for the 2021/2022 academic year.

“I’m confident because we have the mechanism, strategy, and drive to be ready this next school year,” Miranda declared. “We will be ready, there’s no doubt. I wanted to reassure the board of that.”

Association of Colton Educators President Cristina Puraci repudiated the notion teachers are resistant to returning to the classroom.

“We support the recommendation to remain in distance learning,” she stated. “We are ready and willing to work with the district to return to in-person when it’s deemed safe.”

California School Employees Association (CSEA) Colton Chapter 244 President Louis Pacheco indicated classified employees want nothing more to be back in physical classrooms and school sites, but their formal stance on students returning to in-person learning for the 2020/2021 school year is “ill advisable and currently unsafe,” citing surges among classified employees in a “rash” decision to bring them back to school sites in June and October forced the reduction of staffing in July and December, respectively, due to coronavirus exposure.

“It would be unwise and unproductive of CJUSD to attempt in-person learning at the risk of exposing students, staff, families, and the community at large,” Pacheco said. “There are only three months left and an insufficient amount of time to feasibly transition students from distance learning to in-person learning.” 

Pacheco noted his concern lies with the mental and emotional wellbeing of classified employees; without sufficient time to fully prepare classrooms and school sites will cause unprecedented stress on all employees. 

“We firmly advise board members to reopen schools at a later time,” Pacheco concluded.

Board member Frank Ibarra made a motion to approve to remain in distance learning through June 4, 2021; Board Clerk Joanne Thoring-Ojeda seconded the motion.

Flores acknowledged the decision may not be good for every student, as some have struggled and others thrived in distance learning, but noted it was incumbent on board members to make the best decision possible with the presented information, while taking into consideration student, teacher and community safety, insufficient time remaining to retrain students for hybrid education, and the need to focus resources to fully being prepared to bring students back in the fall.

“As difficult as it is, I believe the right thing to do in this situation is to support staff’s recommendation to take time that’s needed to do this right, and ultimately keep everybody safe because one grandparent, one parent, one family member lost to this virus when it is preventable is one too many,” Flores concluded.