Following weeks of community input, San Jose Unified Schools – the largest in our region – is keeping students home until October.
“Given the current spread of the virus in Santa Clara County, the position of our teachers, and the results of the community survey, San José Unified has concluded that the best possible next step for reopening schools on August 12, 2020 is fully at home learning for all students for at least the first six weeks of the instructional calendar, through October 2, 2020,” District officials said in an email to families obtained by Cupertino Today.
Nearly three weeks ago, Santa Clara County officials released guidelines for school reopenings, but the COVID-19 spread has not abated.
Earlier this week, San Jose Unified completed another round of outreach meetings to garner input. It came as teachers’ unions threatened to strike if in-person instruction returned too quickly.
The district released highlights from their survey, noting high percentages of families planning to keep their children home.
“54% of parents responded that they will have a student attend school at home on August 12, 2020 based on what they know today,” the letter read.
District leaders acknowledged that distance learning can be particularly harmful for families without access to updated technology. To combat that, they are ordering iPads or Chromebooks for students without computers, and hotspots for those without high-speed internet.
“We will be working tirelessly over the course of the next four weeks to be ready to deliver high quality, equitable instruction to all of our students.”
Superintendent Nancy Albarran acknowledged the difficult reality students, teachers, and families are facing.
“We know this will be an incredibly challenging effort for all of us… We all want to get back to school, our activities, and life outside our homes.”