Early in the morning of Mar. 20, Sacramento City Unified School District reached an agreement with the Sacramento City Teachers Association to reopen schools district-wide throughout April after just barely over a year of solely online instruction.
After Sacramento County entered the red tier on Mar. 16, the bargaining process between both organizations was sped up to try to reach an agreement sooner rather than later.
The decided MOU states that Pre-Kindergarten through third grade and kindergarten through sixth Special Day classes will return Apr. 8, all 4-6 grade students on Apr. 15, and all seventh through twelfth grade students on Apr. 22.
The main goal of both organizations is for all schools to return in a safe manner. The MOU reached provides health and safety standards for both the returning students and staff, classified as one of the best within California.
The agreement consists of three main pillars to reopen in-person instruction: staff have the opportunity to get fully vaccinated before returning, Sacramento County remains in the red tier, and classrooms will be equipped with the appropriate filters and CO2 monitors to assist with ventilation.
Other health and safety precautions include on-site trained Medical Assistants to help conduct daily health screenings and to oversee designated Care Rooms set up for students with COVID-19 symptoms, social distancing requirement, sanitation stations, the newly created Health and Safety Committee, sufficient PPE, and ample COVID-19 testing options.
These safety measures plan to ensure health safety for everyone on campus, using mandatory screenings of all those entering school sites and district facilities with visual wellness checks and health screening forms.
Accommodations for staff with health conditions or child care issues have been included as well, with even hopes of SCUSD and the City of Sacramento working to open child care centers throughout the district to assist staff needs.
The district’s proposed instructional model was reformed with STCA input to have AA/BB structured weeks as opposed to AB/AB. In secondary school schedules, Groups A and B both will return to in-person instruction, while Group C will remain solely distance learning. Monday will be completely distance learning, Group A will attend campuses on Tuesday (periods 1, 3, and 5) and Wednesday (for periods 2, 4, and 6) while Groups B and C do distance learning. Then Group B will attend in-person on Thursday (periods 1, 3, and 5) and Friday (periods 2, 4, and 6). All synchronous classes Tuesday-Thursday will be completed by lunch for both in-person and distance learning.
With the start-date moved up, SCUSD announced that families will soon be given another chance to modify their decisions regarding whether or not they would like their students to return to in-person school, a decision previously due by March 17.