At today's SRVUSD school board meeting, the board voted in favor of returning to school this fall in a hybrid learning model. Not only does the model put students at risk, but it also poses a threat to teachers, staff, and families. The school board stated during the meeting that 68% of students said they would feel somewhat unsafe or unsafe returning to the classroom amidst the pandemic. SRVUSD is one of the top 30 largest districts in California with 32,000 students, which is almost 5 times the size of the average district in the state. Since June 15th, California's daily cases have surged from 2,018 new cases in a day to over 8,000 new cases on July 12th. In the hybrid model, thousands of students are being put at risk even with safety precautions in place.

A survey assessing student interaction with the remote model in spring showed that most students had caring relationships with school adults, even on a fully remote platform. A significant portion of students said that the 4th quarter approach to remote learning made it much harder to stay on pace. Adopting this model does little to mitigate the risk and moreover, the risk may even be the same as a fully in-person learning model.

We call upon the SRVUSD school board to consider a fully remote model instead of a hybrid one. Nearby schools have shown us that it is entirely doable to have an online learning platform that is effective and does not limit student-teacher and peer-to-peer interaction. Quarry Lane's remote learning model this past spring has not hindered learning and has allowed students to continue to perform at high levels. As a community, we have discussed and developed a sustainable plan for reopening secondary schools 100% remotely that addresses all student needs and replicates a normal school day as closely as possible:

-Remote schedules should closely mirror a regular in-person school day. (A-5, 1-6, etc. for secondary schools) 

-One video-conferencing platform like Zoom should be used to allow students to communicate with teachers, view live lectures, and interact with peers in groups in breakout sessions. Student videos should be kept on when possible to encourage normalcy and communication.

-Live, interactive meetings and lectures are imperative for the best version of online schooling, especially considering the office hours model was ineffective this past spring due to its inability to allow students to ask questions in real-time and the low attendance rates for office hours.

-Utilizing breakout sessions over Zoom also provide normalcy for students, allowing them to work with their peers in groups and establish meaningful connections with classmates without putting themselves or the people around them at risk.

-For convenience, one communication platform, like Google Classroom, should be used across the board for all students, enabling families to easily access any information they need to successfully navigate remote schooling.

An entirely online 7-8 hour secondary school day is in the best interests of the students, staff, and families of the SRVUSD, eliminating the risk of infection at school all while retaining the high quality of education that the district has provided us for years.