Coronavirus will keep California schools closed through academic year but learning will go on
Schools in California will be unable to physically reopen this academic year due to concerns of the coronavirus, according to a letter from the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, who encouraged educators to pivot quickly to online as students are expected to shelter in place through May 1 and possibly beyond.
His concerns were repeated by California Gov. Gavin Newsom in a news conference on Wednesday.
The state’s top education official, Tony Thurmond, sent the letter to district superintendents Tuesday, saying it “currently appears that our students will not be able to return to school campuses before the end of the school year.”
“This is in no way to suggest that school is over for the year,” Thurmond wrote. “But rather we should put all efforts into strengthening our delivery of education through distance learning.”
The letter, which was not a mandate, acknowledged what many school leaders already believed would take place before summer.
“We know that we are dealing with a never seen before health crisis that challenges us in many ways,” Thurmond wrote. “But we also believe that as it relates to educating California students we must rise to meet the challenge, that we are stronger together, and that if we work together we can do more together for all of our students.”
‘The right thing to do’
In his daily news conference Wednesday, Newsom echoed that sentiment: “The right thing to do for our children, the right thing to do for the parents, for households, for the community which they reside, is to make sure that we are preparing today to set our school system up where we are increasing class time, but increasing it at home.”
That means, he said, “fulfilling obligations through distance learning and other mechanisms to make sure that we’re educating our kids, but not doing so physically on the school sites.”
The California Department of Education has provided guidance and resources on distance learning. The state will also provide webinars and training, and help make technology accessible for families, according to the letter.
“What school board trustees and superintendents were looking for was clearer and more definitive guidance on what is fundamentally a public health decision,” said Troy Flint, spokesman of the California School Boards Association.
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School districts can still make the decision to reopen, however, Flint said the overwhelming majority of them will “take heed of the assessment and keep schools closed.”
Despite the messages from state leaders, Sacramento and Yolo County officials announced schools would remain closed until May 1 — not yet pushing the date to the end of the school year.
“Some counties chose the May 1 date to give themselves additional time to assess the situation and to also signal to parents and families that we are likely in this in the long haul” Flint said. “I don’t think that with an absent directive, local leaders felt confident that they could extend school closures through the end of the year, and they expressed that point to the governor and Thurmond. I think that played a role in expediting today’s announcement.”
Flint said some schools may respond to the extended school closures creatively, including scheduling longer school days, implementing a year-round schedule, or offering more summer programs. Many schools will also focus on addressing equity issues and how to ensure students who are struggling don’t fall further behind because of the closures due to the pandemic.
“There is discussion of how and when we will resume schools, and whether school will look the same as it has previously,” Flint said. “I don’t think it will.”
Internet access problems
Still, many districts, teachers and students are struggling to adapt to at-home learning, particularly in California’s rural areas where access to wireless internet can be sparse. Google announced Wednesday it will give free Wi-Fi to 100,000 rural households and provide 4,000 Chromebooks to students in need. The Wi-Fi will be delivered through mobile hot spots provided by T-Mobile.
Linda Darling-Hammond, president of California’s State Board of Education, said roughly 20 percent of California students lacked internet access at home when schools closed several weeks ago. Districts have found resources to cut that by half.
“We need more Googles,” Newsom said. “We still have a little bit more coverage that we’re going to need in some of the more remote parts of the state.”
Newsom, the father of four children 10 and under, thanked women — moms and teachers, in particular — for bearing the brunt of coping with the new reality of children being at home rather than at school.
“There’s a gender reality connected to this, and I just want to go deeply to express an appreciation to all of the moms, all those teachers, all those caregivers. I know how stressful this is. Trust me, I know,” he said.
The California Federation of Teachers, one of the state’s unions, supports the recommendation that schools close for the academic year, said president Jeff Freitas. Looking ahead, teachers need more access to professional development as well as guidance on online learning, grading and teaching students with special needs from afar, he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
