It’s been a rollercoaster of opening and closing campuses since that date here in California.
“We have not known normalcy since MARCH 17, 2020,” Bakersfield City School District’s superintendent, Mark Luque said at BCSD’s virtual town hall meeting Thursday.
As Luque pointed out, August 18, students are going back in-person full-time, eating lunch on campus included.
We are doing our best to ensure the safest environment for our students and staff, so our students can get back to learning in person, rebuilding relationships with their teachers, their friends, and ensuring they reach their ultimate success of academic excellence in our schools and in our district,” Luque said.
That safe environment is in accordance with cdph, cdc, and cal/osha guidelines, according to BCSD officials.
Students will have to wear masks indoors but not outdoors. and physical distancing will not be a requirement either.
“On the playground, those requirements are no longer in place,” Luque said. “We will ensure that our students have ample time to be out in the yard, to enjoy themselves, stretch their legs, do a little bit of physical activity, when they are on their breaks from their learning time.”
When back indoors for class, masks are just one layer of protection. BCSD has upgraded ventilation in the past year, they will be regularly cleaning and disinfecting, and will be encouraging hand hygiene.
That COVID-19 safety starts before a student even leaves the house. Parents and guardians are asked to do daily COVID-19 health screenings to make sure their child isn’t experiencing these covid systems, such as fever, cough, and loss of taste or smell. Once they’re clear to go, they can even take the bus to school.
“Bus drivers will ensure that our students are on the bus safe, that masks are on, that windows are down so that we can get our students to and from school,” Luque said.
For parents who determine that sending their kids back to school will pose a health risk for their children, there will be an independent study option taught by a live teacher for the same amount of hours, and they can still come to pick up a school lunch, according to BCSD officials.
BCSD will be posting a FAQ sheet of the town hall, and once posted, we will link to it here.
