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Home » MDUSD Releases Preliminary Reopening Plan For 2020/2021 School Year

MDUSD Releases Preliminary Reopening Plan For 2020/2021 School Year

by CLAYCORD.com
50 comments

The following information is from the Mt. Diablo Unified School District:

MDUSD Community,

We have a plan. More precisely, at this stage in our Roadmap to Reopen, we have published our Preliminary Reopening Plan for the 2020-21 school year. This is not our final plan, but it is a major milestone in our Roadmap to Reopen. We are thankful for the continuing work of our Task Force groups and for guidance from health authorities to make this possible. We are also thankful to the more than 13,000 individuals who participated in our initial family survey; your input was essential for our plan development. In continued partnership with you, we are asking that you aside time to review and become familiar with our Preliminary Reopening Plan.

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Next in our Roadmap to Reopen, we will be requesting your feedback again⁠—this time, regarding our Preliminary Reopening Plan. A Community Feedback Survey for this purpose will be published on July 1st, and we will remind our community to complete the Community Feedback Survey by July 7th at 5:00PM. On this web page, see below to review the complete Timeline for our Roadmap to Reopen, which details all major steps toward our end goals: publishing the Final Reopening Plan on July 30th and beginning school on August 13th with safety, equity, community, and quality instruction.

Change is the one thing that remains constant for all of us. Because our plans remain subject to revision based on the latest virus trends and developments, the need for a formal written plan is that much more easily recognized. Our confidence comes from knowing that it is together that we will plan for tomorrow, and together that will meet the challenges of today.

This is our Preliminary Reopening Plan:

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50 comments


Frustrated June 30, 2020 - 3:59 PM - 3:59 PM

Students will benefit the most from being in a school setting

chuckie the troll June 30, 2020 - 4:10 PM - 4:10 PM

Just read the “Plan”. Not as bad as I thought, but not good.
1. Like that students/parents can choose ‘distance learning’ if needed.
2. Do not like the “no school Wednesdays” idea.
3. Full-time school (traditional) should be an option available to all students, not just a few categories.
4. What is the “Plan” for making sure low-income students can do ‘distance learning’? Internet access and computers, for instance.
5. What safety measures will be instituted to prevent harm to the thousands of students who will be at home all day without parental oversight and protection?
6. The Wall Street Journal, among other sources, has stated that ‘distance learning’ was a failure this past school year. How will the District ensure that it isn’t a failure in the 20/21 school year. Will the District have a Plan B?

Lots of questions and little hope that this will turn out to be a good thing.

ConcordRez June 30, 2020 - 6:42 PM - 6:42 PM

Very good points. FYI: Wednesday is already a minimum day for students to accommodate afternoon staff meetings

parent June 30, 2020 - 9:23 PM - 9:23 PM

All good points. I would add, what about the parents, how are they to adjust to providing childcare for children 3 days a week now? Send them to the grandparents? Well, probably the smartest thing …Will there be a subsidized childcare option paid for by our school taxes we pay? We are not going to get the required number of teaching minutes for our children on this hybrid schedule, so do we get a tax break? On a serious note, as you pointed out in #6, distance learning was a failure, how we will they adjust to ensure that our children are properly educated? And for those that say the parents should do it, okay, so if I am doing 60% of the days, I get a tax break, right?

Sign from Above July 1, 2020 - 7:41 AM - 7:41 AM

@ ZZ

Easy to complain and criticize. The district is doing the best they can as they navigate through uncharted waters. I notice your post is just more complaining. If you have better ideas, why don’t you present them constructively? Be part of the solution instead of being part of the problem. Somehow, I don’t think you’d be supportive no matter which direction the district went!

ZZ July 1, 2020 - 9:22 AM - 9:22 AM

@signfromabove, Oh, I do have a solution, open the schools, business as usual. I’ve been posting that, just not on the post you read. This district is not doing the best they can. They aren’t studying what’s going on in the rest of the world concerning opening schools. No discernable increases of Covid-19 in 22 countries, they have found children don’t spread the disease to adults. And they have opened their schools. You can look it up yourself.
I have absolutely no faith in MDUSD. Their track record precedes them. They don’t take care of their employees very well – teachers are still working without a contract, classrooms with 30 plus kids, no nurses on most campuses, no support from administration concerning problems with students, special ed department is poorly run, etc etc.

Michael Pruitt July 1, 2020 - 10:22 AM - 10:22 AM

Obviously you did not read the section Technology. States that students will be able to borrow computers and parents will be be able to get free or cheaper internet.

Fed Up July 1, 2020 - 10:49 PM - 10:49 PM

ZZ— it’s so odd that you’re pushing for “business as usual,” yet also acknowledge that the district mistreats teachers and expects more from them than they are able to give. If teachers are expected to return to full time teaching, that means they will still have 30+ in classrooms, no social distancing, no safety precautions, and put themselves at immense risk. I’ve already accepted that I may have to go on disability if I’m expected to return in person, because I am one of the many staff members who is high risk. At this point, there is no way to return to business as usual safely. Please stop trying to sacrifice the educators so parents don’t have to be home with their children. We deserve safe, clean, and protected jobs.

sign from above July 5, 2020 - 8:18 AM - 8:18 AM

@ ZZ

I do belileve we need to open thing back up, albeit in a measured fashion. However…….

“they have found children don’t spread the disease to adults.” Whaaaaat? So we have an incredibly smart virus that is able to descerne age? Adults can pass it to their children, but not the opposite? I’d like to see where you got this data!

RANDOM TASK June 30, 2020 - 4:16 PM - 4:16 PM

hah so basically

what mdusd is saying is they have no idea they are overmatched and clueless
so your paying them to do well nothing ….accept to defer to you ….which i agree is ok ….

but they did that allready now they say uuummm well ok so we heard you and will go with your suggestions …yay great …..bbuuuuttt yeah so we will need to have it analyzed again …..and yes at another cost to you for which we will then make more changes and errrrr yeah we hope it works out before school starts …..by the way thank you for running your own school district and payjng us to be overwhelmed and unqualified to adjust and deal with things as we are lazy and set in our ways and yeah we will be defunding more money from schools to fund the plethora of illegals we wish you to support with more money …..so again ….
thank you for supporting this so called school district and paying us to sit around and wave our hands in surrender to the ever changing environment while you try to find work and also do our jobs for us ….again we will need you again once this is all figured out so we are not on the hook for failures again …..
whew good thing your ok with throwing your hard earned money at problems we cant figure out or we would be screwed …..
got to love public school system board its the best job ever …we blame teachers and defer to principals and when we cant get it done we have parents to do it for us while we collect a paycheck for being overwhelmed and well unqualified …..whew again we reserve the right to overturn any of your suggestions and or use them as ours ….
with any luck your kid will get 2 days of half day schooling
if we see fit in the end …..if newsom after all of this gives us the go ahead ….remember to vote dem so we get paid ….ty

Jason June 30, 2020 - 4:20 PM - 4:20 PM

Let’s start the debate with a hundred different opinions, debates, contradictions and personal stories
This is a mess for all and we will get through
Stay positive and remember all things in life are temporary

Chuckie’s Wife June 30, 2020 - 7:55 PM - 7:55 PM

Unfortunately, a bad education is pretty darn permanent for the rest of your life.

Shannon Bottorff July 1, 2020 - 8:22 AM - 8:22 AM

It doesn’t matter what the district tries to do, people are still going to complain. The reality is we (as a country) don’t know what to do. We have never been faced with something like this. The district is asking for input and ideas. I encourage all of you complainers to get involved and help instead of spewing negativity all the time. We are all in this together.

Chuckie’s Wife July 1, 2020 - 10:29 AM - 10:29 AM

@ Shannon – I am involved. But it’s like fighting windmills. The plan was set long before the task forces met – I heard about this back in April or so. This preliminary plan is not as bad as I feared, but it’s still not good. It does not address how teachers would be teaching synchronously, how students at home would participate, etc. There are a lot of big gaps here. The plan also doesn’t acknowledge that parents have to return to work – how will they do that with kids at home all the time?

PhRes June 30, 2020 - 4:27 PM - 4:27 PM

I am still confused on how (no fault of their own) they expect full time working parents to teach two days a week? What if the parents employers are not flexible? What if the FFRCA job protection runs out for either parent?

Oh, please June 30, 2020 - 4:40 PM - 4:40 PM

And no normal, full day option to speak of. It is like they want to punish parents who both work to keep the economy afloat and necessary services happening.

Fed up July 1, 2020 - 10:52 PM - 10:52 PM

So you’d prefer punishing their teachers? Their your kids, not the teachers. You’re responsible for them if they cannot go to school. If the school isn’t safe for teachers, they cannot go to school. The end.

Grammar Counts July 2, 2020 - 12:58 PM - 12:58 PM

@fedup Seriously??? You’re a teacher and you don’t know the difference between there, they’re and their? God help our children with educators like you.

nytemuvr July 2, 2020 - 2:07 PM - 2:07 PM

@Grammar Counts….Fed up needs to go to the liberry and get a book to brush up on her grammar, read it when you’re in the bafroom. Geez!

Fed up July 2, 2020 - 6:23 PM - 6:23 PM

Oof. That’s embarrassing. I can’t say I’ve ever made that mistake before. I want to say it was autocorrect, but it’s possible I just wasn’t paying attention or started a sentence like, “Their responsibility is to take care of the children.” I can assure you that I am fully capable of using the correct form of there, their, and they’re. Regardless, my point still remains: a teacher is not your child’s caregiver and not to be sacrificed so that you can work. If it is too dangerous for a teacher to teach in person, you’re going to have to figure out what to do with your child.

ZZ June 30, 2020 - 4:49 PM - 4:49 PM

So the hybrid model is most likely going to be used. Two days in with 15 minutes of frantic wipe downs and hand sanitizing between each class, two days on line with half the kids showing and one day nothing.
Just go back to regular school days already. This is so ridiculous.

anon July 1, 2020 - 12:08 PM - 12:08 PM

Who’s going to wipe down and sanitize the classrooms? Don’t expect the custodians to do it.

Fed up July 1, 2020 - 10:53 PM - 10:53 PM

More to the point, don’t expect the teachers or kids to do it either. Not our job, which we are already underpaid and overworked for.

Frustrated June 30, 2020 - 4:53 PM - 4:53 PM

It would be good if school could open onsite full time and some arrangements made for students/ staff with medical issues. I believe the majority of parents would be willing to send their students and I believe teachers would much prefer to teach in person. The Pediatric associations are encouraging kids to go back to school. It is important for their education and mental well being. Why not open and hope for the best but be prepared to make adjustments as needed.

Original G June 30, 2020 - 5:16 PM - 5:16 PM

If we had school age children we’d home school until they figure things out or better yet until all this is over and done.

Michael June 30, 2020 - 5:42 PM - 5:42 PM

Where’s the English version of the full report?

America June 30, 2020 - 6:16 PM - 6:16 PM

Thank God my kids are grown up…

ConcordRez June 30, 2020 - 6:40 PM - 6:40 PM

Dear MDUSD: English teachers want you to know that desks should be placed FARTHER apart.

FARTHER= distance
FURTHER= additional information.

Thank you

Sam June 30, 2020 - 9:17 PM - 9:17 PM

How dare you..your privilege is showing..2+2=5 if the party says..minus 3 social credit points

Carmen June 30, 2020 - 7:09 PM - 7:09 PM

I really do not want to read all of them pages. Can someone kindly summarize please! Thank you.

S June 30, 2020 - 7:34 PM - 7:34 PM

Silly you, 17 pages is the summary…
You have to remember, a school district is a taxpayer funded bureaucracy. The more convoluted a document is, the easier it is to say… No, you misunderstand. Then more money is requested to resolve the matter questioned.

What I find interesting is that this document is released on or about the same day as many other institutions released “guidelines” as well. Wonder how much of it is just from the Template Vat rather than a well thought out document relevant truly to this district?

Chuckie’s Wife June 30, 2020 - 8:05 PM - 8:05 PM

@ Carmen – there are two plans posted at the end of the article. Just click the link of the one you want. The full plan is really only ~ 35 pages, double spaced. The rest are appendices, including the health department’s guidance. So it’s not that much to read. The full report gives a bit more detail but raises a many questions.

All – keep your eyes open for the survey that should become available tomorrow and fill it out. The more they hear from the community, the better. Read the full plan so you can critique knowledgeably.

Just wondering June 30, 2020 - 7:46 PM - 7:46 PM

The plan for special ed students is murky at best. What is the district’s “protocal” for students who refuse to wear masks and have severe behaviors? The plan refers to a protocol but no details are given.
How are the students requiring an assistant (1:1) expected to keep a safe social distance when there are multiple 1:1 scenarios in the same class? This is a difficult challenge but should be addressed.

Savagette June 30, 2020 - 8:06 PM - 8:06 PM

My daughter will be going into 8th grade this year and I don’t agree with full onsite not being offered unless students are homeless or don’t speak English. This social distancing since March has had an extremely negative impact on my daughter. Kids need to go to school and have social interaction. They need that school experience with friends and teachers. I’m sorry but school is what helps shape kids into adults. I attended and graduated MDUSD schools k-12 and the curriculum has really gone down hill since then and now they want kids to stay home and do online learning 3 days a week? What a joke. I also do not want my daughter wearing a freaking mask all day. Wake up people, the cloth masks are not very effective at blocking Covid microbes. Cloth masks, unfortunately, are more for anxiety purposes than actual protection so get over it. I also think the idea of social distancing middle school children is going to be extremely difficult if not impossible. On top of that, it looks like a lot of elective courses are also being taken away such as art or anything that doesn’t involve learning from a book. This is a very sad situation.

Puffandstuff June 30, 2020 - 9:07 PM - 9:07 PM

Our poor kids. This is so sad.
What is the point?
Their childhood is being robbed.
Sickness will always be here. This is too much. We can’t live in fear.
I’m very depressed.

Pat June 30, 2020 - 11:27 PM - 11:27 PM

Where’s the part that mentions parents should be more involved with THEIR kids’ schoolwork, and not put it all on the schools/teachers?

Oh, please July 1, 2020 - 5:02 PM - 5:02 PM

The part where teachers are supposed to teach kids to earn their paycheck and parents are supposed to help with homework, not teaching the actual classes.

Tomato girl July 1, 2020 - 8:02 AM - 8:02 AM

I have child that went to our local assigned school. She got sick several times throughout school year. I would ask for any homework to help her stay current with the rest of the class. They refused to give us any materials. I decided to help in class and was able to see what was being taught. My child finished on time. New school year approaching, I decided to put her in K12 online public school. It’s a great program but it’s a big commitment for the parent. We we’re going to let her go back to brick and mortar but then Covid. We’re keeping her in online one more year because I don’t want her to have any disruption. I understand that not every family has the ability to stay home to be apart of their kids education but if you have any means or ability to do so, I recommend K12. They provide all materials including laptops. Very organized and have been doing the online thing for well over a decade. Know that is not forever and when the chaos ends ( hopefully) you can let your child go back to brick and mortar.

Time To Go July 1, 2020 - 9:30 AM - 9:30 AM

Teachers are paid to work each day, yes, 1/2 day on Wednesday for Staff Meeting. They should be teaching the courses online just as if they are in the classroom and the District should be working to get all students up and running running. How about:

Go back to traditional schedule, all classes every day, shortened classes on Wed.
30 minute online instruction of the lesson
Students spend 30 minutes working the lesson, turn in work next day
5 minute break between classes
Students log-in for next class.
Keep breaks and lunches same each day.

District Goal: Get all students virtual access. Send moible WiFi to areas to provide internet connections, or work with City for WiFi for all. Students who are not online (participants can be tracked) dropped from class after so many absences, receive F or Incomplete.

No worry for daycare, students still learning, teachers still teaching.

Require deposits for chrome books or other device needed, reimbursed upon return of equipment. No return of device, no schooling the next year. Or, work with tech companies to provide devices.

Fed up July 1, 2020 - 10:58 PM - 10:58 PM

This solution makes no sense, are they at school doing online work or at home? I thought it was all online, but then you said “no worry about day care.” Who is the adult with the child? If it’s a teacher, why are they doing online lessons? If they’re home, are the adults in their home just leaving? Any way you look at your suggestion, it’s flawed.

qwerty July 1, 2020 - 10:18 AM - 10:18 AM

Two doctors (Fauci and Rand Paul) agree schools should fully open. Schools have opened worldwide and no spike. Though the majority of people in the US reject central planning by government, we are living in one jurisdiction that does, and this is what it looks like and does to working parents. Schools should open fully and students properly educated.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GvPMAtwGUQ

Natalie July 1, 2020 - 12:21 PM - 12:21 PM

Fauci never said that schools should “fully reopen”. Facui said “we need to do whatever we can to get children back to school”. He also said it would “depend on the dynamics of the outbreak and the particular location where the school is”. His opinion urges caution, and he has said that steps need to be taken to make sure that schools reopen as safely as possible. Some schools won’t fully reopen in Fall.

Rand Paul is not an immunologist. He is.an eye doctor, who specializes in cataract and glaucoma surgeries, LASIK procedures, and corneal transplants. His medical training is not comparable to Dr Fauci’s.

Fed up July 1, 2020 - 11:05 PM - 11:05 PM

Aaaaactually, many schools that reopened had to be closed again after outbreaks in the school. S. Korea (which typically has a 12 hour school day and students have some of the most rigorous education of anywhere in the world) opened and closed very shortly after. Do you have kids? Do they always follow the rules? Probably not. How about when they choose to not follow riles (or you force them to go on vacation or the beach or out to dinner) and they bring the virus to school, infecting their peers and teacher. Did you ever have a sweet, older elementary teacher? There’s lots of them. If schools fully reopen, you’re saying they are a sacrifice you’re willing to make. I hope you’re ready to explain to your kids why their teacher is dead, and that you supported reopening despite putting them at risk.

anon July 1, 2020 - 12:18 PM - 12:18 PM

What about the older school employees that have to go back to work and catch the virus? Would it be an on the job injury? Who’s going to teach if Teachers are at home sick?

Cynthia July 1, 2020 - 3:30 PM - 3:30 PM

Parents

Consider homeschooling this year. What you did in March was not homeschooling. That was crisis schooling. Do your research. Pick a curriculum that matches your child’s learning style and ability.

Stay engaged and involved. Don’t just put your kids in front of a computer three days a week and expect them to learn anything.

I have homeschooled 20 years. My kids are well educated, great people who are an asset to society.

There are many homeschool groups and classes to take. You do not have to do this alone.

anon July 1, 2020 - 5:04 PM - 5:04 PM

I have seen student’s every day playing video games at school when they are supposed to be learning. They have to be monitored constantly.

Oh, please July 1, 2020 - 5:04 PM - 5:04 PM

How very nice for you. Glad you can step outside your shoes and realize that not everyone is you. Some of us actually have other responsibilities.

Ruby July 1, 2020 - 4:49 PM - 4:49 PM

If we open up schools in August, even with hybrid models, we should expect 2-3% of our kids to die.

So MDUSD, which schools are going to host the memorials? Candle light vigil outside the district office for your dead students?

Distance learning until after Winter Break AT LEAST

Julia July 1, 2020 - 8:21 PM - 8:21 PM

We need to open up schools fully. Parents who are worried about it and have the means to home school can do that.

Michael July 1, 2020 - 10:51 PM - 10:51 PM

Employer: Times are bad and I can only afford 1 of you. Pick a number between 2 and 5
Employee1: 2
Employee2: 5
Employer: Sorry Employee1, the correct answer was 5, as in 5 days a week. Here’s a pink slip to write down your notes for that distance learning stuff .


Comments are closed.

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