STORY AND PHOTO BY TOMOKI CHIEN
The Mountain View–Los Altos School District’s April 19 full hybrid return is not contingent on the county being in the orange tier of coronavirus restrictions, as District Teachers’ Association President David Campbell previously told the Post.
Campbell, as first reported by the Town Crier, said he was mistaken when he had emailed the Post last week, noting that the orange tier requirement had come up in previous talks but was not included in the final agreement.
“We previously held it as a position, however have changed for our agreement which has yet to be signed,” Campbell wrote in a text message to the Post today.
He said he hopes the agreement will be signed by Friday, which will finalize the full hybrid return.
The district is set to welcome its first groups of the general student population back to campus this week under its “stable groups” model — which differs from the full hybrid return in that returning students will be supervised by volunteer substitutes in a study hall format and continue to participate in Zoom classes, as opposed to the actual in-person instruction of the full hybrid return.
DETAILS OF THE APRIL RETURN
As presented at a board study session today, the district’s mid-April return will see students who opt into the hybrid program split into two groups, each visiting campus for two half-days a week.
For the first week, “Group A” will be on campus Monday and Tuesday mornings, with “Group B” on campus Thursday and Friday mornings. That schedule changes the following week, with students on campus in the afternoon instead of in the morning. Wednesday will remain an asynchronous day for all students.
Families may opt to keep their students in the district’s Option A distance learning program, or switch students to the self-guided Option B remote learning program.
Students enrolled in the hybrid program and Option A will retain their current slate of classes and teachers; those schedules are able to be preserved because teachers will teach remote and in-person students at the same time using Zoom.
As Superintendent Dr. Nellie Meyer previously told the Post, the return will be mandatory for all teachers with the exception of those who have health concerns or doctor’s notes, who will be permitted to continue teaching from home in an unspecified capacity.
“This conversation has been ongoing for many months with the end goal of students and teachers on campus in their classrooms,” Board President Fiona Walter wrote to the Post last week. “I’m very excited to be moving forward.”
The district, as noted during the study session, plans to make a full return in the fall.
Carly Heltzel contributed to the reporting on this story.