Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

2 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Willing to Let Migrant Farm Laborers Stay in US

3 hours ago

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

21 hours ago

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

22 hours ago

Trump’s Sweeping Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Wins Congressional Approval

23 hours ago

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

1 day ago

US Supreme Court to Decide Legality of Transgender School Sports Bans

1 day ago

Nvidia Set to Become the World’s Most Valuable Company in History

1 day ago

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

1 day ago
Elementary Schools in Fresno, Clovis Districts Win State OK to Reopen
NANCY WEBSITE HEADSHOT 1
By Nancy Price, Multimedia Journalist
Published 5 years ago on
October 15, 2020

Share

Elementary schools in Fresno and Clovis Unified School Districts now have permission from Fresno County and California public health departments to reopen.

Both districts learned Wednesday afternoon that their waiver applications have been approved.

The decision on how soon Clovis Unified elementary schools will reopen to in-person classes is expected next week.

Fresno Unified plans to continue bringing only small groups of high-need students such as the homeless and English learners on campus for the remainder of the semester, district spokeswoman Amy Idsvoog said Thursday.

Those students are still engaged in distance learning but need to be on campus for internet connection and meals. They returned to campuses earlier this week.

“With the required safety practices, including physical distancing, we’re continuing to work with our labor partners to identify a path forward— providing the opportunity for all students and staff to return to campus,” Idsvoog said.

Waivers Allowed Under State Plan

Under the state’s reopening plan, elementary schools in counties with higher rates of coronavirus infection like Fresno could seek a waiver to the school closure mandate. That allowed counties that were still in Tier 1, color-coded purple, to reopen schools to younger students.

Fresno County learned this week that it has remained in Tier 2, color-coded red, for two weeks straight, which under the state reopening plan will allow districts to reopen secondary schools.

Clovis Wants to Hear from Parents

Clovis Unified’s waiver application includes a detailed plan of the steps that school staff, parents, and students would need to take for safety, including social distancing, mandating face masks, daily health screening, and deep-cleaning of school facilities.

The district is in the process now of surveying parents about their preference for in-person or online instruction for their students.

Clovis Unified has proposed a hybrid schedule that would bring half of the students to school in the mornings and the other half in the afternoons, so students may be safely distanced in classrooms and on campus during the school day. They would continue to do distance learning the other half of  the day and also on Wednesdays.

“This is an important step forward in our journey to return students to Clovis Unified classrooms and the high quality educational environment they deserve,” said Board President Chris Casado. “I’m extremely proud of every member of the district’s educational team, all of whom have devoted themselves to taking care of our students, and overcoming the hurdles caused by this pandemic.”

Central Unified Delays Waiver Application

In Central Unified School District, the board voted unanimously Tuesday to postpone returning elementary students to school until January at the earliest.

Although the district has not yet submitted its waiver application, “we have the waiver prepared and will be meeting with our parent advisory group at their regularly scheduled meeting” at the end of October, spokeswoman Sonja Dosti said.

Kings Canyon Unified Reopens

Students at TL Reed Elementary pick up their breakfasts Thursday, the first day Kings Canyon Unified School District reopened elementary schools with a public health waiver. (Kings Canyon Unified School District)

Meanwhile, Kings Canyon Unified School District, which is headquartered in Reedley, opened its doors Thursday morning to in-person instruction for students in grades transitional kindergarten through 6. The district received its waiver earlier this month.

Students in TK through second grade are attending school daily, while those in third through sixth grade attend on Mondays and Thursdays and some Wednesdays, or Tuesdays and Fridays and the remaining Wednesdays, communications officer Renee Delport said.

To make sure students could be properly distanced, school officials repurposed resource rooms and other spaces to become classrooms and also hired additional teachers, she said.

Kings Canyon also had to obtain new furniture, which was arriving at TL Reed Elementary on Thursday morning, Delport said.

The district is still working out plans for bringing middle and high school students back to their schools, she said. Because older students move between classrooms, “there’s quite a bit more to consider” in terms of devising a reopening plan that focuses on safety for students and staff, Delport said.

About one-sixth of the district’s 6,000 elementary students are opting to remain with distance learning, and the rest are coming back to campus for in-person instruction, she said. Kings Canyon Unified’s total enrollment is about 10,000 students.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Fresno Crash Involving Unlicensed Teen Driver Sends Woman to Hospital

DON'T MISS

Madre Fire Burns More Than 52,000 Acres in San Luis Obispo County

DON'T MISS

RIP John Harris: Fresno County Rancher, Racehorse Breeder Was a Visionary Leader Who Leaves a ‘Profound Legacy’

DON'T MISS

Valadao, Costa Spar on What Passage of Trump’s Bill Means for Medicaid Recipients

DON'T MISS

US Military Says 200 Marines Being Sent to Support ICE in Florida

DON'T MISS

Boeing Secures $2.8 Billion US Satellite Contract

DON'T MISS

Kaweah Health Names Its New Chief Nurse. She’s From Texas

DON'T MISS

Clovis Police Say At-Risk Missing Woman Found Dead in Mariposa County

DON'T MISS

Over 100 Former Senior Officials Warn Against Planned Staff Cuts at US State Department

DON'T MISS

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

UP NEXT

Trump Impounds Billions in Education Funding. For Fresno Unified, It’s $7.1 Million

UP NEXT

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

UP NEXT

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

UP NEXT

Poorest Americans Dealt Biggest Blow Under Senate Republican Tax Package

UP NEXT

Poll: Most Americans Say National Divide, Political Violence Threaten Democracy

UP NEXT

Trump Pulls Back 150 Guard Troops From Federal Duties in California

UP NEXT

O’Brien Launches Fresno County Schools Chief Campaign by Handing Out ‘Homework’

UP NEXT

Suspect Identified in Ambush Shooting That Killed 2 Idaho Firefighters

UP NEXT

Suspect Identified in Ambush Shooting That Killed 2 Idaho Firefighters

UP NEXT

Despite $49M Deficit, Fresno Unified Gives Top Brass 5% Raise, 3% One-Time Bonus

Nancy Price,
Multimedia Journalist
Nancy Price is a multimedia journalist for GV Wire. A longtime reporter and editor who has worked for newspapers in California, Florida, Alaska, Illinois and Kansas, Nancy joined GV Wire in July 2019. She previously worked as an assistant metro editor for 13 years at The Fresno Bee. Nancy earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. Her hobbies include singing with the Fresno Master Chorale and volunteering with Fresno Filmworks. You can reach Nancy at 559-492-4087 or Send an Email

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

2 hours ago

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

2 hours ago

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

2 hours ago

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

2 hours ago

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

2 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rachelle Maria Blanco

2 hours ago

Russia Pounds Kyiv With Largest Drone Attack, Hours After Trump-Putin Call

2 hours ago

Boxer Chavez Jr Expected to Be Deported to Mexico to Serve Sentence, Mexican President Says

2 hours ago

Markets’ 90-Day Tariff Pause Rollercoaster Nears an Uncertain End

3 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Willing to Let Migrant Farm Laborers Stay in US

3 hours ago

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

President Donald Trump is scheduled to sign a massive package of tax and spending cuts into law at a ceremony at the White House on Friday, ...

55 minutes ago

President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 12, 2025. (Reuters File)
55 minutes ago

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

The Madre Fire burning near New Cuyama has scorched 52,592 acres as of Friday, July 4, 2025, morning, making it California’s largest wildfire of the year, with only 10% containment and multiple evacuation zones in place. (CalFire)
1 hour ago

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Tops as 2025’s Largest Wildfire in California

1 hour ago

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

A pumpjack operates at the Vermilion Energy site in Trigueres, France, June 14, 2024. (Reuters File)
2 hours ago

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

Palestinians gather to collect what remains of relief supplies from the distribution center of the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 5, 2025. (Reuters File)
2 hours ago

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

Billy Wayne Sinisgalli, a 54-year-old transient known locally as Wayne, was found dead along a rural Fresno road Wednesday in what authorities are investigating as a suspicious death. (Fresno County SO)
2 hours ago

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

Israel Builds a Fence Around the West Bank
2 hours ago

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

A view of the site of Thursday's Israeli strike that damaged and destroyed residential buildings, at Shati (Beach) refugee camp, in Gaza City, July 4, 2025. (Reuters/Mahmoud Issa)
2 hours ago

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend