Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Newsom Surprises Local Educators With 'Safe Schools for All Plan' for In-Person Instruction
gvw_nancy_price
By Nancy Price, Multimedia Journalist
Published 3 years ago on
December 30, 2020

Share

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday unveiled the state’s plan to reopen schools during the coronavirus pandemic that includes allocating $2 billion in January to provide regular COVID-19 testing for students and staff, improve school ventilation, and acquire face masks and other personal protection equipment.

The Safe Schools for All Plan also includes creating a state dashboard to track outbreaks at schools and a Safe Schools for All Team to help schools create safety plans.

The goal, the governor said during a morning news conference, is for schools to reopen to in-person instruction, starting in February with children in transitional kindergarten through second grade.


The timing of Newsom’s announcement during the holiday break appeared to blindside some Valley educators, including Fresno Unified Superintendent Bob Nelson.

“Suffice to say we were not anticipating major announcements regarding the status of school children statewide during the week between the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, and we need to review this intended proposal, with particular consideration to any recommendations regarding both comprehensive COVID testing and potential vaccine dispersal, which are topics requiring extensive collaboration and coordination with our local health department,” Nelson said.

Waiting for Orange Tier

At this point, Nelson said, Fresno Unified will not be deviating from its plans to keep schools closed to all but specified small groups of the most at-risk students until Fresno County’s infection rates have declined sufficiently to put the county into Tier 3, color-coded orange, of the state’s reopening plan.

“As always, we will pursue a measured and moderate response to this politically-charged, constantly shifting situation,” he said. “We will continue to prioritize safety, stability, and high-quality instruction, just as we have prior.”

Nelson, who posted his statement on his Facebook page, asked those who shared his post to share the comments as well as the link to an EdSource article published Wednesday that outlined the governor’s plan: “Feel free to share this statement as needed. Reminder that if you simply hit ‘share’ however, it will only post the link to the article and not the commentary Thanks.”

Update on the Governor’s announcement today.

SUPT UPDATE: Just to clarify that we are aware of the Governor’s press…

Posted by Superintendent Bob Nelson- Fresno Unified on Wednesday, December 30, 2020

Meanwhile, Clovis Unified spokeswoman Kelly Avants said district officials were in the process of evaluating how the Safe Schools For All Plan might impact Clovis Unified students. The district’s elementary schools started reopening for in-person instruction in the fall.

Case Rates Remain High in Fresno High

The county, and the entire San Joaquin Valley region, have been ordered by the governor to remain on lockdown because of skyrocketing infection rates and reduced number of available beds in hospital intensive care units. As of Wednesday, only four of California’s 58 counties were not in Tier 1, the so-called purple tier.

Fresno Teachers Association President Manuel Bonilla said that FTA expects that Fresno Unified will stick to the plan that was developed in conjunction with the teachers union. If the Safe Schools Plan does impact Fresno Unified’s reopening plan, Bonilla said, teachers will be consulted before any new plan is implemented locally.

Bonilla said he was surprised by the timing of the governor’s announcement given the “astronomical” number of COVID cases straining Fresno County’s health care resources now.

Newsom said the plan will be implemented in counties where the seven-day average case rate is below 28 per 100,000 residents.

Fresno County has a long way to go to reach that parameter. As of this week, the county’s case rate is 84.9 per 100,000.

Safety Is Still Key

But the governor said that when appropriate safety and mitigation measures are in place, transmission of the coronavirus is reduced. In addition, medical officials say that younger students are less likely to contract and transmit the highly-contagious virus, he said.

Newsom introduced the four pillars of the Safe Schools for All Plan:

  • Provide $2 billion to pay for safety measures for schools.
  • Require safety and mitigation measures for classrooms, including frequent testing of students, teachers, and staff, especially in communities with high transmission rates, mandatory face masks for students and school employees, and improved coordination between schools and local health officials for contract tracing.
  • Create a cross-agency team of state health, OSHA and educational agencies that will be headed by Dr. Naomi Bardach, a UCSF pediatrician and school safety expert. The Safe Schools for All Team will help schools develop safety plans that will need to be approved by health officials before schools can reopen.
  • Create a state dashboard to report schools’ reopening status, level of funding available, and data on virus outbreaks at schools. The state will also provide a web-based “hotline” to report concerns to the Save Schools for All Team.

The news release from the governor’s office announcing the Safe Schools for All Plan included reactions in support from the chairs of the Assembly and Senate Education Committees, state PTA, and California Medical Association board of trustees.

CTA: Let’s See The Details

Missing, however, was a comment or reaction from the California Teachers Association, one of Newsom’s biggest backers in his gubernatorial race.

CTA President E. Toby Boyd said in a statement later Wednesday that the CTA continues to contend that schools in the purple tier should remain on distance learning until infection rates improve. The union is looking forward to seeing the guidelines that Newsom said would be released next week, Boyd said.

“We appreciate the governor finally recognizing what CTA, for months, has been advocating for in order to safely reopen schools for in-person instruction,” he said. “In all our conversations and letters sent, we have been calling for tougher safety standards, rigorous and consistent testing, data collection and transparency.

“While these tenets are addressed in the proposal released Wednesday, there are many unanswered questions and the devil is always in the details, particularly as it relates to implementation and execution.”

The Safe Schools for All Plan appears to recognize the growing urgency on the part of state lawmakers to reopen schools, especially for younger students.

Assembly Bill 10, which was introduced earlier this month by key Assembly leaders, would allow districts to continue offering distance learning after March 1 if so required by local public health order. But the districts would need to offer in-person instruction or a hybrid of in-person and virtual learning within two weeks after the county moves out of the purple tier.

DON'T MISS

Fresno Unified’s Self-Protection Racket Is Hurting Our Kids

DON'T MISS

Ex-Correctional Officer at Women’s Prison in California Sentenced for Sexually Abusing Inmates

DON'T MISS

Caitlin Clark and Iowa Draw Nearly 5 Million Viewers for Second-Round NCAA Win

DON'T MISS

Canadian School Boards Sue Snapchat, TikTok and Meta for Disrupting Students’ Education

DON'T MISS

California Law Enforcement Agencies Obstruct Transparency Efforts in Use-of-Force Cases

DON'T MISS

No Police Charges for Taylor Swift’s Dad Over Paparazzi Incident in Sydney

DON'T MISS

Biden Administration to Lend $1.5B to Restart Michigan Nuclear Power Plant, a First in the US

DON'T MISS

Tonight’s Biden Fundraiser With Obama and Clinton Already Nets a Record $25 Million

DON'T MISS

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ VP Pick in 2000, Dead at 82

DON'T MISS

Trump Criticizes Judge and His Daughter After Gag Order in Hush-Money Case

No data was found
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

Facebook News Tab Will Soon Be Unavailable as Meta Scales Back News and Political Content

13 hours ago

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Rises to More Records to Close Out Its Latest Winning Month

14 hours ago

A Fresno County First: Kerman Council Passes Amended Gaza Cease-Fire Resolution

14 hours ago

UN Top Court Orders Israel to Open More Land Crossings for Aid into Gaza

14 hours ago

How Involved Is Southern California Consulting Firm in FUSD Executive Dealings?

14 hours ago

Biden’s Fundraiser with Obama and Clinton Nets a Record $25 Million, His Campaign Says

15 hours ago

Fresno Unified’s Self-Protection Racket Is Hurting Our Kids

15 hours ago

Rockin’ Out or Laughing, the Valley Has Its Pick of Weekend Events

16 hours ago

Ex-Correctional Officer at Women’s Prison in California Sentenced for Sexually Abusing Inmates

18 hours ago

Caitlin Clark and Iowa Draw Nearly 5 Million Viewers for Second-Round NCAA Win

18 hours ago

PGA HOPE at Riverside Golf Course Introduces Military Veterans to the Game

PGA HOPE, now underway at Fresno’s Riverside Golf Course, is designed to introduce golf to veterans and active duty military members t...

12 hours ago

PGA HOPE at Fresno's Riverside Golf Course
12 hours ago

PGA HOPE at Riverside Golf Course Introduces Military Veterans to the Game

13 hours ago

Cronenworth’s Big Hit Helps Lift the Padres to a 6-4 Win Over Melvin’s Giants

13 hours ago

Shohei Ohtani Reaches 3 Times in Home Debut as the Dodgers Rout the Cardinals 7-1

13 hours ago

Facebook News Tab Will Soon Be Unavailable as Meta Scales Back News and Political Content

14 hours ago

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Rises to More Records to Close Out Its Latest Winning Month

14 hours ago

A Fresno County First: Kerman Council Passes Amended Gaza Cease-Fire Resolution

14 hours ago

UN Top Court Orders Israel to Open More Land Crossings for Aid into Gaza

14 hours ago

How Involved Is Southern California Consulting Firm in FUSD Executive Dealings?

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend