By BRINLEE VUOLA
Staff Writer
According to ABC30.com, about a week ago, VUSD submitted a waiver to the Tulare County Public Health Department that states their detailed plan to get elementary school students back into the classrooms by the last day of November. In total, it would be about 14,000 students from 28 different schools going back to class. The plan states that all students would be separated into 2 groups: track A and track B, just as we as high school students are separated. And the days would most likely continue to be a lot shorter; they probably wouldn’t go back to the regular 8 to 3 schedule, masks or not, just not yet. As for high schools and middle schools, plans to get them back onto the campuses have not yet been discussed since the main priority is getting the youngest students back into a healthy learning environment where they have an easier time concentrating and truly learning things.
I personally don’t know how to feel about the district’s idea to get these young susceptible students back into the classrooms so soon. California continues to be a very high risk state for the virus, since it’s extremely populated and COVID-19 cases keep rising. I can definitely see the district’s reasoning behind sending those waivers to get students back; many students from all kinds of schools in Tulare County (from elementary to adult schools) are falling behind and failing solely because of the forced distanced learning. It’s a rough time for many students–however, with the high risk of COVID-19 still contaminating the local area, it may not be best to rush and send students back. Health and safety of the students will always be a priority, and VUSD states that they understand that. It’s a very controversial and confusing topic in general, but overall, if the district decides to take measures about this issue, that is ultimately their choice.