As the Trump Administration this week pushed for schools to fully reopen in the fall, coronavirus hospitalizations climbed to their highest levels in the central San Joaquin Valley.

However, parents who spoke with The Bee said they were worried about sending their children back to school in six weeks.

President Donald Trump, via Twitter on Wednesday, threatened to cut federal funding to schools that don’t open and also called reopening guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control “tough,” “expensive,” and “impractical.”

“As we work with Congress on the next round of state support,” said Vice President Mike Pence, “we’re going to be looking for ways to give states a strong incentive and an encouragement to get kids back to school.”

Pence said the CDC would issue new school guidelines next week. It is unclear what may change.

The California Department of Education says its guidelines will evolve in the days and weeks to come, according to spokesperson Cynthia Butler.

“The state superintendent shares the desire to reopen schools and agrees that the best place for children to learn is in the classroom connected with caring teachers and staff,” she said in a statement to The Bee.

“However, as the state superintendent has said from the beginning and as our guidance has stated, we believe schools can only reopen for in-person instruction when it can be assured that students, teachers, and staff have the resources and measures in place to protect their health and safety. “

Many California schools have been pushing forward with plans to offer parents options about how their kids will learn in the fall, but there have been no local announcements of schools opening for all children five days a week.

Fresno Unified School District will hold a news conference on Thursday to announce its fall plans. On Wednesday, district officials said parents would have options.

“The district plans to welcome students back to school in person, as well as providing parents with the option to have their students engage in 100% online learning,” the district said. However, it’s unclear if that means it will fully reopen to pre-pandemic levels of staffing and students.

“To support students and staff who return to campus, school sites have been developing plans to support physical distancing, required masks, frequent hand washing and increased cleaning protocols,” the district said in a statement. “Online instruction will include daily instruction with a teacher, designated time for individualized support, and online student collaboration experiences.”

According to district spokesperson Kelly Avants, Clovis Unified School District will decide at its July 15 board meeting about how best to start the school year.

The board of trustees is asking the administration “to look at the option of opening our campuses on a five day a week program as well as several hybrid models to be prepared for any and all mandates that come out of the Fresno County Health Department and/or the Governor’s office in Sacramento,” according to board president Chris Casado.

Avants added: “We share the president’s desire to return our kids to the optimal learning environment of a five day a week, traditional instructional model as quickly as it’s appropriate to do so.”

She said conflicting guidance from the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics remains a challenge.

“We can follow the American Academy of Pediatrics guidance of spacing students 3-6 feet apart in class, but cannot achieve a full return to traditional classes if a full six feet of spacing is required,” she said. “The science behind the two differing guidelines ... is something we hope to have clarified through discussions of the medical community in Fresno County.”

In some districts, a two-day week, with three days of distance learning, is a popular idea because it enables schools to maintain six feet of distance with smaller class sizes. There is also a plan to offer 100% distance learning for those not comfortable returning in-person.

According to spokesperson Sonja Dosti, Central Unified School District will approve a plan at its July 14 board meeting. Because of space constraints, those plans will likely include the hybrid model with an option for full distance learning.

“In an ideal world, we want all of our students on our campuses five days a week,” Dosti said. “We are concerned about and want to be prepared to support students who have experienced learning loss as well as may be experiencing fear and isolation associated with this pandemic.”

The new homeschooling option will be called the Central Online Home School, she said. “(It’s) an option available for families who prefer not to send their students to any in-person classes.”

Selma Unified announced tentative plans to hold classes at least partially online for older students and hold four-day a week classes for transitional kindergarten through second grade if spacing permits.

Fresno parents, teachers concerned about COVID plans

Fresno Unified preschool teacher Teri Green said Wednesday she believes it’s unsafe to reopen as before.

“I think it could harm students, staff, and our whole community. I think they need to look at the science and what the numbers look like in each school district or city,” she said. “It looks like if we cannot open as normal, it will be a distance learning model. It may be five days a week, but distance learning.”

She said she likes the idea of letting parents decide whether to send their children back. She said she hopes Gov. Gavin Newsom will push for what’s the safest.

“If the numbers are still high and out of control, I think our governor will decide we do distance learning.”

Clovis Unified parent Calvin Fleming said he feels frustrated and not ready to send his two sons back to campus.

“I have to think about how I’m going to feel when I get the call from our elementary school that someone tested positive for COVID-19,” he said. “Will my kids be OK? Will their teachers be OK? What happens if they test positive, but are asymptomatic and gave it to me? Did they give it to their grandma who lives with us and is a cancer survivor?”

Although he doesn’t like distance learning, it’s better than risking his family’s health, he said.

“I don’t know how parents can trust the current administration when they tell us that the pandemic is under control, and the facts tell us otherwise.”

Elsewhere in the state, health officials are warning that schools might not even be ready to move to a hybrid model.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer told education leaders that they must be ready to continue entirely online as cases surge in the region.

U.S Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos on Wednesday said families should be able to count on having their children in school five days a week, the Associated Press reported.

“It’s clear that our nation’s schools must fully reopen and fully operate this school year. Anything short of that robs students, not to mention taxpayers, of their future,” she said.

The Education Lab is a local journalism initiative that highlights education issues critical to the advancement of the San Joaquin Valley. It is funded by donors. Learn about The Bee’s Education Lab on our website.

This story was originally published July 8, 2020 at 2:01 PM.