Many Fresno-area schools could reopen within two weeks. Here’s what needs to happen

Fresno County students could return to in-person classes as soon as mid-October as long COVID-19 cases don’t get worse again.

Tuesday morning, the California Department of Health moved Fresno County from the purple to red tier, which means fewer restrictions for businesses, and the county has an average of fewer than seven new cases each day per 100,000 residents.

For schools to open, the county needs to stay in the red tier for 14 consecutive days. If that happens, schools can start reopening as soon as Oct. 13.

“As indoor dining, theaters and other business sectors begin to reopen, Clovis Unified continues to move forward in finalizing plans to offer an in-person instructional option to families, first at the elementary level and later at the secondary level,” a statement from district officials said.

Central Unified officials said if the county is still in the red zone in two weeks, the district would consider moving to a hybrid model of teaching, which means schools would offer a mix of in-person and online learning.

Once schools reopen, health officials will closely monitor cases and transmissions within schools.

“If there are indeed outbreaks in a specific classroom or a school, it may lead to the decision to close one school in a district, not the entire district,” said Dr. Mark Ghaly, secretary for California Health and Human Services. ‘If you see multiple schools impacted within a district, you may see the entire district close. In counties with multiple districts, you may see different districts moving forward differently.”

Ghaly said state officials are working with “a number of districts” to ensure adequate testing, disease investigation, and contact tracing so that schools can reopen safely and won’t need to shut back down.

Although Fresno County coronavirus cases have decreased, that doesn’t mean cases can’t spike again, said Alejandro Villegas, health education specialist with the county health department. That’s one reason why it’s important for school districts to submit their reopening plans with the health department, detailing how school sites will deal with COVID-19 outbreaks.

“As we know, there’s a lot of people inside a classroom or inside a school in general, and that’s a potential for an outbreak, and we definitely want to avoid those things,” Villegas said during Tuesday’s media briefing.

Maintaining social distancing and wearing a mask are important tools to implement in schools, Villegas added. The state advises children ages 2 and older to wear masks and requires third-graders and above to wear masks in school.

Fresno County will require 10% of school staff to be tested every month to get a sense of how the virus is spreading, said Dr. Rais Vohra, Fresno County’s interim health officer.

Will Fresno-area schools still apply for COVID-19 waiver?

As a precaution, Clovis Unified is also in the process of applying for a waiver that allows elementary schools to reopen in smaller class sizes while also implementing social distancing guidelines. The district plans to submit the waiver to the Fresno County Health Department by Wednesday, spokesperson Kelly Avants told The Bee.

Fresno Unified submitted a waiver to the county health department on Friday in case the county ends up back in the purple tier, district spokesperson Amy Idsvoog said in an email to The Bee.

If Fresno County isn’t in the red tier after Oct. 13, Central Unified will consider applying for a waiver, Central officials said in a statement.

“We will not make a decision until we have factored in the input from our Governing Board of Trustees,” the statement said. “Until then, we will continue individual student appointments as needed and also bring in small cohorts of students that meet very specific criteria.”

As of Tuesday afternoon, one public elementary school in Fresno County, Clay Joint Elementary School District, had been approved for a waiver, according to the California Department of Public Health’s website. Waivers need to be approved by the local and state health departments.

Five private schools in Fresno County have also been approved for waivers: Fresno Christian School, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, St. Anthony’s Catholic School, St. LaSalle Catholic School, and Kerman Christian.

What will Fresno-area schools look like after reopening?

School districts across the state have been developing hybrid models of teaching for when students return. That could mean some students come to campus every other day or just in the morning or evenings.

Most districts, including Fresno, Clovis, and Central, were still developing those plans this week.

Idsvoog said Fresno Unified is going to work with labor partners to develop a plan to reopen.

“As we do that, we expect a phased in approach, starting with small cohorts that focus on our most vulnerable students -- including some of our special education students, English learners and our foster and homeless youth,” Idsvoog added. “Immediate return of all students is NOT imminent.”

Clovis Unified is working on surveying teachers and parents to figure out how many want to return to in-person instruction or continue distance learning, Avants said. Clovis Unified also needs to create class schedules, she said, which will be a hybrid model.

“We’re still working through that,” Avants said. “The first step is to tell people what we’re bringing them back to, to give a full picture of what onsite education looks like. We want employees to have input, too.”

Clovis elementary students could return to campuses at the end of October or beginning of November, the statement said. Detailed plans and potential schedules will be released before mid-October.

Clovis Unified said plans to bring middle and high school students back remained in the works and would be released sometime next month.

The Bee released a survey asking teachers and staff about their concerns for returning to in-person classes. Out of the 11 Clovis Unified employees that responded, nine were worried they would lose their jobs if they didn’t return to work.

Clovis Unified, the second-largest school district in Fresno County, does not have a teachers union. After the district voted to reopen schools in July despite surging coronavirus cases, some Clovis teachers were considering starting the first teachers union in the district. Clovis Unified did not reopen after this vote because it was reversed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Only one Clovis employee who submitted a survey said they felt it was safe to return to campuses five days a week.

What about extracurricular activities in Fresno-area schools?

Fresno County school sports are following guidelines set by the state, Villegas said. No more than 14 students and two supervisors can practice at a time.

However, Villegas said, games would not be allowed because it remains too risky, especially with sports like football that involve a lot of physical contact.

Vohra said the county has adopted its own model for permitting band and choir based on its own risk.

However, there still will be some restrictions. Wind instruments and choir will not be permitted indoors, Vohra said, because COVID-19 is spread easily through air droplets, which can travel up to 25 feet while singing or playing. Doing these activities outside brings the risk “way down, so that’s what I’m hoping we can start with,” he said.

Other instruments will be allowed once schools open, Vohra said.

“I really hope the state adopts our model because it’s really better than what they come up with so far,” Vohra said during Tuesday’s media briefing. “Hopefully, they’ll understand that there’s lower risk musical activities and higher risk musical activities, and it just makes sense to allow some now that we’re going into red (tier).”

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. Read more from The Bee’s Education Lab on our website.

This story was originally published September 30, 2020 at 5:00 AM.