Two San Joaquin Valley schools can reopen despite COVID-19. Can other schools follow?

Two private schools in Kings County got the approval last week to reopen campuses despite the state requiring schools in the central San Joaquin Valley remain closed.

Hanford Christian School and St. Rose-McCarthy Catholic School will open their doors for transitional kindergarten through sixth grade students after the department of public health granted their waivers Friday.

St. Rose McCarthy set its reopening date for Sept. 14, according to its waiver. The school said that 100% of its teachers and 86% of parents wanted to go back to school in-person as of late July. About 86 children are enrolled, according to the school.

Jaime Perkins, the principal at St. Rose McCarthy, said the Kings County Department of Public Health helped submit the waiver to the state and a day later, it had been approved.

The submission included typed notices that would go out to parents if there is an illness, maps, charts to show how school pick-ups and drop-offs work, and more. To open, schools must submit detailed plans on how they will keep kids and adults from spreading COVID-19, and what they will do in the event of an infection.

“I couldn’t believe it happened so quickly,” she said. “Our families are so happy for this opportunity to come back to school together.”

Perkins said she’s now working with the health department on bringing 7th and 8th graders back in cohorts.

She said there are six families who are still distance learning, but may return at a later date.

“We have the most patient, dedicated, loving families I’ve ever had the opportunity to work with,” Perkins said. “Thanks be to God.”

As part of the condition of reopening at St. Rose McCarthy, classrooms will be disinfected twice daily, and students will be placed in a cohort that will not mix with other cohorts to prevent spreading illness. Face coverings are required, and staff will have their temperature taken before school, according to the plans.

As long as the outdoor temperature is below 90 degrees, outside picnic tables will be used to eat lunch. The plan says that kids will remain six feet apart during recess, and a volunteer school nurse who is trained in contract tracing will assist in the event of an illness.

St. Rose McCarthy is part of the Diocese of Fresno.

Hanford Christian will follow similar rules. Students in third through eighth grade will be required to wear masks in the classroom and will remain in their cohort throughout the day. Since the waiver only permits elementary school students to be on campus, middle schoolers may be moved to a different site, the school said.

“We have support from our Kings County Board of Supervisors with our decision to reopen as well as the approval of our Kings County Health Department with our reopening plans,” the school posted on its website.

No elementary school reopening waivers have been granted in Fresno, Madera, Tulare, or nearby Mariposa yet, according to the state’s list, which was last updated on Tuesday.

At least two schools in Fresno County have submitted waivers, but the county health department has not yet granted them. Hume Lake Charter School and Big Creek Elementary School are in rural mountain regions in eastern Fresno County that has not seen high infection rates. The case of Big Creek is complicated by the Creek Fire.

Across the state, about 229 schools, mostly private, have applied for the waivers. Most were approved, with the exception of several schools in San Bernardino County. One of the requirements schools must meet is consulting with labor unions about the reopening. Since private schools often lack unionized teachers, it may be easier to meet the requirement.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently updated guidelines for when schools can reopen. Counties are placed in one of four colored tiers: purple, red, orange, or yellow. Most of Central and Southern California remains in the purple tier, meaning schools must remain closed until coronavirus cases slow down.

The Valley as a whole has seen the average number of new daily COVID-19 cases decline from its peak on Aug. 23.

This story was originally published September 4, 2020 at 5:00 AM.