Here’s when Fresno Unified schools plan to reopen for students five days a week

Fresno Unified schools plan to return to in-person instruction five days a week next fall, Superintendent Bob Nelson said Wednesday.

Nelson’s remarks came during FUSD’s regular school board meeting. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the district would continue offering a distance-learning option.

The return to full-time in-person learning would come some 18 months after FUSD closed campuses in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. FUSD schools just this week reopened many classrooms for the first time after a chaotic year that kept most students and teachers at home. More students will return next week for part-time on-campus learning.

Fresno’s Central Unified schools also plan to bring back some middle and high school students during the week of April 19.

About half of all Clovis Unified students have already returned to classrooms part-time.

Despite slowing COVID-19 cases and increasing vaccinations across the nation, many parents have kept their children home. In a survey released last month, FUSD officials said about 40% of Fresno families who responded to the survey said they wouldn’t allow their kids to return to classrooms.

But the isolation of distance learning has been linked to rising mental health concerns and slumping student performance, and schools remain under pressure to reopen fully.

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.