he administration of the Los Alamitos Unified school district has released a detailed outline of their proposed school reopening plans to parents in a letter that included online links to audio/visual presentations and explanations.
“All of us in Los Al Unified are eager to have our students and families return for the 2020-21 school year on August 31, 2020,” said Dr. Andrew Pulver, Superintendent, in the letter to parents.
Pulver acknowledged that recent months “have been challenging for everyone, us included. “While the future has many lingering questions, our Los Al Unified educators and leaders have spent the last several months diligently collaborating and preparing the best possible educational options for our students, while keeping safety as our top priority,” he said.
Pulver said the plan resulted from “over thirty meetings” and nearly 9,000 responses from staff and family surveys that have been scoured for data. In addition, said Pulver ,”our team has taken the input from stakeholders, the guidance from state and local health and education agencies, and collaborated with the Los Alamitos Unified School District Board of Education to offer a comprehensive 2020-21 School Opening and Safety Plan for all students.”
As always, Los Alamitos Unified is committed to providing a rigorous and quality instructional program for our students, while ensuring a safe environment for students, staff and the community. We realize our community deserves a variety of educational options and we are committed to providing choices for families during the pandemic. Our plan includes the appropriate safety precautions as well as a clear outline of our educational options for both a traditional schooling pathway and a year-long, 100% distance learning pathway (LosAl@Home).
Our team and Board of Education have worked hard to provide two pathways for students, allowing families to make the choice they believe is best for their child(ren).
Pulver in the letter asks each family to review the two basic options and make a choice about which of the pathways they prefer to pursue. He provides detailed instruction to parents regarding the traditional instruction and information to log into the LosAl@Home platform.
According to Pulver, the safety protocols and procedures in the plan were designed to mitigate risk, but acknowledged “no single action or set of actions will completely eliminate the risk of COVID-19 transmission, but the implementation of several coordinated interventions can greatly reduce that risk.”
Governor Gavin Newsom’s recent order leaves Orange County on state’s Monitoring Watchlist, so Pulver makes it clear that Orange County is not off the list sufficiently in advance of Aug. 31, the LAUSD will have no choice “but to start the year in a distance learning setting.”
“We will closely monitor Orange County’s ability to meet the requirements, as outlined by the state, for a return to in-person instruction,” Pulver informed the parents.
“Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, every action has been and will continue to be in alignment with the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and the Orange County Health Care Agency (OCHCA) guidelines specific for schools and classrooms,” he added.
Pulver also provided parents interested in elementary school waivers to allow in-person instruction even if Orange County remains on the watch list. The state California
Department of Public Health was expected to issue a waiver template.
Pulver thanked the Los Al parent community for their support and understanding through what has been a very trying period in public education.
“Thank you for your ongoing support, patience and understanding as we continue to prepare for the upcoming academic year and for entrusting your child’s education to our Los Al family of educators,” said Pulver.
He also thanked “the 70+ members who have served on our Remote Teaching and Distance Learning Committee for their tremendous efforts and contributions in the development of this plan.”