Campuses to Remain Closed

By Camila Acosta, Sports Editor

Courtesy of AUHSD Communications

On Thursday, March 4, the Anaheim Union High School District (AUHSD) Board of Trustees reached a 4:1 decision against passing 11.1 reopening of school sites in a roll call vote. All schools within the district will continue with distance learning through the end of the 2020-21 school year.

AUHSD has remained in the purple tier since the last Board meeting on Thursday, Feb. 4, but the District expects to be in the red tier at the time when students were previously scheduled return to school sites.

The plan presented in the meeting remained the same as the last Board meeting, with a tentative timeline of staff returning to the district and school sites full time on March 8, 7th and 9th graders returning on March 31, and the remaining students remaining April 5.

The hybrid schedule included two synchronous days, Monday and Friday. The plan presented would have called for students to be split into three cohorts, where one cohort would be allowed to attend school on campus per day starting Tuesday through Thursday. All other cohorts not attending in person on a given day would work asynchronously while also attending a 2nd period check-in from 8:45-9:40 a.m.

The Board and students alike showed concern for the two additional asynchronous days each student would adapt to that began at the beginning of the second semester.

“Do we put the health of our students and their families at risk for eight days or less in person instruction?” Board Member Al Jabbar said.

He urged the rest of the board to join him in voting against the return to in-person instruction.

In a survey conducted by the District's student representatives, 66 percent of students agreed or strongly agreed that the current schedule allows more time for social activities.

“These are not just numbers. They're students who had real responses to how they are feeling,” Student Representative to the AUHSD Board of Trustees Elizabeth Ochei said. “I hope you're influenced by facts and not fear, regardless of the decision made here tonight. I think all students and administration and parents need support.”

There has been a bit of uncertainty surrounding the return to school and what it would really be like. Some are eager to get on campus to see friends and be able to socialize, but Board members clarified that the return to school would not have been what many were hoping for.

“I just want to put out there that this is not going to be everybody getting on campus and you know you hear the bell and everyone's high fiving as people have been saying," Board Member Annemarie Randle-Trejo said. "Students are going to have to stand apart from each other, they're going to sit apart from each other. It's not really going to be a social gathering, we’re going to have to spend time...teaching and learning ...the protocols,”

Despite parent concerns the Board made the final decision to not return back to campus this school year, reminding AUHSD families that regardless of everything safety comes first.

Regardless of the Board's decision, in recent weeks special populations have been able to utilize the campus while following established safety protocols. Additionally, the District made it clear that the delayed return to campus will not interfere with plans to celebrate the graduating class of 2021.

“We as a district are committed to doing some type of modified in-person graduation," Assistant Superintendent of Education Dr. Jaron Fried said. "(We) don’t know yet what that's going to look like, but just know that it is something we are committing to."

While there are no details yet, the in-person graduation will be in addition to a virtual graduation.