Phased Return to In-Person High School Services

Throughout the 2021 Spring Semester, we want to keep you informed and engaged throughout the decision-making process as we work to expand in-person high school services. This webpage is dedicated to informing and engaging the community throughout the decision-making process.

Phased Return to In-Person Instruction Introduction

It is hard to believe that it has been a year since the beginning of the pandemic and our schools closed to slow the spread of COVID-19. Our students, staff, and parents quickly shifted to distance learning for what we thought was going to be a two-week closure. Now, a year later, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve and challenge all of us as we try to make sense of the ever-changing health guidance and requirements for reopening high schools.

It has not been an easy journey, but with more education staff getting access to vaccines and the loosening of restrictions to reopen high school campuses at the state level, we are finally seeing some light at the end of the tunnel. As we have seen since the beginning of the school closures, distance learning can never truly replace what can be offered face-to-face in a classroom. We have been committed to bringing back students as soon as it is feasible because we know it is in our students’ best interest socially, emotionally and academically.

During the April 15, 2021, Regular Board Meeting, Superintendent Robert Bravo informed Trustees that we intend to welcome students whose families opted them into the hybrid program four days a week, beginning April 26 based on the success of our current hybrid program and available space at the school sites. Please see our updated timeline below for upcoming milestones in the next phase of our transition to in-person instruction. To provide some level of consistency for our students and staff, we anticipate this being the final transition for this year.

Parent/Guardian Preference of Program Form Response Data

Parent/Guardian Preference Form

Thank you to all of the families who submitted their preferences for their student’s learning program last week. This information has been crucial to solidifying our framework for reopening campuses. Approximately 30 percent of respondents indicated a preference for participating in a hybrid program.

School	A: Distance		B: Hybrid		Both		Missing		Total
School	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%
Boynton
11	25	30%	14	17%		0%	43	52%	82	100%
12	29	25%	29	25%		0%	56	49%	114	100%
Del Mar
9	136	39%	116	33%	5	1%	90	26%	347	100%
10	124	37%	79	24%	2	1%	128	38%	333	100%
11	122	38%	78	25%	1	0%	117	37%	318	100%
12	112	35%	81	25%	3	1%	124	39%	320	100%
Leigh
9	191	42%	202	44%	3	1%	59	13%	455	100%
10	222	48%	161	35%	3	1%	77	17%	463	100%
11	243	56%	116	27%	3	1%	75	17%	437	100%
12	212	48%	137	31%	3	1%	88	20%	440	100%
Westmont
9	172	40%	159	37%	5	1%	97	22%	433	100%
10	205	42%	122	25%	2	0%	160	33%	489	100%
11	180	45%	83	21%	1	0%	132	33%	396	100%
12	162	43%	82	22%	5	1%	132	35%	381	100%
Branham
9	204	39%	218	42%	4	1%	98	19%	524	100%
10	245	52%	130	28%	3	1%	92	20%	470	100%
11	245	52%	116	25%	3	1%	106	23%	470	100%
12	174	42%	111	27%	3	1%	125	30%	413	100%
Prospect
9	146	33%	154	35%		0%	136	31%	436	100%
10	180	47%	80	21%		0%	122	32%	382	100%
11	189	48%	80	20%	2	1%	126	32%	397	100%
12	128	39%	67	20%	1	0%	134	41%	330	100%

Across all our high schools and regardless of selecting a distance or hybrid program, the majority of students' guardians stated that it was "very important" that their students' schedules remain the same across sites. For those who selected distance learning this preference ranged from 83% to 90%. For those who selected hybrid the preference ranged from 53% to 70%. With these findings in mind, we are focusing on program models that largely avoid schedule changes while providing most families with their preferences.

Updated Timeline to Return to In-Person Instruction

April 15-18: Phased Return Feedback Surveys to Level 3 families, students and all staff to learn what they perceive as going well and what needs to be improved.
April 19: Boynton High School students begin Level 4 services four days a week.
April 20: Any requested changes from distance learning to the hybrid program may be accommodated up to this date, space permitting.
April 26: Level 3 and Level 4 students tentatively begin in-person instruction four days a week, space permitting.

We should note, if a family selected distance learning or their student was not able to be accommodated for the hybrid program, they will still have the opportunity to participate in on-campus events or activities.

Highlights of Hybrid Learning Program

While some schedule adjustments may be needed, there will not be large-scale changes to schools’ master schedules.
At a minimum, students on campus will participate in supervised online learning, in which students report to their classrooms and the teacher will continue to provide instruction through Zoom and the current learning management system while both the students in the room and their classmates learn online.
Additional Learning Models may be selected to enhance the experience for students.
For those classes in which the teacher is approved for a remote-only assignment and a long-term substitute has not been secured, on-campus students will attend the class via distance learning either from a study hall or Connectivity Hub/Learning Lab at the school site or from home.

Archived Webinars

Community Webinars

As we continue to implement the Phased Return to In-Person High School Services plan, we remain committed to providing timely communication and community engagement opportunities. Below you will find our most recent Community Webinars to address parent/guardian questions and provide information on our phased return plans.

Archived Live Q&A Sessions

Fall 2020 Surveys

Thank you to the nearly 3,000 parents, 600 students and 400 staff members who recently participated in our Spring 2021 planning survey. Your input is crucial as we explore our options for next semester

The results of the survey can be found by clicking on the links below.