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Pleasanton Unified School District Superintendent David Haglund penned a detailed response this week to address Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recent announcement for plans to possibly start the 2020-21 school year in July or early August.
Local schools have been dismissed since the middle of March, when the regional shelter-in-place order went into effect, with the rest of the state following suit shortly after.
Since then, distance learning has replaced the experience of in-person instruction for all grade levels, with varying successes and challenges reported by students and teachers. The district has also been exploring ways to make up for the loss of a traditional commencement ceremony for this year’s graduating seniors.
In his message to the community, Haglund acknowledged the eagerness to reopen campuses and return to life as usual but said many questions need to be answered first. He stressed the importance of adhering to guidance from state officials and the Alameda County Public Health Department, and shared the district’s plan to prepare for eventually reopening, including criteria that would need to be met and planning for various scenarios.
Here is the entirety of Haglund’s letter to the PUSD community:
Message from the Superintendent: Clarifying School Reopening Requirements & Celebrating Our Students
Dear PUSD community,
I hope you and your families are continuing to stay safe and healthy during the shelter in place. You may have heard Governor Newsom’s press conference earlier this week where he reviewed his updated roadmap, and where he mentioned the possibility of starting the 2020-2021 school year in late July or early August. The Alameda County Public Health Department (ACPHD) also released revised guidelines this week (summarized here).
The Governor suggested that any reopening of the economy and public services would occur in a phased approach:
Stage 1: Safety and Preparedness
Stage 2: Lower Risk Workplaces
Stage 3: Higher Risk Workplaces
Stage 4: End of Stay at Home Order
The Governor included schools and childcare facilities in Stage 2, which would be reopened in a modified manner to support parents that are transitioning back into the workforce and address gaps in student learning. He identified the following triggers or preconditions that would initiate reopening – these are likely to vary by county and/or region:
Have stable hospitalization and ICU trends
Have hospital surge capacity to meet demand
Have sufficient personal protective equipment supply to meet demand
Have sufficient testing capacity to meet demand
Have contact tracing capacity statewide
Until those preconditions are met, it is difficult to visualize a path to starting the 2020-2021 school year in July. However, staff will continue to develop plans for resuming school in August while incorporating the social distance requirements set by the ACPHD. Our primary concern remains the health and safety of our students and staff, and we are working closely with the Public Health Office and the Alameda County Office of Education to determine how and when to begin returning students and staff safely to school.
While there is nothing more I would rather do than to have our school communities return to normal activities, there are a number of big questions that must be answered before we move to physically reopen schools. We are continuing to develop plans for a number of potential scenarios, dependent on the above conditions, and will hold a Board Study Session later this month to discuss those ideas in detail. You will receive information on plans for a modified Summer School program in the very near future.
Our amazing team of teachers and staff are focused on supporting students and families, as we complete the 2019-2020 school year. I encourage students to stay fully engaged in their learning and ask that parents to reach out to their school principals if they need additional support. We are here to help.
It has been incredible to see the many ways our schools have continued to honor milestone achievements in our students’ educational journeys: from elementary school promotion to high school graduation. These students, notably our Class of 2020 Seniors who will be embarking on the next stage of their lives, deserve to be honored for their hard work. I would like to thank our high school leaders, staff, and parents that have been working tirelessly to create meaningful celebrations for our Seniors. We will be sharing ways to join us in recognizing our #PUSD2020 graduates very soon.
Until then, please stay safe and take care of yourself and others.
Gratefully,
David Haglund, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
Hagland is amazing in his ability to write long letters and to talk for extended periods of time and say absolutely nothing. Sick of hearing him pontificate without doing anything.
Disgusted,
Out of curiosity, what is it he should be “doing” right now. If you have a plan to implement, I would love to hear when and how we should reopen Pleasanton schools.
Well for one, how about plans to start in July vs August as Newsom requested?
For two – why would we apply statewide statistics to local schools? i.e. we are (fortunately) not in a hotbed breakout area, schools are extremely localized, why would you wait for the state to hit levels that are going to be primarily driven by areas not by us?
@pleasantonparent
The last thing our kids need is to start school in July. Oh wait, you are the one who said your kids are better than ours. I’m just wondering how you parent at all when you spend all day needlessly spamming this forum with negative and fake expert opinions about EVERY SINGLE TOPIC and ALL DAY LONG. We see you and it’s annoying AF. It’s clear people in your real life don’t want to hear it so you sink into anonymous internet trolling.
PUSD is run by the teacher’s union. They are the ones that determine the start date. Unless the union wants to open in July, there is no way PUSD will open in July.
The union rules the PUSD.
We are a well-educated community and deserve concrete information. It would be helpful for ideas to be announced long before the legal requirement for posting information for a board study session (usually 72 hours). There is time for vetting any ideas so the board doesn’t discuss, and give direction to staff, in a vacuum absent the sentiments of parents.
…..so we get to pick and choose what mandates we accept from Gavin? I’m confused.
If he says stay at home, we’re supposed to stay at home.
If he says non-essential business, stop working.
If he says wear masks, we’re supposed to wear masks.
If he says start school in July, “oh wait….no way we can do that”
???????
Pleasanton Parent may want to rethink how much better his/her kids are right now if the apple truly doesn’t fal far from the tree.
Did the governor state that the upcoming school year start in July? No he did not. He suggested maybe it should to narrow any learning gap that has occurred.
Can the governor mandate when schools start? No he cannot. That is determined by each district.
I have been critical of the PUSD more often than not, but during this pandemic, I think Haglund has been decisive and effective at each opportunity.
Pleasanton Parent, it seems that you really want everything to be simple, but this situation is not. Negotiating a school calendar is a hugely complex undertaking and requires months of planning—months we don’t have right now. Also, Newsom’s suggestion was not an order, nor does such authority rest in California’s governor. We don’t have kings in America; we have laws and powers distributed on many various levels for a reason. You might want to read up on the state’s Ed Code and something called LEAs. Those that really understand the vast complexities had to get a Ph.D In education. You have a lot of catching up to do.
P-Er P, incorrect on so many levels. Calendars are not that complex. 180. days of instruction, X number of days for professional development, grading releases, conferences, and holidays. Pretty well has had the same pattern for years. However, calendars are held hostage to negotiations with the teachers’ union. I can leave negotiations as is—also have a pattern and any organization or company with a union has to negotiate and there are gives and holds on both sides. LEAs don’t make things more complex (Local Education Agency). There was a time when neighboring districts didn’t try to coordinate calendars. EdCode does not require a Ph.D.—most union leadership members do not have a Ph.D.; a squadron of lawyers, certainly.
The topic brought me to this thread; not Ken; not PP. SWMNBN. Given I am one of the few who actually uses my name, that’s a big Harr”h”.
Come on, listen to the experts, figure out how to start school on July as requested.
Start school, save minds
There can be no definitive plans at this point of the virus. Unless someone can truly read the future, and unless we wish to expose our families to the virus, the district cannot make absolute plans for reopening schools. This would be foolish. Don’t know about you but I do not want to return to quarantine because someone wanted to rush to reopen school too early. We must follow what the true field experts recommend. Alot of us parents have already lost alot from this school year closure. My son’s last baseball season abruptly ended and his senior year memories are of staying home with his parents. Let’s not let another school year repeat the class of 2020 school year. As much as we all want to get back into our routine, which will not be the same routine as before, we must think smartly. I think the school district is doing the best they can given the current environment. This is something new to everyone!! Yes, they could have done things differently, but they did the best they could in a short time frame. Things have been learned from this and may be done differently should we need to return to quarantine.
Let’s be safe and not rush back into opening school too soon. We will get there but need to do it smartly for the safety of all.