Thursday is the deadline for parents of students in the Denair Unified School District to let officials know whether they want their children to transition to a hybrid learning model or remain with 100% distance learning.
Denair students at all grade levels have been taught using distance learning since March because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Because health conditions in Stanislaus County have improved recently, Denair is now able to plan to bring some students back to its campuses for limited face-to-face instruction. No date has been set, but it is likely to be in November.
Parents received electronic and mailed letters last week from Superintendent Terry Metzger asking them to choose from two models.
100% Distance Learning
- No in-person instruction
- Continue daily online interaction with a teacher
- Continue independent work as assigned
- Continue work drop off/pick up (Denair Elementary Charter Academy only)
Hybrid Model
- In-person instruction two
days per week (families will be assigned Mon-Tue or Thu-Fri)
- Distance Learning three days per week (either Wed-Fri or Mon-Wed)
- Daily online interaction with a teacher
- Complete independent work as assigned
- School day will be 3.5 to 4 hours in length; actual times to be determined
- Stay in a cohort of no more than 12 students for the entire day, including recess/breaks
- All of the following safety precautions will be taught and strictly enforced: wearing of face coverings, hand washing, physical distancing from staff and other students, no sharing of supplies or equipment. Students who refuse to follow safety precautions will be sent home.
- Parents must certify daily that their child is free of COVID symptoms prior to drop off at school; students who appear to have symptoms or develop them during the day will be sent home immediately
- If a cohort must quarantine due to COVID exposure, students will switch to 100% distance learning for the duration of the quarantine period
To register, parents can go to www.denairusd.org and complete the online form, or they can fill out and return the hard copy form they received in the mail.
Metzger said school officials will build schedules based on the responses. In some cases, students may end up with different teachers. Parents will be asked to commit their children for six to eight weeks to whichever form of teaching they select. Changes can be made during Winter Break, Metzger said.
“We are committed to our cautious approach to protect the health and safety of our students and staff,” Metzger wrote in her letter to parents. “While we realize it may be difficult for some families to commit to one of the options (either distance learning or hybrid model), we must get an initial commitment in order to complete the planning process.”
Elementary students will be the first to return to campus under the hybrid model, Metzger said. There are limited special education, English learner and other students at Denair Middle School and Denair High School who have returned for a handful of classes, but most students at those schools will remain on distance learning for the time being.
There will be no bus service to and from school for students on the hybrid model, Metzger said. Parents will be responsible for any transportation their children need.
The food program for all students will continue. Free breakfasts, lunches and even a late-afternoon snack are distributed Monday through Thursday from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. via a drive-through line in the Denair Middle School parking lot. On Thursdays, enough food to last through Friday is provided. Students on the hybrid program who are on campus will be fed lunch.
