More than 100 parents of Denair Unified School District students participated in English and Spanish video meetings with Superintendent Terry Metzger on Tuesday night. The Zoom sessions were a chance for parents to ask questions about what distance learning will look like when classes resume Wed., Aug. 12.

Parents who would like to listen to either information meeting can go to the district’s website and click on the link to “Community Information Session Recordings.” The website also includes answers in English and Spanish to Frequently Asked Questions.

Metzger told parents that Denair Unified – like all other public and private schools in Stanislaus County – had no choice when it came to beginning school under a distance learning format. The county is on the state’s “watch list” because of rising COVID-19 cases locally. Until the county is off the list for 14 days in a row, in-person classes are not an option, Metzger told parents.

Many parents had questions about access to computers for their children. Metzger said the district will issue a Chromebook computer to each child. Additional computers have been ordered. It’s likely there won’t be enough to go around to start the school year, so she asked parents to “partner” with the district if their child already has access to a device at home and allow district Chromebooks to be given first to students without their own computer.

Metzger said it is important that children develop “learning routines.” With that in mind, principals at each campus are working with teachers to develop schedules for each grade level. Students will be expected to be actively learning at least three and four hours a day, depending on the grade level. Most online instruction will take place in the morning, Metzger said. Students would then have time to complete assignments and projects. Teachers are likely to have “office hours” in the afternoon – a time to work individually with students, talk with parents and prepare future lessons.

Grades will be assigned and attendance kept at all grade levels. Metzger said parents will receive a letter from their child’s school within the next week outlining plans on that campus. She encouraged parents to communicate with their child’s teacher and principal about any concerns or questions.

To no one’s surprise, the organization that governs high school sports in the state announced Monday morning that fall sports will be delayed until late December and early January because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The California Interscholastic Federation’s decision will have a ripple effect on winter and spring sports, which also will be pushed back and now run concurrently in the spring of 2021.

The Sac-Joaquin Section – which features 198 schools (including Denair High School) and more than 250,000 student athletes from Sacramento and Napa to Merced – said it will begin volleyball and cross country Dec. 28. The first football games will be Jan. 8.

Under the new calendar, Section championships for fall sports would be held in March and April, and for winter and spring sports in May and June.

The Denair Unified School District will begin the 2020-21 school year on Wed., Aug. 12 using distance learning to educate our 1,300 K-12 students. This decision follows the recommendation of Stanislaus County public health officials and consultation with other local school leaders, and is based upon a significant increase recently in COVID-19 health cases in our county.

The timetable for distance learning is indefinite. We will continue to follow the guidance of local health officials during the pandemic. When local health conditions improve, we will evaluate our ability to move to either a hybrid model that combines distance learning with face-to-face classroom instruction or a full-time return to classroom learning.

Here are other important things for students, parents and staff to know:

• High school and middle school students all will have Chromebook computers checked out to them and will participate in online learning. Elementary students will receive packets prepared by teachers combined with computer lessons.
• As of July 14, all sports conditioning and any extracurricular activities (cheer, band, sports, drama, etc.) are suspended until further notice.

Classes will resume Wed., Aug. 12 in the Denair Unified School District with students and teachers together to the classroom and plenty of safeguards in place because of the COVID-19 pandemic. All staff and students will be encouraged – but not required – to wear face coverings when minimal social distancing of 3 to 6 feet cannot be maintained. Frequent hand washing also will be encouraged.

These beginning guidelines – along with answers to Frequently Asked Questions in English and Spanish were released by the district on its website and Facebook page and emailed to parents today.

Denair’s plan was developed in coordination with state and county education leaders as well as county health officials.

“I want the community to know we are being thoughtful and strategic in our planning,” said Terry Metzger, Denair’s superintendent. “We have tried to think through how best to protect our students and staff while fulfilling our educational mission, but we recognize that circumstances in our community could change before school begins in August.”

With that in mind, the district’s plans include alternative scenarios:

• A blended learning model that combines two days of face-to-face class time with three days of distance learning
• A pure distance learning model that provides more structure than the system implemented quickly in mid-March when California mandated all students must learn from home. It would only be used if shelter-in-place orders were reissued because of increasing COVID levels.
• An independent study option for students whose parents aren’t comfortable with them returning to a traditional classroom setting, who are medically fragile or need to be quarantined on advice from their doctor

It’s still uncertain whether sports will be allowed when Denair High School reopens to students in August. The COVID-19 pandemic – which cancelled all spring sports and required students to transition to all online classes in mid-March – hasn’t gone away. Maintaining social distancing, wearing face coverings and applying all appropriate safety measures will be encouraged if not required.

Melissa Treadwell, Denair’s athletic director, expects the CIF – which governs high school sports in California – to announce by July 20 whether fall sports such as football, girls volleyball, girls golf and cross country will be played and, if so, under what circumstances.

“Our goal is for our students to be able to play sports,” Treadwell said.

Meanwhile, supervised conditioning drills began this week for athletes in many fall sports, plus the girls on the various cheerleading squads. There are strict guidelines all schools must follow: