Schools Reopening During 2020-21 Year In Doubt: Riverside County

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — With news of a worsening pandemic across Riverside County, the state and the nation, the prospect of most local schools reopening before summer is in doubt.

To date, several private and parochial schools in Riverside County have obtained waivers to reopen campuses for in-person instruction in grades TK-6, and many are now holding classes. Among public school districts in Riverside County, Corona-Norco Unified School District is the only one that's received a waiver to reopen — with classes still set to begin in January.

But it won't be instruction as usual in the CNUSD. Safety measures will be in place, and classes will be staggered, with schools operating a 50 percent capacity and students split into two cohorts that will alternate between in-person and remote learning, according to a memo issued Tuesday to CNUSD families.

CNUSD is an outlier. In many school districts across the state, labor unions have opposed returning to in-person instruction for safety reasons, and many parents are conflicted about sending their kids back to classrooms.

Due to the complexities and ever-changing state restrictions, nearby San Bernardino City Unified School District — with its approximately 53,000 students — has taken a decisive path. During its November 17 board meeting, it was decided the district will remain in distance-learning mode for the rest of the 2020-21 school year. The next anticipated in-person start date for SBCUSD students is September — about 18 months from the March 2020 closure.

"We recognize that this is a welcome announcement for some, while for others it poses continued challenges," Harold J. Vollkommer, SBCUSD interim superintendent said in a released statement. "In what has been a consistent theme throughout the District’s response to our unique circumstances, the Board based this decision on local data related to safety—for our students and their families and for our team members and their families. The second surge of the coronavirus has impacted our county, our city, and our school district significantly. The number of confirmed cases is rising steadily, with an anticipated, continued increase due to the holiday and flu seasons."

Most Inland Empire students are in the dark about when they might return to in-person learning, and they're not alone. Most of California’s 6.2 million public school students — and hundreds of thousands more in private and parochial schools — are also unsure when they will see the inside of a classroom again.