- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
As pandemic continues, districts prepare to begin new school year
Lake County schools closed on March 16 in response to the pandemic and just days ahead of countywide shelter-in-place and statewide stay-at-home orders.
The first school to start the new school year, the Lake County Office of Education’s schools, the Clearlake Creativity School, begins classes on Monday, Aug. 10.
On Wednesday, Aug. 12, Lakeport Unified, Lucerne Elementary and Upper Lake Unified will start class.
Konocti Unified, originally setting an Aug. 10 start date, has pushed that back to Aug. 17, and Middletown moved its opening from Aug. 13 to Aug. 24.
Lake County International Charter School in Middletown reported that it is reopening on Aug. 24.
Kelseyville Unified will reopen on Sept. 8, the same day that the Lake County Office of Education’s second school, the Lloyd P. Hance Community School in Lakeport, starts the fall semester.
Lake County Superintendent of Schools Brock Falkenberg said a four-stage countywide model of reopening was adopted by each of the six school districts, which in turn needed to adapt it for their specific circumstances.
The four instructional models in the Lake County Schools COVID-19 Return to School Continuum Plan, last updated on July 17, are:
Stage one, distance learning. This calls for distance learning, with school staff on campus but limited students on campus, instruction happening virtually, and no athletic competition or practice.
Stage two, hybrid model. This stage has staff on campus along with some students. Safety protocols will be in place, including masks, social distancing, smaller cohorts and frequent handwashing. Instruction will occur both in-person and virtually.
Stage three, five-day-a-week instruction. Both staff and students are on campus, safety protocols – masks, social distancing, smaller cohorts and frequent handwashing – remain in place and instruction occurs in-person.
Stage one distance learning will remain available to parents who choose it in stages two and three.
Stage four, school sites open with no restrictions. Traditional schooling resumes five days a week without restrictions.
Four of Lake County’s six districts – Kelseyville, Konocti, Lakeport and Middletown – are beginning in stage one.
The superintendents of Lucerne Elementary and Upper Lake Unified report they plan to start in stage three with some students on campus five days a week and the distance learning option available to families that want it. Smaller class sizes will help with social distancing and, in the case of Lucerne, the district will implement shorter school days.
Lake County International Charter School said it will start classes in stage two of the reopening plan.
School administrators so far have not been able to estimate when they will move into future phases.
In the case of the Office of Education’s two schools, Falkenberg said they are going to open in stage three, with in-person instruction.
“Our schools are unique. First of all, they’re very, very small,” and serve a unique population, he said.
Falkenberg said those children need to be in the school environment. “In reality, we really intend to have those kids come to school on a regular basis.”
All of the districts are pledging that distance learning this time will be better for students than it was in the spring.
It’s a concern raised by many, including Lakeport Unified School District Board member Jennifer Hanson at that board’s special July 21 meeting.
Hanson is an educator herself – a professor in the business faculty at Woodland Community College’s Lake County Campus in Clearlake – who is now leading online classes.
She said she was concerned about schools being prepped for distance learning following what happened in the spring. At the same time, she said her daughter, who is in college, didn’t have a good learning environment in the distance education model.
“When you go back and look at last school year, we were in crisis mode,” said Falkenberg.
He said the districts went from making a decision on March 15 to close schools to having a learning plan ready for children and families the next day. At that point, Falkenberg said, they thought they would only be out of school for a matter of weeks.
“Teachers did a fantastic job of trying to fill that gap,” he said.
“Now we know this is a long-term, extended situation. We don’t know when it’s going to end,” he said.
However, Falkenberg said teachers, as a unit, have promised that there will be robust, high-quality educational outcomes for Lake County’s students.
He said the Office of Education and local districts engaged this past week in professional development in distance-based learning, a discipline in which most teachers aren’t trained, as the traditional model of teacher preparation is for in-person instruction.
Likewise, Upper Lake Unified Superintendent Dr. Giovanni Annous said the distance learning will be leaps and bounds different than it was when they were in “survival mode” from March to May. Now, he said, they need to transition from survival mode to thrive mode.
Falkenberg also pointed to how extremely important parents are to the education process now – “much more so than they’ve ever been required to be involved in educational outcomes.”
With parents now also acting as teachers, Falkenberg said they need to engage in any stakeholder feedback opportunities they can – attending district meetings, and expressing their thoughts and concerns to the superintendent and school board – so their needs can be considered as schools move forward.
A fast-changing situation
Educators have found themselves having to create and recreate opening plans as state, local and federal guidance has been adjusted on an almost constant basis in response to the ever-changing pandemic.
On April 14, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced his roadmap for modifying the statewide stay-at-home order, and on April 24, the Lake County Office of Education released a COVID-19 recovery plan document.
Days later, Newsom said he was considering allowing an early start to the academic year providing that schools and businesses implemented safe social distancing practices.
On May 12, the district superintendents joined Falkenberg in signing a letter to the county’s families explaining their work to come up with reopening plans that would minimize health and safety risks for everyone. On June 17, the schools announced they would open on time.
On June 25, Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace issued a 31-point plan for local schools to follow in reopening. The document covers cleaning, testing strategies, scheduling, use of indoor and outdoor spaces, and routes for entry and exit of campuses, and protocols for what to do when students, family members or staffers test positive for the coronavirus, among other issues.
On July 13, the Lake and Mendocino County chapters of the California Teachers Association sent an open letter to county superintendents outlining what teachers and classified staff believed was necessary to provide safe and health schools. They outlined the need for community support, funding, equitable access for students to resources and professional educators, as well as a variety of distance and blended learning options “to maximize the educational advancement of all students in as safe an environment as possible.” The letter can be seen below.
The state released its in-person learning reopening criteria for K-12 schools on July 17. That’s the basis for the four-stage reopening model local schools are using and which – so far – remains current.
On Aug. 3, CDPH released an updated 20-page guidance document for K-12 schools.
“The fluidity of the situation has been frustrating for everybody,” said Falkenberg.
He said local schools have been continually making plans, only to have to go back to the beginning and start again when guidelines change.
For schools, which are used to planning six to seven months in advance, that’s a challenge, Falkenberg said.
“That’s the nature of COVID-19, and as we are learning, we’re having to adjust based on the most current and relative data,” he said.
Annous put it this way: “We are building the plane as we’re flying it.”
At Lucerne Elementary, Principal-Superintendent Mike Brown and Assistant Principal Megan Grant have been writing reports and plans all summer, working to keep up with quickly changing health guidance.
“It’s just been a rollercoaster ride, this whole summer,” said Brown.
“I think everybody is trying to do what they think is best for their community and their kids,” Brown said, explaining that having children back in school is important so people can return to work.
Pace reported in recent weeks that, while resumption of in-person instruction is ultimately under the discretion of local school officials, in-person instruction is only allowed to resume in areas that have not been on the state’s county monitoring list within the prior 14 days.
The California Department of Public Health said that schools in jurisdictions that are on the monitoring list must conduct distance learning, only, until their local health jurisdiction has been off the monitoring list for at least 14 days.
Since then, with issues connected to the state’s testing and reporting data – specifically, a server outage and other technological issues reported by California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly last week – the state said it wasn’t adding or removing counties from the watch list, which has 38 counties on it currently.
Kelseyville Unified switches course, goes to online model
Earlier in the summer, Kelseyville Unified reported that based on the response from parents, the district was planning to start the school year with in-person instruction.
However, weeks later, with support of the board, Superintendent Dave McQueen switched to distance learning, a course he said he had been considering due to rising COVID-19 cases and the need to meet local and state health guidelines.
“The virus is spiking. We must keep studies and staff safe,” McQueen said in a message posted on the district’s website on July 22. “We know the best place for students is in the classroom with their teachers and their peers; however, our first priority is to keep everyone safe, and at this point, we’re not confident we can do that with in-person instruction. Therefore, all Kelseyville Schools will start the school year with distance learning.”
Kelseyville Unified said distance learning will be better this fall. “Last March, the decision to move to distance learning happened over the course of a weekend. Teachers changed from in-classroom to remote learning practically overnight. They did the best they could under difficult circumstances and I’m grateful to them for their flexibility and dedication. I’m also glad we’ve had time since then to improve how we provide distance learning,” McQueen said.
McQueen said the district is working to provide technology to the students who need it as well as a more interactive learning experience.
“We heard loud and clear that students need more real-time interaction with teachers and peers. We plan to provide it,” McQueen said.
McQueen also asked parents to tell the district what they need and communicate if students are struggling. “It’s always best to start with your student’s teacher, but you can also call the school and the district for information and answers.”
The district will hold three virtual town hall meetings about school this fall. They will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 12, Thursday, Aug. 13 (in Spanish) and Wednesday, Aug. 19. Community members must register; they are asked to email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for login information and to provide the date – or dates – on which they want to participate.
Konocti Unified superintendent describes plans
On July 29, Konocti Unified Superintendent Dr. Becky Salato posted a video in which she explained the district’s plans for the coming school year.
On July 21, the Konocti Unified board took action to start with all students on a distance learning model. Salato said the board also approved the four-phase plan for returning students to face-to-face learning by meeting all health and safety guidelines.
She said the district is offering three options for parents. The first is a phased-in approach that will move through the four phases of reopening.
It starts with distance learning before moving into a hybrid instructional model that will include distance learning as well as modified, in person learning. In the second of the four-phase plan, 50 percent of students will attend face to face instruction Mondays and Tuesdays, and continue Wednesday through Friday with distance learning. Salato said the other 50 percent of students will attend face to face instruction on Thursday and Friday, while doing distance learning from Monday through Wednesday.
She said Wednesday will be a day for deep cleaning, teacher prep, office hours and additional needed support for students. Safety protocols will be in place including masks, social distancing, smaller cohorts and frequent handwashing.
Phase three would have school sites reopening with safety protocols and modifications and the final phase, four, would have school sites reopen without additional restrictions. “This looks more like our traditional school years,” Salato said.
The other two models are distance learning on an online platform that parents can continue for a year; and distance learning for up to half a year, ending right before winter break in December, she said.
“I’m looking forward to a unique but successful 20-21 school year,” Salato said.
Lakeport Unified board weighs options
Lakeport Unified Superintendent Jill Falconer said her district is on track to start school in stage one on Aug. 12.
She told Lake County News that the district is bringing in small groups of five to seven students each day for each teacher to do an orientation or for students to meet their teacher and pick up devices.
Since stage one allows for limited students on campus, “We felt it best for the students to meet their teachers and see their classrooms,” Falconer said.
At a special meeting on July 21, the Lakeport Unified Board wrestled with what course to take at a time when health officials are advising against children being in classrooms. Even in outdoor spaces like the playground, Falconer said children can’t even share sports equipment or bounce balls back and forth.
After listening to hours of input from parents, teachers and staff, the board chose to select the stage one route and start the school year fully online with a full distance learning model.
“It is the express intent of this board to get to phase two as quickly as possible,” said Board Chair Dan Buffalo.
Kindergarten teacher Tanya Wynacht said the teachers wanted their students with them in the classroom and they were working as hard as they can to create the best possible program for children. “We still want to come to school and love our kids and teach our kids.”
Falconer praised district teachers who worked hard through the summer break to volunteer their time and create a program for students going forward.
“I applaud all of them. They have not been paid to work throughout the summer,” she said.
District nurse Diane Gunther told the board that being in school is important for children. “That’s the best thing for kids. Everyone knows it,” she said, adding, “But we can’t. It’s not safe.”
That’s because of community spread. Gunther, who said she has been rigorously watching the data, referred to Lake County Public Health numbers and exponential growth in recent cases over the summer, with a number of those cases in school-age patients.
Gunther was concerned about the county being placed on the state monitoring list, noting it would be hard for students to return to school only to be shut down again. She added that the state’s additional guidance that came out on July 17 is “literally impossible” to follow in order to go back to schools in person, so she encouraged the distance learning route.
Lucerne Elementary to have hybrid model
At Lucerne Elementary, the district used a survey to help determine options for families.
Brown said about 75 percent of parents asked to start back to school with in-person instruction, with safety measures in place, while the remaining 25 percent opted for a distance learning model.
“So we decided we would do both,” Brown said. “That is the direction we have been headed in.”
School administration worked with staff to get their input and at the June board meeting, board members gave direction to pursue both options, he said.
Grant said that in June the school started to make preparations to follow its dual-option model. The school has two intervention teachers who were added as classroom teachers, which allows the school to drastically reduce class sizes for kindergarten through fifth grades.
They also ordered partitions to assist with distancing of 4 to 5 feet among older students. New handwashing stations also are on site, Grant said.
Brown said those purchases were made possible by a small amount of money the district received from the state that it was able to spend right away as well as a healthy reserve the school has had.
Grant said the district has been very diligent in committing to health and safety procedures in order to create a safe learning environment for everybody. “We’ve really held true to the state standards and Dr. Pace’s county standards to be able to service kids and staff.”
Brown said the school day will be shortened by one hour for students thanks to a state waiver allowing schools to only meet the instructional minutes for a minimum day, which for kindergarten is 180 minutes, 230 minutes for first through third, and 240 minutes for fourth through eighth grades.
Middletown’s new superintendent navigates reopening challenges
Michael Cox joined Middletown Unified as its superintendent on July 1. He was hired in the spring and came to Lake County from Southern California.
He’s had to jump right in. Within weeks of his arrival, he issued a letter to the district, staff and the community explaining the next steps to starting school.
Cox said the district had been considering four options for the 2020-21 school year, but with the rising case rate, and after consultation with health officials and stakeholders, Cox said the school year would start on Aug. 24 with distance learning.
Cox told Lake County News that while the district is starting in stage one, they plan to move to a hybrid model that allows some in-person instruction as soon as they can safely. “Right now we don’t have a tentative date,” adding that the goal is to be back in person in schools before the end of the year.
He said the district has taken multiple surveys of parents as it has determined its course for the start of the new school year. “Everybody wanted the kids to be safe and to have a good instructional model.”
Like Annous and Falkenberg, Cox said distance learning will be different and improved going forward when compared to the spring. “The quality and the rigor was not up to what we would like,” Cox said, adding that they learned a lot from their experience in the spring.
Cox said the district’s staff has been working hard to develop a new and improved distance learning model that will ensure that all students participate on a daily basis.
Part of the preparation, Cox said, has been providing seven days of professional development to teachers and classified staff to make sure they’re proficient in the technology necessary to deliver distance learning.
As for accessibility, Cox said the majority of people in the district have Internet access. For those who don’t, they’ve been issuing mobile hotspots.
In addition, Cox said they will now have a one-to-one ratio for students and technology. Within the week a shipment of Chromebooks should arrive. There will then be an orientation and drive-through proces where students can pick up their education packets and technology.
Cox said it’s been a tremendously challenging situation, with the district trying to get input from families, students and stakeholders in order to understand both what’s needed and what’s wanted, while doing everything they can to make sure students are safe.
Upper Lake Unified plans to be ‘ready for everything’
In determining Upper Lake Unified’s course, Annous and his staff said they have been taking surveys, which have revealed changing requests and concerns from parents.
An initial survey conducted about two months ago showed that 74 percent of respondents wanted children to return to schools in person. Another 12 percent wanted distance learning.
Another survey completed at the end of July with responses from 200 families – accounting for 369 of the district’s 840 students – showed opinions had shifted. Annous said that survey showed 41 percent wanted distance learning and 37 percent wanted students back in school, with the remaining 22 percent wanting a hybrid model where students would be on campus a few days a week.
Annous said they are planning a stage three model with about half of the students on campus and the other half on distance learning.
At the same time, they’re keeping an eye on local virus numbers and whether those numbers could land the county on the state’s watch list and close in-person instruction.
“Our approach is we want to be ready for everything,” Annous said.
The main goal is not to take a blanket approach but to make sure everybody is as safe as possible and comfortable, as Annous said COVID-19 could be with us for quite some time.
Annous said the district has an amazing, talented core staff that can meet the challenge, and he wants to make sure they have the resources and tools they need, including emotional stamina and support.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
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