Education: Gilroy school district to release in mid-July plans for fall re-opening

Whether schools can reopen for in-person instruction in the fall depend on the containment of COVID-19

By Staff Report

The Gilroy Unified School District will inform parents and students about plans to reopen schools or continue with online learning by mid-July.

The Santa Clara County Office of Education in partnership with the Santa Clara County Public Health Department issued preliminary guidance June 26 for staff and students’ return to school in the fall 2020 due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Over the next 10 days, the Gilroy Unified School District Fall 2020 Planning Committee, under the direction of Superintendent Dr. Deborah Flores, will reconvene, study the guidance and finalize plans for the fall reopening,” the district said in a press release.

GUSD fall reopening plans will be posted on the district’s website by the middle of July at www.gilroyunified.org/novel-coronavirus-information. Information about the reopening will also be shared in email communications to GUSD staff and families, and on the various GUSD social media platforms.

The county’s Public Health Department provides guidance that detailed direction for schools on issues such as safe practices for in-class instruction, school arrival and departure, bus transportation, use of face coverings, hand-washing, school cleaning, food service, extracurricular activities, and other topics. For use by school administrators, the document explains specific actions schools should take to prevent COVID-19 transmission and to respond to possible cases in the school setting.

“We need everyone in the community to strictly follow social distancing now so that children and teachers can safely return to school in the fall,” said County of Santa Clara Health Officer Dr. Sara Cody.  “Schools and other institutions in our community can operate safely if they carefully follow all recommended public health practices, and they must move forward with their preparations now to ensure they have all the measures in place.”

Questions regarding the reopening of GUSD schools can be emailed to [email protected] with the subject line: FALL 2020 REOPENING.  Questions will be ad-dressed as information is available.

The guidance issued by SCCOE and PHD, can be viewed at www.sccgov.org/sites/covid19/Pages/school-guidance.aspx.

Whether schools can move forward with reopening for in-person instruction in the fall will depend on the containment of COVID-19 in the weeks ahead, Cody said.