South Whittier School District held a town hall meeting via Zoom on Wednesday, July 22, to discuss instructional options that will be offered this fall and to answer parent questions.
In the meeting the district shared they will begin the school year with distance learning on August 13 with the intention to move to a hybrid model.
In moving forward with distance learning the district shared new standards including the amount of live instructional minutes that will be required per grade level via Zoom. Superintendent, Dr. Gonzales, also stated that the district has purchased additional programs to add to their distance learning to increase educational rigor.
The district shared that they have purchased additional hotspots and enough devices to lend a device to every student within the district. Along with a device, students will also receive other learning materials so all students can fully participate in their online lessons.
Once Los Angeles County has been off California’s county watch list for 14 days and it is safe to return to campus, South Whittier School District plans to move to their hybrid model. In this hybrid model there will be two student cohorts. One cohort of students will receive in-person instruction on Tuesdays and Thursdays while the second cohort of students will attend in-person instruction on Wednesdays and Fridays. All students will continue distance learning the days they are not on campus. This model allows the district to properly clean and disinfect all classrooms and equipment without cross contamination between each cohort and will help to enforce social distancing standards.
The district is following all guidelines set by the Los Angeles County of Public Health Department and has purchased additional equipment to ensure proper cleaning. On top of disinfecting cleaning supplies, the district has purchased foggers to disinfect classrooms and is installing touchless faucets in restrooms.
For families who are not comfortable with eventually transitioning to the hybrid model, there is a Virtual Learning Academy Program that they can choose to enroll their student in. This program is entirely online with morning virtual check-ins that happen daily.
For more information regarding distance learning or the Virtual Learning Academy Program please visit: https://www.swhittier.k12.ca.us/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=1803032&type=d&pREC_ID=1970462
Re-registration begins on Friday, July 24.