By Mary O’KEEFE

Glendale Unified School District (GUSD) continues to work on opening schools for in-person learning. Los Angeles County Public Health announced last week that COVID-19 cases as well as hospitalizations have declined enough to allow schools to reopen for in-person instruction.

LA County Dept. of Public Health announced that the County’s adjusted case rate, reported on Feb. 16, was 20 new cases per 100,000 people, and that the adjusted case rate had remained under 25 new cases per 100,000 people for five consecutive days, which met the state requirements for schools to open on-site learning for grades TK through six.

The school districts would still have to apply for permits and follow regulations that included the requirements of staff and students to wear masks and observe social distancing. Additionally, each classroom would have to form a “stable group with fixed membership” that would not mix with other groups and the school would be required to report to Public Health clusters of three or more positive cases of COVID-19 that have occurred within 14 days of one another.

The state added requirements that included that district administration must consult with labor, parent and community organizations regarding re-opening plans.

Neither the state nor the county specifically mentioned teachers receiving vaccinations as a requirement for reopening schools; however, Superintendent Vivian Ekchian has put on the top of her list of things to accomplish getting vaccines to teachers and staff members who want to be vaccinated.

“We are lucky because we have good health partners and are working with them. They have offered us additional vaccination [appointments] and we are facilitating the process for our teachers who hopefully will be coming onto campus soon,” Ekchian said.

As of Tuesday morning the District has been able to vaccinate 750 employees and have another 500 lined up.

“Vaccinations are my first step to secure the comfort of our employees,” she added.

There are about 1,200 teachers in the GUSD, and Ekchian wants to make certain that  everyone employed by the district has the chance to receive the vaccine if they want it.

It is hoped that any teachers who would like the vaccine will feel comfortable in accepting the offer from the District. Ekchian has been negotiating with teachers on the return to in-person classrooms and had another meeting with the Glendale Teachers Association on Tuesday.

In addition to vaccinations, Ekchian and District administrators have kept close watch on other districts within California and in other states that have returned to in-person instruction. They have also worked on getting the required ventilation equipment and creating classrooms that are capable of social distancing.

Ekchian stressed they have worked to make it safe to return but are aware that some parents will still be nervous about sending their child to school. There are options available, though, including remaining in a virtual learning mode for those parents as well as providing a tour of the school for them so they can see the safety precautions for themselves.

There is also flexibility in the individual school site schedules. When the District first set up virtual learning about a year ago, it created a schedule for all schools to follow but soon found that individual schools required individual schedules.

“If [school principals] want an alternative schedule, one that works better for their schools, they [can provide a] waiver to me,” she said.

As long as that request follows both the Public Health guidelines and the curricular requirements, Ekchian would approve that request.

She is hoping that elementary students will be back in school at the end of March or early April. It is hoped that teachers and the District will be able to come to an agreement to reopen.

“[The negotiations on reopening] are still being discussed at the table [with teachers]. I do think, for our parents and students who want to be on campus, pushing [the start date] beyond that does not seem [the correct decision],” she said.

Ekchian worries about students who are having difficulty with virtual learning, which seems to be especially difficult for those in low-income families.

“We have a school district with 55% of our students on free or reduced lunch,” she added. “That can affect the child’s ability to learn from home much more than others. I cannot disregard that.”

Statement from GUSD on Agreement on School Reopening Plans with Classified Employee Union

On Feb. 16, the Glendale Unified Board of Education approved a Memorandum of Understanding with the California School Employees Association (CSEA) for Coronavirus Response: Distance/Hybrid Learning. The agreement details protocols the District has put in place to ensure the health and safety of all Glendale Unified employees, including:

• Training and implementation for Public Health protocols, including cleaning and disinfecting facilities and stopping the spread of COVID-19
• Health screening for employees and students at school and work locations
• COVID-19 testing and contact tracing protocols
• Development of a collaborative task force to create flexible work schedules for classified employees in the event of a surge in COVID-19 cases

“We are confident that the health and safety measures being implemented across our District are effective at keeping our students, employees, families, and community safe,” said Glendale Unified Board of Education President Dr. Armina Gharpetian. “I am pleased that we have come to an agreement to ensure our classified employees continue to feel safe reporting to work every day.”

“Our District and CSEA leaders recognize the importance of maintaining safe facilities and operations for the benefit of our students, employees, families, and community,” said Glendale Unified Superintendent Dr. Vivian Ekchian. “I want to thank everyone whose hard work led to this agreement, which balances our desire to reopen schools for in-person learning while ensuring the health and safety of our students and employees.”

CSEA represents Glendale Unified classified employees, including custodial and maintenance, nutrition services, and secretarial staff, classroom and yard duty assistants, and other school and district support staff. The Memorandum of Understanding for Coronavirus Response: Distance/Hybrid Learning was signed by District and CSEA bargaining units on Jan. 8, and ratified by CSEA members on Jan. 29, prior to receiving Board of Education approval on Feb. 16.