The outline he presented for what it will take
to lift coronavirus restrictions in the nation’s
most populous state asked more questions
than it answered. He sought to temper the
expectations of a restless, isolated public.
For schools, the biggest challenge officials will
face is how to continue physical distancing
among children and adults to ensure that
“kids aren’t going to school, getting infected
and then infecting grandma and grandpa,”
Newsom said.
That could mean requiring schools to stagger
schedules, with some students arriving in the
morning and the rest in the afternoon. In the
coming weeks and months, officials along
with educators and unions will be discussing
that idea and other possibilities for keeping
campuses safe, he said.
School assemblies, gym class, recess, lunchtime
and all scenarios in which students gather in
large groups will have to be rethought. School
maintenance will need to be overhauled.
“We are entering a new era of education.
And whether that’s transitional or whether it
portends a more permanent change in how
we educate students is unclear,” said Troy
Flint, spokesman for the California School
Boards Association.
Flint said the governor’s idea of staggering class
times would help guide the conversations school
districts are having about how to safely reopen.
“Do you need to move to an expanded school
day, or school week, or consider weekend
classes? Do you need to look at a year-round
model?” said Flint.