Signs calling for the reopening of PUSD schools adorn the lawns of concerned parents and community members. The newly renovated STEAM building sits in the center of town, casting a shadow over the ghost-like quad. Steel beams rise for the upcoming theater, but performances exist on the small screen, instead of the large stage. Students are scattered about in the large, empty classrooms, void of the usual liveliness that teachers and high schoolers create. Barriers surround everyone, whether those barriers are walls, screens, or masks.
As of Feb. 5, Alameda county has 22 cases per 100,000 residents, according to covidactnow.org. This keeps Alameda County in the purple tier of COVID risk. However, PUSD is still making efforts to reopen secondary schools as soon as possible.
Assistant Principal Irma Muñoz said that there must be only seven new COVID cases per 100,000 residents for PHS and MHS to return to school. This restriction does not take into account the total cases in California or the US, just Alameda County.
“The county has to be in the red tier for five days,” Muñoz said.
On Feb. 1, Principal Adam Littlefield sent an email to PHS parents and students outlining the proposed hybrid schedule. The schedule has underclassmen on campus one week and upperclassmen on campus the next week. The underclassmen and upperclassmen will additionally be split into two cohorts. Mondays will remain completely distanced.
“It is critical that students and parents understand the expectations and deliverables in both Hybrid and Distance Learning models,” Littlefield wrote in his letter. “With that understanding, parents and students will be able to select a delivery model that best meets the needs of the student and the student’s family.”
According to the letter, families had to fill out a Google Form documenting whether their child will go to hybrid if possible or stay entirely distanced by Monday, Feb. 8, at 9 a.m.
Elementary schools on the other hand must have fewer than 25 cases per 100,000 residents for five consecutive days to reopen, Superintendent Randall Booker said at the Jan. 27 Board of Education meeting. Once reopening begins, it can continue even if the cases go above 25 per 100,000, he said.
Additionally, as of Feb. 1, Booker was given permission to bring back sixth grade students as well at the same threshold, he wrote in an email to PMS educators.
“As we start bringing hundreds and hundreds of students on campus we’re going to have to spend a lot of time, not only with safety and logistics, but for some kids teaching them what it means to be in school,” Booker said at the meeting.
As of Feb. 5, elementary students and sixth graders are set to return to school the week of Feb. 8.
ParaEducator, Co-Coordinator of Piedmont Affinity Mentor Program, and Piedmont parent Jean Takazawa said she is grateful for the heavy lifting that is making this happen.
“There have been many moving pieces to consider in this reopening and I trust the people who are making these decisions,” Takazawa said.
The first cohort of sixth graders will return to school on Feb. 10, the second cohort on Feb. 11.
Booker also said that once the county goes into the red tier he is confident that PUSD will be able to open middle and high schools very soon after.
“[APT and PUSD] have been working collaboratively since prior to the winter break in developing a learning model that can best support both sets of students – both in person and distance learning,” Booker said.
APT Leader Gabriel Kessler said that teachers want more than anything to return to in person teaching.
“I am optimistic that at some point in the semester, we will be able to find some way to be able to return in person,” senior Sadie Tschider said.
However, Tschider said that as an 18 year old, she cannot and should not determine when it is safe to return.
“Right now, California has a lot of guidelines around what schools are and are not supposed to do when they reopen, and I trust that they have spoken to the correct doctors and epidemiologists, all those people,” Tschider said.
Sophomore Christian Taylor said even if everyone has masks, hybrid learning would not be the safest environment.
“I feel like we should probably all have the vaccine, or at least most of us should have the vaccine, before we go back to school,” Taylor said.
Muñoz said she is also hopeful that PHS will be able to safely reopen, and that a lot of that hope comes from the PSAT which Piedmont High hosted on Jan. 26.
“[The PSAT] was the first time that we had about 200 students on campus,” she said.
Muñoz said the safety precautions they used went very smoothly. These include markers on the floor to keep six feet between students while students checked in, keeping the building with one way flow of traffic, and hall monitors to make sure only two students were in the bathrooms at a time.
“[The PSAT] was an emotional roller coaster for me,” Muñoz said. “[I was] super excited to see kids and then super anxious because I wanted everything to go right.”
Taylor, who took the PSAT on the 26, is really looking forward to seeing people if PHS is able to go into hybrid learning.
“Just being able to see everyone would be a big positive,” Taylor said.
Tschider said she trusts that the administration, teachers, and health experts can take the necessary precautions so students can return to school safety.
“Obviously we have to keep the comfort level of people in account, but the comfort level of people should not be based on emotion or fear; it should be based on what the experts are saying,” Tschider said.
Tschider also said that those who are pushing for their children to go back to school, while she agrees with them, also need to base their beliefs in science.
“In my opinion as soon as it is deemed safe, I think we should be trying to get back into as close to normal school as possible,” she said.
Junior Atticus Lim, on the other hand, does not want to return to school if given the option, because of safety and the overall adjustment.
“I have adjusted to distance learning and I do not want to adjust back to on-campus learning since we are already more than halfway through the year,” Lim said.
English teacher Aaron Barlin said he is also concerned about how the change could affect students.
“Besides safety, my overall main concern is how well, or how much this shift would compromise the quality of education we’re offering kids,” Barlin said.
Barlin also said that even though distance learning is not perfect, at least it is something that students and teachers have a handle on.
“Even after we learn this new environment, there are just some things that are less flexible,” he said.
These things include not being able to talk to students in person one on one, still having students online, and balancing virtual and in person students, Barlin said.
“I feel like it’s definitely not the safest, even if we all had masks,” Taylor said.
Tschider said that any in person school, even if it is disorganized or requires large changes, is better than none.
“I’m less worried about me personally and more worried about if we ask teachers to make two lesson plans a day [or] if we ask our teachers to basically do everything without giving them the support that they need,” Tschider said.
She hopes that teachers receive as much support as students in a transition to hybrid learning. In regards to supporting students, Tschider said the school needs to help reduce stress.
“I can’t tell you how many people I know who are doing just fine academically – same grades that they had last year,” she said. “It looks fine on paper, but everything is just five times harder that it was last year.”
Taylor said that returning to school might add more stress to students, but everyone is different.
“But being in person would probably help take some stress about this whole virus [away],” Taylor said.
Tschider said in person school, in person interaction, and in person connection is the goal to be working towards.
“Seniors deserve to go back,” she said.
Tschider said that if seniors cannot return to school, there will be a lack of closure, and they will feel forgotten. She said that while she appreciates everything her teachers are doing, everyone misses being the in person learning environment.
“As much as I miss my friends, as much as I miss doing theater in a normal way, I also just miss being in a classroom,” Tschider said.
