On May 11, Shawn Tennenbaum, superintendent of San Benito School District, told district trustees that after 14 months of the high school being closed, it was time to look ahead and form a strategy to reopen the school on July 1. He shared with the board the draft plan to reopen in the 2021-22 school year—titled Reopening 2.0—and asked members to direct him to reopen the school as soon as possible.
Tennenbaum said after considering information from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office through the California Department of Public Health, as well as guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, and CAL OSHA, he was looking for trustees to support the plan.
He said that after June 15 the school should be able to offer full-time, in-person instruction. John Corrigan, trustee president, said the board wanted the school to open as close to a typical school year as possible.
“Obviously, with whatever public health regulations are in place at that time in mid-August, the board wants to see this school open,” Corrigan said.
Tennenbaum said he was recommending opening the school as soon as possible with a “full-day, traditional in-person instructional model, following our bell schedule that we have previously implemented and continue to adhere to any guidelines available at that particular moment.”
The timeline for the coming school year would be:
- May 18: Communication to families and employees regarding Reopening 2.0
- May 25: Reopening 2.0 plan presented to Trustees for action
- May 26: Distribute survey to families regarding program choices
- June 8: Deadline for family survey
- June 22: Final Reopening 2.0 plan presented to Trustees for any further consideration based upon the “Beyond the Blueprint” on June 15, 2021
- June 23: Communication to families and employees regarding Reopening 2.0
- July 1: Launch Reopening 2.0 website with resources, program information and archived messages
Corrigan went on to say the plan was to have all classes back on track. He also said the number of credits needed to receive a diploma, which had been lowered to 190 in order to help 83 seniors with F grades, will be reinstated to 220 credits.
“It all starts when we can offer a full day, five days a week,” Tennenbaum said in response. “Then we can offer the extra and co-curricular activities as routinely as possible. Most importantly, is getting back into the classroom, in the shops, on the fields so we can have the hands-on courses.”
Tennenbaum said the district will continue to offer a 100% online program for both special education and general education students through the Edgenuity program that is being used to accommodate summer school for those who wish to continue self-paced learning at home. Families would be able to choose the online program, then exit it and return to in-person instruction at the start of the fall semester. However, if a student commits to remain in the program for the entire grading period, but requests to return before the end of the semester, then the student will be placed where there is space and in courses that are open.
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