The wall in the school district office of Clark Burke was transformed into a war room with diagrams and flow charts covered with the so-called directional arrows and whiteboards illustrated with seemingly possible plans of attack.

The current schools' superintendent Manteca's San Joaquin County, also a career Army officer, is currently mapping out some strategies to reopen schools for the upcoming school year after five months of COVID-19 closure.

For school officials across California like Burke, getting the faculty and pupils back onto classroom with the pandemic still spreading in communities is undeniably a high-stakes challenge, not to mention "a logistical nightmare."

Strategizing to Keep 2,000 High School Students While Practicing Social Distance

The seeming war room has several options. One of which is the adoption of a hybrid model along with several classes online, and to some, in-person.

The said option would be applied with probably staggered schedules. By doing so, not all students would be on campus all at the same time, Burke said.

Another option may be the use of the school cafeterias and gyms as huge study halls with students going in and out of their classrooms in small groups with 10 to 12 members. 

District Leaders Feel Skeptical 

The unforeseen announcement that schools in California could resume as early as the latter part of July or the beginning of August was met with immediate pushback, not to mention more questions than answers for parents, teachers, and even school districts.

The suggestion of Gov. Gavin Newsom to reopen California schools, aimed at alleviating the learning lass as a consequence of school shutdowns that started in mid-March in response to the COVID-19 crisis, means some schools would begin the academic year earlier than expected.

Concerns have arisen that schools may not have sufficient funding and enough time to stagger schedules and develop social distancing measures and health-related programs to keep the staff and students safe if reopening of campuses pushes through.

Essentially, according to Newsom, the schools reopening would be part of the four phases of the Californians' return to everyday life. The initiative, in particular, is part of the second, and next to the four-phase initiative.

Meanwhile, organizations that represent school administrators and boards said "their members were caught off guard" by the announcement of Newsom, leaving them unprepared for the questions and complaints they get.

Worried Parent

According to Megan Dawkins, a parent with students who go to Ramona High School, as well as Mountain View Elementary School in Riverside Unified School District, she felt uncomfortable about reopening school earlier during this global health crisis.

She added that she does not see how the kids would be able to attend school safely, along with social distancing. Classes, she elaborated, "Are full, and I doubt" if the rook will be disinfected every after class.

More so, the worried parent said, even if lunch is delivered in the room, students would still need to go from one class to another, at least, in high school.

Dawkins also said she would consider homeschooling if California schools would reopen before the COVID-19 is under control, even if it would mean her children don't receive the same quality of learning.

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