Newport-Mesa Unified considers return to distance learning for secondary students in January due to COVID-19
Secondary students in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District may be returning to distance learning at the end of winter break due to the coronavirus pandemic, depending on a vote by trustees Thursday.
Notice of a special meeting went out late Wednesday afternoon.
Comments included with Thursday’s agenda state that district officials will be considering the possibility of returning its secondary students to the distance learning model when students return from winter break on Jan. 4. The return would last until Jan. 22 as proposed with students to return to campuses on Jan. 25.
Elementary schools would continue with the hybrid model.
Newport-Mesa Unified School District board members killed an agreement with teachers union leaders that would have eliminated one half-day of in-person learning for elementary school students as the district’s COVID-19 cases reached 139 Tuesday.
All in-person activities would be temporarily suspended for athletics, arts and other extracurricular programs from the start of winter break through Jan. 22 as proposed.
A statement from the district said the increase of COVID-19 cases across the state, Orange County and local community have impacted the district and its workforce, limiting its ability to find appropriate substitute employees who provide critical services. It also cites warnings from the Orange County Health Care Agency that another surge of cases is expected immediately following winter break and the holiday season.
County health officials reported Wednesday that case numbers grew by another 3,231 and hospitalizations are now at 1,486.
Orange County hospitals received the first shipments of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on Wednesday. Five frontline workers were inoculated during a press conference, becoming the first in the county to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
In Newport Beach and Costa Mesa, the total number of cases have reached 1,781 and 3,666, respectively. Current data reports that available adult beds in intensive care units are now just under 10%.
“We are appreciative of your understanding and recognize the impact any change has on families,” the district said in a statement. “This is the most challenging period of the pandemic and we will continue to prioritize the safety of students and staff as our most important guiding principle in our decisions and actions.”
Secondary students in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District first returned on Nov. 9. Elementary students returned on Sept. 29.
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