Watsonville Public Schools To Remain Closed For Months

Watsonville CA

17 November, 2020

12:00 PM

Description

WATSONVILLE, CA — The Pajaro Valley Unified School District announced Monday plans to continue distance learning through March 1 for all students from transitional kindergarten through 12th grade. That means Watsonville's public schools will have remained closed for a year, after initially closing this past March. The news came in the hours after Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Santa Cruz County would return Tuesday to the most-restrictive tier in the state's four-tiered, color-coded COVID-19 risk system. The county is now in the purple tier, which indicates widespread risk. "The rate of growth in this pandemic makes it clear that we cannot safely return to more in-person instruction," said Superintendent Michelle Rodriguez in a statement from the school district. Watsonville remains the center of Santa Cruz County's COVID-19 outbreak, as more than half of all cases have been reported in the city. South County and Latinx residents have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, Santa Cruz County Health Officer Dr. Gail Newel previously said. Of all 3,557 COVID-19 cases reported in Santa Cruz County, 1,992 have been among Watsonville residents. Rodriguez said that the district's plan to reopen schools is flexible, meaning students will be able to return to a hybrid or in-person instruction model as soon as it is safe to do so. Rodriguez said the district will work to provide "meaningful distance learning ... to continue to ensure the safety of our students, staff and community." Since schools closed in March, PVUSD has distributed Chromebooks, internet devices and three meals daily for seven days per week. The district said it has also established academic and social emotional support programs. PVUSD will present its recommendation about school closures to its board Dec. 9. Read PVUSD's statement here.