This is a developing story and will be updated.
The Sequoia Union High School District (SUHSD) are currently negotiating with the Sequoia District Teachers Association (SDTA) about contracts and labor agreements that need to be agreed upon in order to return to in-person learning. According to SDTA President Edith Salvatore, these negotiations are scheduled to happen this afternoon as the District has presented a reopening plan that requires the approval of the teacher’s union before it gets put into place.
The district will be presenting a “concurrent learning model,” where some students will be at home and some will be in-person for each class. According to an email sent to parents and staff by SUHSD Interim Superintendent Crystal Leach on January 29, the amount of students in-person for each class completely depends on the availability of teachers, the capacity of classrooms, and the amount of students that want to participate in this new model. It is unclear whether or not the plan could be approved today, however, Salvatore commented that “the District has already communicated the instructional model they have proposed, and SDTA has not objected to it.” The potential approval from the teacher’s union of this concurrent learning model is one of four required steps for a return to in-person instruction.
The San Mateo County Office of Education will also need to approve the plan that SUHSD has presented, and Leach said that, “they have reviewed our plan and would like to schedule a time to discuss the state’s most recent updates prior to approval.” Additionally, San Mateo County can not be in the “purple” tier of COVID cases, and the county just moved out of the “purple” tier and into the “red” tier today, where schools are able to reopen. Finally, SUHSD must complete every “line item on the school readiness dashboard,” which can be found here.
