MODESTO, Calif. — Modesto City Schools are opening their TK- to sixth-grade schools for in-person learning in the coming weeks.
Schools across the district welcomed half of the TK- to second-grade students Thursday and the remaining students will return to school Nov. 17. More students will go back gradually. Third- to sixth-grade students will return in the following weeks, and by Dec. 3, many TK- to sixth-grade students will be back on campus.
There was an opt-out option allowing parents to keep their students home for continued distance-learning.
Parents and students are supposed to go through a checklist before heading to school to check their temperature, make sure they have the proper school books, and wear a mask.
“One of the reasons why we are a little bit later in reopening was that we’ve been cautious with our reopening plans,” Modesto City Schools spokesperson Becky Fortuna said. “We’ve taken everything into consideration to make it safe for their return."
Fortuna said the district made specific plans for all the actions that students go through, including transportation.
Students who take the bus to school in Modesto will need to keep their distance from other students, get their temperature read before getting on the bus, and sit away from the aisle.
She said the district wanted to do its best to keep students and teachers safe and minimize the likelihood of spreading the coronavirus.
Modesto City Schools have a waiver for the elementary school students to continue in-person learning should Stanislaus County move to the purple tier. The county currently awaits a California Department of Public Health decision on the county's appeal moving to the purple tier.
The Modesto City School Board approved a plan Monday for middle school and high school students return for in-person learning in January, assuming Stanislaus County is in the red tier then.