SAN DIEGO — Teachers in the San Diego Unified School District this week are preparing their classrooms for in-person learning expected to begin Monday, with many teachers and students returning to the classroom for the first time since COVID-19-related restrictions began in March 2020.
“I’m very happy that we were able to get to the place where it is safe enough for this to occur,” said San Diego Unified 5th grade teacher Adam Goldstein. “I’m thrilled.”
Many teachers in the district will begin by teaching a mix of students in the classroom and those who have elected to continue distance learning.
“Teachers are taking on enormous responsibility,” said Board President Richard Barrera. “What we expect is that in almost every classroom we will have students that are in-person and home, online.”
This presents new challenges for teachers along with ensuring the safety of the students who will be wearing masks, social distancing 5 to 6 feet and offered regular COVID-19 testing.
Barrera encourages continued vigilance.
“While we’re all excited and optimistic about being able to return our students to campus, we need to all — and by all that means not just at schools, but our entire community — we need to know that we have to keep doing our part. We are not out of a pandemic yet.”