A movie filmed at Palisades High School in November 2020. Teenage actors were allowed at the high school, but regular students still have not returned to classes.
A group of parents have formed Pali High Parents Care (PHPC) and helped organize a town hall with school administrators tomorrow (April 7) at 7 p.m. to help understand why the school is not reopening for in-classroom instruction this spring.
According to a flyer announcing the town hall, “PCHS would like to thank our community for the patience and support exhibited during these times as we navigate this pandemic crisis.
“We acknowledge that many of our families and students have questions in regard to re-opening for in-person learning. We would like to provide answers to elements of what we do know.”
To submit questions, visit: go.palihigh.org/Townhall.
To listen to the town hall, visit: (tinyurl.com/deweyqa and the passcode is DEWEY)
The new parents group has said they are interested in working with teachers and administrators to ensure that PaliHi returns safely to in-class, teacher-led learning as soon as possible. A normal day for PaliHi students is 8:30 a.m. to noon, all online, while many students around the country are in school full time.
The PHPC started a Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/groups/157788536115221), and within a week 174 parents signed up.
Questions the group would like answered on Wednesday include “Why has this particular high school, which is fiscally independent from LAUSD, not reopened? It is not the science nor the CDC that are preventing it. Is it the teachers union? Is it because this school is a charter school and depends on LAUSD for its charter renewal?
A March 26 letter to parents in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District announced that “Elementary students will return full-time on April 19 and secondary students will return full-time on April 26. Secondary students will have a week of hybrid as a transition the week of April 19. Distance learning will be an option.”
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has made the following recommendations (updated March 31):
“If prevention strategies are strictly adhered to, K–12 schools can safely open for in-person instruction and remain open. This document provides an operational strategy for safe delivery of in-person instruction in K–12 schools through the integration of a package of prevention and control components:
- Consistent implementation of layered prevention strategies to reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission in schools,
- Consideration of indicators of community transmission to reflect levels of community risk,
- Phased prevention strategies based on levels of community transmission.
“The following public health efforts provide additional layers of COVID-19 protection in schools:
- Testing to identify individuals with a SARS-CoV-2 infection to limit transmission and outbreaks,
- Vaccination for teachers and staff as soon as possible.”