LIVERMORE, CA – DECEMBER 15: Nobella Baba, of Livermore, center, stands with a group of parents and their children as they hold a rally to put pressure on the Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District to reopen schools in Livermore, Calif., on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020. The district is holding a board meeting Tuesday night, and the rally is to gather the attention of the district before the meeting. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)
LIVERMORE —All grade levels at the Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District will be able to return to in-person classes next month, a win for many parents who have pushed to have their kids return to school.
On Thursday, the school board unanimously approved the return to in-person learning from preschool to 12th grade on March 22; distance learning will remain an option for families.
“I know I speak for the other parents in my group when I say we all let out a big sigh of relief and the tears flowed for many of us and our kids watching the board meeting,” said Nobella Baba, a Livermore parent of three part of the Facebook group “Re-open Livermore schools.”
“While school won’t look the same as before, we are all still grateful,” she said.
Superintendent Kelly Bowers sent a message out to families Thursday afternoon following the meeting.
“We have been anticipating and preparing for this return day for many months, and are adding the finishing touches to our final bell schedules,” Bowers said.
Families will have more details in the next week, and have the chance to firmly commit on whether they want their child to return to in-person learning, or remain online in remote learning through the end of the school year on June 10.
Some Livermore parents have been actively pushing back for school to reopen since the fall; they showed up with signs to school board meetings, held rallies and formed Facebook groups for support. Some voiced concern about their children’s well-being and mental health during the pandemic — a return to school would be vital to interact with their peers, parents maintained.
Tensions were especially high in the district when parents were concerned in the fall the the district would only return to in-person learning if a supermajority of parents in a survey agreed to it.
Students who return will be under a hybrid model, which allows for kids to be divided into two groups for in-person learning four days a week — a morning group and an afternoon group. Parents who don’t want their children back in the classroom could maintain distance learning at home.
Check back for updates.
