CONCORD, CA – MARCH 13: A classroom sits empty at the end of school at Monte Gardens Elementary in Concord, Calif., on Friday, March 13, 2020. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
After a prolonged standoff, the Mount Diablo Unified School District and its teachers’ union have reached a tentative compromise to reopen classrooms in a hybrid learning format.
If both sides ratify the agreement at their individual meetings, campuses will open on March 25 for pre-school through second grade, as well as special education classes. All other grade levels will open for hybrid instruction on March 29.
Families may choose to keep their students home in distance learning, while teachers represented by the Mount Diablo Education Association will work in their own hybrid model — some returning to campus on certain days and others instructing students remotely.
Students who do return will attend class in divided blocks of a few hours on certain days of the week. A weeklong spring break will still begin April 2, but both sides expect to ride out the agreed-upon format for the remainder of the 2020-21 school year.
The district’s board of trustees will meet Tuesday afternoon, when it can ratify its side of the agreement. The announcement follows a marathon bargaining session between the district and union that lasted 80 hours over five days, including 19 consecutive hours that led to a tentative compromise at 5 a.m. Tuesday.
“In the end, the parties agreed to a 61-page document to ensure a return to campus for those who choose it, and supporting the safety of students and (Mount Diablo Education Association) members,” the district’s head of human resources John Rubio and union president Anita Johnson said in a joint statement.
This story will be updated.
