The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on all of us and things are changing on a daily basis.
Over the past couple of weeks, we have seen the alarming increase in COVID-19 cases due to reopening organizations too quickly. Additionally, there is a significant shortage of personal protective equipment. We will continue to make decisions based on science and facts. As you know, members of the CUSD staff have been working collaboratively all summer via the School Reopening Task Force to make plans to reopen schools in a safe manner. We had hoped for opening with students on campus in a hybrid model with students attending school for part of the day and an option for 100% distance learning. We have been surveying our parents and planning for this. We know everyone wants to see students back in school as soon it is safe to do so, however, the current health data does not support this. Last evening, the Board of Trustees approved the recommendation to begin the school year in an online-only format. This action places a hold on the earlier approved hybrid model of instruction. The reason for the shift is due to the rapidly increasing COVID-19 cases in Los Angeles County and the lack of personal protective equipment that we need to adhere to the public health guidelines and open safely.
Los Angeles County has seen a surge of new cases over the last week. The rate of those who test positive for the virus is approaching 10%, significantly higher than the level of 5% the World Health Organization indicates in their guidelines for safely reopening communities. Yesterday, the total number of new cases reported by the Los Angeles Department of Public Health was 4,592. The health and safety of our students and employees is not something that we are willing to take chances within the current environment. We will continue to monitor health conditions and guidelines throughout the coming months and will let our community know when there is an opportunity to resume in-person instruction. We will continue to accept enrollment in our Castaic Virtual Campus program as that will continue online even after we are able to return students to a hybrid model of instruction.
We have been preparing for this possibility and will be ready to start the school year in a 100% distance learning model. Distance learning will include regular schedules for students with live instruction, regular grading, and attendance. Schools will also evaluate learning loss and provide extra support when necessary. We will continue to provide specific details over the next several weeks. We look forward to opening schools physically at some point but will need extra support from both the state and federal government in order to do so in a safe manner and we must continue to follow the science as it relates to this virus.
