Lompoc School District lays out plans for next school year

LOMPOC, Calif. -- The Lompoc Unified School District hopes to return to a normal schedule with students on campus in August, but leaders say that seems unlikely. The district will adapt plans based on public health data and recommendations from the California Department of Education regarding the spread of COVID-19.

A reopening committee made up of about 80 staff members at the elementary, middle, and high school levels levels worked with the district to put together a plan that looked at student and staff safety, facilities, family needs and more. A survey was sent out to families and staff to get input to help develop the plan for the next school year. Approximately 4300 responses were gathered.

“Ideally, what we want is students to be in our schools five days a week for the traditional school day," said Superintendent Trevor McDonald. "However, based on the current data, it seems that is unlikely. Therefore, we have developed contingency plans that will allow us to continue to provide educational services to our students while keeping both students and our staff safe.”

Option 1: The District’s preferred plan is one where all students return to campuses in August with additional sanitary and safety precautions in place.

Option 2: Should there still be restrictions, there will be a hybrid approach where students engage in both in-person learning at the school site as well as remote learning off campus.

Option 3: If history repeats itself and there is an increase in cases and restrictions in the winter, LUSD plans on reverting back to remote learning, until it’s safe to return to school sites.

The District acknowledges that there may be loosening and tightening of restrictions throughout the school year. The plans are designed to provide families a framework and show them what may be, depending on the restrictions in place.

“The committees and surveys have been a great way for us to get multiple perspectives so we could develop the best plans in less than ideal times,” said Bree Valla, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources. “We have had many dedicated staff put many hours into researching, brainstorming, and analyzing various plans to help us come up with a well-vetted plan.”

The District plans on providing all LUSD staff with additional safety and sanitizing procedure training to ensure safety for all.