Coachella Valley school districts discussing possible plans for coronavirus response
Students walked between classes and others played outside Monday while their district leaders talked about coronavirus.
Parents expressed their concerns, including a mother with two students in Palm Springs Unified School District.
"As a parent I'm really concerned. As a parent of two kids it's kind of very concerning," said Alejandra Hernandez.
PSUSD sent a letter to parents Monday providing some details on how the district is responding..
Main points include taking extra steps to sanitize classrooms and school buses, setting up sites to distribute student meals if campuses are closed, and regarding "distance learning", referred to an "educational continuity plan".
"I just feel kids will kind of fall behind on their work, their studies, their knowledge," said Hernandez.
One school now closed in Riverside County is Temecula Valley High School.
That decision comes after an employee recently traveled to a country with a known coronavirus outbreak.
In the Coachella Valley Unified School District the Superintendent tells us they are preparing to provide instruction online using Google Classroom, something every student in the district already uses.
But, Dr.Maria Gandera says "reliable internet connections" could be a problem for 10 to 25 percent of her students who live in the east valley.
"We obviously always hope that there will be no need for school closures and that the community will remain healthy," said Dr. Gandera.
Gandera says CVUSD will also continually communicate with parents using the district website, Facebook, phone messages and email.
She says one thing the district won't be able to do is provide meal service if schools closed.
That's significant because more than 80 percent of CVUSD students receive free or reduced price meals including breakfast and lunch.
"My main concern would be the safety of my children and their health," said parent Cindy Aponte.
Representatives for both Palm Springs Unified and Desert Sands Unified tell News Channel 3 they were not available to comment on camera.
Letter to parents from CVUSD:
Link:
https://www.cvusd.us/uploaded/images/district/press_releases/CORONAVIRUS_LETTER_TO_PARENTS [1] .pdf
Letter to parents from PSUSD:
Link:
Letter to parents from DSUSD:
Link:
