SUHSD responds to COVID-19 pandemic with closing of schools
Data from a poll conducted by the Crusader on March 14, 2020.
March 14, 2020
As of March 13 the State of California, the California Department of Education and the San Diego County Office of Education decided to shutdown all San Diego County schools from March 13 through April 3, due to the COVID-19 spreading throughout the country in the last two months.
The Sweetwater Union High School District (SUHSD) website was recently updated with information on the cancelation of schools a week before spring break.
“This cancellation includes all school and district events, including athletics. Students should stay home and minimize social contact as much as possible to keep all family members safe,” is stated on the SUHSD website page created to post updates with information on COVID-19.
As of March 13 there have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 at Bonita Vista High (BVH). All custodial staff including night custodians have been instructed to deep clean all SUHSD school campuses. According to Grants and Communications Director for the SUHSD Manny Rubio informing the community is their main goal in this situation.
“I would say that right now our officials at the district office are acting more on a precautionary basis,” Principal of BVH Roman Del Rosario, Ed.D, said.
During the week of canceled school Del Rosario advises students to check their emails on a daily basis. Specifically, Del Rosario advises Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) students to “look out for emails from the school web, from their teachers, [as] they continue to prepare as though there’s been no change.”
“A lot of that is going to require them [students] to be a little more independent next week but I know that we have great students and that they are up to the challenge,” Del Rosario said.
Due to there being no guarantee of how the COVID-19 will pan out in the next few weeks the county officials and SUHSD administration will work to “minimize the impacts on long-term student learning.” There is also no information at the time of whether the school year will be extended to make up for the week being canceled, the California Department of Education has yet to decide.
Additionally, during the week of canceled school (March 16- March-20), nutrition services will still be provided for the students with food insecurities at the majority of SUHSD schools, but not BVH, between 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Rubio stated seniors will not be held back and there will have to be a plan made to address the work missed in the potential situation of a longer shut down.
“I know that our seniors are resilient enough to recover from that and that they’re going to be okay. If anything, [this will be] one more memory from their senior year that they’ll have forever,” Del Rosario said.
The district will have more information to come as time progresses and will be leaving updates on the SUHSD website.
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brianna • May 8, 2020 at 3:22 pm
How the SUHSD responded to the COVID-19 was a good way to help the situation. By not putting any staff, or students at risk of getting the COVID-19. Although it might be hard for students to learn at home and not in classrooms, it is a precaution that had to be taken. There are many pros and cons for the school closing. We are less likely to get the COVID-19 if quarantined. But, the seniors didn’t get to have the full senior year experience. No prom, no Grad night, and no graduation.
Andres Ramirez • May 8, 2020 at 3:11 am
I agree that we should not be in school at the moment to protect us students and staff members from testing positive from the Virus. But I also agree that we students should be responsible enough to be able to continue doing schoolwork from the safety of our houses. But if we are unable to continue our schoolwork due to unforeseen circumstances, those students, in my opinion, should not have any repercussions such as a lowered scholarship or citizenship grade. I am also relieved that our seniors and any grades for that matter will not be held back due to the amount of time that we are taken from school.
Eien • May 7, 2020 at 2:37 pm
I think about is that it is really bad, even though we get to work independently and stay home it can be hard. Some students may not have Wifi and maybe school is a safe place for students where they can eat for free because of poverty issues. In addition since schools are closing down there will be no more sport activities and games also seniors won’t be able to have their graduation and that will be really tough.We don’t even know when it will be ok to go back to school. Therefore after reading the article Covid-19 affected us students in a way and it is really bad and can have some bad effects on our learning.
Valeria • May 6, 2020 at 5:11 pm
I think that it is good that precautions are being taken, I believe that it is better not only for the staff but also for the families of the students. Besides, as the Principal had said, the students, myself included, should be and are responsible enough to be able to continue their studies from home. I am also glad that we won’t be held back depending on the time we will be gone from the school and hope that the plan for our return will be efficient. Though I do wonder why Bonita Vista High is one of the schools that will not provide nutrition services.