dfd (Photo courtesy TK)
Our Stories
I t happened literally overnight. It was Thursday, March 12, 2020. The Board of Education president of the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) and I, as its vice-president, met with the superintendent to discuss how to plan for the coronavirus outbreak. Minimizing exposure of the disease to students, staff, and their families was our top priority. COVID was already spreading and causing severe illness and death. Since we had not received guidance from the state, county, or public health department, we began conversations with the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD)—the state’s largest—to explore plans on how to safeguard our school communities. “What would we have to do to teach our students if they weren’t sitting in a face-to-face classroom?” That Thursday afternoon, both L.A. Unified and San Diego Unified made the decision to close. Friday, March 13, would be the last day of school for nearly 100,000 of our students, at more than 176 of our schools.
Three Lessons By Richard Barrera President San Diego Unified School Board
By the weekend, 90% of the districts across California also decided to close their schools. At the end of the day, we had no idea for how long. We were about a week away from spring break and publicly disclosed that our goal was to be back right after spring break, on April 5.
Richard Barrera with Mayor Todd Gloria – April 12, 2021 (Eduardo Contreras / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
But that never happened. To close schools and not know when to reopen them was something none of us had ever imagined. What would we have to do to teach our students if they weren’t sitting in a face-to-face classroom?
SD City Schools zoom class (Photo Courtesy San Diego Unified School District)
238
San Diego Latino Legacy – Timeline • Milestones • Stories
Chapter 8 – Facing COVID-19
239
Made with FlippingBook Ebook Creator