Fullerton Joint Union High School District set to implement hybrid learning model

By Tyler Pak, Newsroom By the Bay

Editor’s note (7/19): A July 17 order by the state of California will likely result in the FJUHSD suspending in-person instruction to start the 2020-2021 school year.

FULLERTON, California— The Fullerton Joint Union High School District Board of Trustees voted 5-0 to approve a tentative hybrid learning schedule on June 29, incorporating both in-person and distance learning. 

“Our goal is to do what is best for students while providing measures that will keep students, staff and their families as safe as possible,” District Superintendent Scott Scambray said in an email to parents on June 30. “Unfortunately, given the complex array of health and safety guidelines, coupled with our desire to provide equitable instructional opportunities, no single schedule meets all of our needs perfectly.” 

Students within the eight school campuses in the district will be divided into three groups: Cohort A, Cohort B and Cohort C. Cohorts A and B are expected to attend class in-person two days a week, while cohort C will attend online schooling every day of the week. All groups will attend via distance learning on Wednesdays.

“This hybrid schedule provides parents [or] guardians who may not feel comfortable having their student return to the classroom with an option to view the instructional lesson from home through live streaming,” Scambray said. “Students will be assigned to Cohort C based on a written request by the student’s parent or guardian.”

In addition to the schedule change, staff members requested an additional $1.4 million to secure technology “for virtual instruction at all school sites, including, but not limited to, webcams and wearable microphones for the 2020-21 school year.”

These decisions follow the release of the California Department of Education’s guidelines for a safe reopening of public schools safely on June 8. “Stronger Together: A Guidebook for the Safe Reopening of California’s Public Schools,” which mentions 10 categories that a district should consider when deciding to reopen. These include plans to address issues such as positive cases, maintaining physical distancing and disinfecting classrooms.

However, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos told the Associated Press on July 7 that “a choice of two days per week in the classroom is not a choice at all.” As of this writing, it is unclear how this statement will affect the current FJUHSD schedule. 

The FJUHSD made its decision even before the Los Angeles Unified School District, the second-largest school district in the country, made its decision about schooling in the fall. However, the Los Angeles Unified School District and the San Diego Unified School District both announced on July 13 that they would not resume in-person classes at the start of the 2020-2021 school year. 

LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner told the Los Angeles Times, “as much as we want to be back at schools and have students back at schools — can’t do it until it’s safe and appropriate.”

As of press time, the FJUHSD has not made any changes in response to these developments. 

“The recent resurgence of COVID-19 cases in California is making the opening of schools more complicated than previously anticipated,” Scambray said in a July 9 update. “The District is monitoring the situation closely and if a different plan of action is necessitated, we will comply with state and local health and education officials’ recommendations. For now, we are focused on procuring supplies, resources, health and safety equipment, and establishing plans and procedures that will facilitate a safe and fluid start to the school year.”

Some district students, such as Cassandra Flandre-Nguyen, a rising junior at Troy High School in Fullerton, said that if she had to choose between hybrid learning or distance learning, she would prefer distance learning only. 

“I think the current planned schedule is detrimental because we would need to adjust our learning style every other day, which was hard enough to do when we first started distance learning,” Flandre-Nguyen said. 

Rising senior Umbert Caseres of Sunny Hills High School in Fullerton also expressed his disapproval of the new schedule. 

“What’s the point of going to school if you’re only attending (in-person) for two days?” Caseres said. “What about extracurriculars? How are they supposed to function with only half of their students?”

Caseres, who is a captain on his golf team, said he would be disappointed if the county canceled their season. 

“I’ve always wanted to captain the team and win the California Interscholastic Federation championship because we have such a great squad this year,” he said. “It would be a huge bummer.” 

Scambray said that he expects to hear questions and concerns regarding the schedule leading up to the next school year, but maintained that the district would do their best to address them. 

“I thank you for remaining flexible and working with us to make the fall opening of school a positive experience for students and staff,” Scambray said. “We have an extremely dedicated staff who will continue to work toward a successful school opening in the fall.”