Gov. Gavin Newsom’s changes Friday enable “moderate contact” sports — baseball, softball and lacrosse — to be cleared for seasons without COVID-19 testing. But “high contact” outdoor sports — including football, boys and girls soccer, and water polo — will be subject to once-a-week testing requirements, posing logistical problems for some schools.
K-12 Education
Posted inK-12 Education
Were shaky finances behind PVUSD superintendent’s firing? Hastily deleted post reveals tension
LOOKOUT INVESTIGATES: Documents obtained by Lookout and interviews with district and county education officials reveal how a gloomy — but improving — financial forecast for the Pajaro Valley Unified School District came to a head the week Superintendent Michelle Rodriguez was abruptly fired.
Posted inHealth & Wellness
‘Next week or so’: Vaccination of all teachers, support staff in reach in Santa Cruz County
By Sunday, about half of all K-12 teachers and support staff in Santa Cruz County are set to have received their initial COVID-19 doses. Education officials hope to vaccinate the rest out of the group of roughly 5,000 as soon as next week.
Posted inHealth & Wellness
High school runners get out of pandemic block; could football get Hail Mary pass from Gov. Newsom?
PREP SPORTS’ RETURN: The games finally have begun going on — but for now, just a few. Whether contact sports like football, wrestling, water polo and basketball happen will depend on just how quickly the virus decrease continues or whether there is a revision from the state.
Posted inHealth & Wellness
White students in state more likely to be getting in-person instruction than Black, Latino and Asian students
More districts have opened elementary schools for in-person or hybrid instruction.
Posted inHealth & Wellness
A shot in the arm for school return: Districts united on ‘March-April’ elementary plan thanks to vaccination
A program to vaccinate teachers and support staff is moving ahead full steam, enabling the return of some 17,000 elementary students starting next month.
Posted inHealth & Wellness
Elementary students could return to Santa Cruz schools in March as vaccination tide begins to turn
With two more vaccination clinics set for this weekend, Santa Cruz school officials believe the path is being paved for a return to some in-person learning by mid-March.
Posted inHealth & Wellness
Key step toward a campus return: Kindergarten teacher vaccinations set table for more formal school plan
LOOKOUT EXCLUSIVE: Moves to get the educators and staff that oversee Santa Cruz County’s youngest students vaccinated may set in motion a game plan for the return of in-person learning.
Posted inHealth & Wellness
A look at teacher vaccination around the state: Much is being determined by location, luck
Vaccinating teachers has become a central sticking point in talks between districts and unions for returning students in person. Limited vaccine supply and a rapidly approaching end of the school year could threaten some reopening plans.
Posted inHealth & Wellness
Vaccine showdown: Schools here can apply to re-open, but in-person classes unlikely until teachers get doses
In a remarkable display of unity, teachers’ unions from eight of the county’s 10 public school districts joined forces in a letter to county Health Officer Gail Newel on Friday, asking her to reconsider her stance on letting at least some teachers get the COVID-19 vaccine now.