Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma
Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma
Students arrive on campus at Vallecitos Elementary School in Rainbow for a day of learning while following social distancing guidelines.
Signs remind students to keep social distancing at Vallecitos Elementary School as students come back to in-class learning.
The agreement between the Vallecitos School District and the Vallecitos Educators Association has been amended to account for the teachers' additional activity due to coronavirus impacts.
A 5-0 Vallecitos School District board vote Oct. 13 approved the addendum to the agreement with the teachers. The amendment covers teacher testing, hybrid on-campus student days, and a teacher preparation day.
"We just continue to work collaboratively to help support our distance learning model," said Vallecitos School District Superintendent Maritza Koeppen, who is also the principal of Vallecitos Elementary School.
All members of the certificated staff will be required to be tested for COVID-19 over a span of two months, and half of the staff members must submit a negative test each month. The testing cycle may be adjusted if state or county requirements supersede the contract amendment provision.
Testing will be free for Vallecitos Educators Association members, who will be given release time and will also be reimbursed for mileage to and from the test site. The school district will provide VEA members with the location of available testing sites.
Under the hybrid learning plan the on-campus student day will be from 8:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Some students will be on campus Mondays and Wednesdays while the other students will be at Vallecitos Elementary School on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
The 71 students who will be at the school on Mondays and Wednesdays returned to class Oct. 19 and the 60 students who will be on campus Tuesdays and Thursdays began in-school learning Oct. 20. Full-time distance learning is also available, and 56 students will be utilizing that option.
Teachers may submit a timecard for one additional day to prepare for the students' return to campus. "We have provided the teachers an additional day of pay," Koeppen said.
The amendment will expire June 30, 2021, unless it is extended by the support of both the Vallecitos Educators Association and the school board.
"We're just continuing to monitor the situation and work together to improve the outcomes of students," Koeppen said.
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