First SLO County district brings middle, high school students back to in-person learning
For the first time in nearly a year, middle and high school classrooms in Atascadero were welcoming students once again.
On Monday, Atascadero Unified School District became the first district in San Luis Obispo County to welcome all secondary students back to in-person learning after the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered schools in March 2020.
“It’s the best. And it’s even a sunny day, are you kidding?” Atascadero Middle School Interim Principal Will Wallace said. “This is just perfect.”
Wallace said the students brought exciting energy to the campus that had been empty for nearly a year.
About half of Atascadero parents decided to send their kids to in-person classes, according to district administrators.
That allowed for adequate social distancing measures to be implemented in classrooms and during passing periods, administrators told The Tribune during tours of Atascadero Middle School and Atascadero High School on Monday.
The North County school district is able to reopen secondary school campuses after San Luis Obispo County returned to the red tier of COVID-19 restrictions under the state’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy on March 2.
COVID-19 safety measures in place during in-person learning
Under San Luis Obispo County health guidelines, all students on campus must wear face masks whenever possible, unless they have medical exemptions.
Social distancing is encouraged and accomplished through extensive planning by the schools and teachers, and hand sanitizer is available at the entrance of each classroom. School staff thoroughly clean classrooms after each day, and windows and doors are left open to mitigate any potential spread of the virus.
Should a student test positive for COVID-19, the school will conduct its own contact tracing and mandate that students or teachers quarantine at home if necessary.
Additionally, some school districts are testing 25% of their staff every two weeks — or 100% over two months — to prevent any potential outbreaks.
Atascadero Unified has reported a total of 35 COVID-19 cases — 19 employees and 16 students — since the start of the 2020-2021 school year, according to a database maintained by The Tribune. None of those cases were reported at the secondary schools.
In total, 548 students and employees have reportedly tested positive for COVID-19 since the start of the school year, according to The Tribune’s database.
Only private schools in San Luis Obispo County have reopened to students in all grade levels from kindergarten through 12th grade. San Miguel Joint Union School District reopened to students in transitional kindergarten through eighth grades by Jan. 4.
Atascadero students react to return to in-person learning
Dan Andrus, principal at Atascadero High School, said students who were remaining in distance learning chose to do so often because they’d found jobs, and the online schedule allowed them to continue working.
Alternately, Andrus said, students found that they couldn’t get to school because the district has limited transportation services due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Students taking in-person classes expressed a myriad of emotions during their first day back on campus.
Some students — including sixth-graders at the middle school and freshmen at the high school — had never attended class at their respective schools’ campuses before, and needed help finding their way around.
“It just feels like a normal first day of school, like I hadn’t been to actual high school yet,” said Katelyn Hesch, a freshman at Atascadero High School.
Some students said being back on campus was just plain weird, especially since they’d gotten into a routine with distance learning since the start of the school year.
Manuel Alfonso, a sophomore at Atascadero High School, said it’s sad to see classrooms at only half capacity but that he’s happy to be back.
“It feels nice to finally be able to come back because it’s been quite depressing,” Alfonso said about distance learning.
“I wasn’t able to do a lot of my work in distance learning, because I couldn’t find the motivation to actually get it done,” he said. “I was present for the classes, but I could never really pay attention.”
Alfonso said he failed every class during the fall semester, and his “grades aren’t looking too good right now either.” He’s worried that distance learning threw him back a full year, and he won’t be able to graduate from high school on time.
Andrus said the district has seen “too many” kids struggle like Alfonso did, and it’s working to find ways to turn things around for those students.
Summer school options and more after-school learning options have been implemented at the district, the high school principal said. But Andrus added that he hopes being back on campus will make a big difference for the students.
“As students get back, they’re going to have more hands-on experiences,” he said. “The relationships are going to become more solid with their teachers, and the teachers are going to be able to give more one-on-one and small-group attention. All of those are foundational in education.”
This story was originally published March 8, 2021 at 6:29 PM.
