The Healdsburg Unified School District (HUSD) announced Wednesday afternoon, March 25, that it would be suspending in-person classes through May 1.
The district elongated its distance learning plan following a recommendation from the Sonoma County Office of Education (SCOE) based on guidance from the Sonoma County Health Officer.
“By now, our students have all begun their new distance learning programs and you will continue to receive updated information regarding these opportunities from our various school sites,” HUSD Superintendent Chris Vanden Heuvel said in a statement to the community on March 25. “We have also created a distance learning parent resource page on our website that can be used to enrich your students’ learning. Please know that ‘Grab and Go’ lunches will continue as well as counseling and virtual mental health supports.”
“I know that it has been a long week and half for everyone and hope this letter finds you safe and healthy,” Vanden Heuvel said. “I am writing with an important update about schools and the role we all have in preventing the community spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus).”
“The goal is to get students back into the classroom as soon as it is considered safe to do so,” said Sonoma County Superintendent Dr. Steve Herrington. “While difficult for working parents, school closures are necessary at this time to protect the health of students, staff, and family members with compromised immune systems.”
During this time, only school and district personnel who perform essential functions such as feeding children, providing childcare or ensuring business continuity are coming to physical work locations. All school district personnel are on-call to perform school support functions as identified in the Governor’s order by their respective school district.
According to the statement from SCOE, over the past two weeks, SCOE and school districts across the county have rapidly adapted to the emergency to provide remote learning, “grab-and-go” meal distribution, pop-up childcare for emergency/medical providers during the school day and telecommuting.
Resources for schools and families related to COVID-19, including a map of school lunch locations, resources for parents at home with their children, and more, can be found at scoe.org/covid.
For more information about the county response to COVID-19, visit socoemergency.org.
