San Bernardino County Schools Superintendent Ted Alejandre visited Lucerne Valley Elementary School on Monday to see first-hand the school’s hybrid schedule in action.
“(I had an) excellent visit to Lucerne Elementary School as the school year is off to an incredible start with amazing teachers and staff!” Superintendent Alejandre shared on his Facebook page after his visit.
While at the school, Mr. Alejandre toured the campus and met with LVES Principal Ricky Anderson and Assistant Principal Joanna Mora, LVUSD Superintendent Peter Livingston, Assistant Superintendent Nate Lambdin and school board President Tom Courtney and vice-president member Jessica Risler.
The County Superintendent’s visit was on the first day of in-school classes for the Monday-Tuesday “cohort.” The Thursday-Friday group of students started classes last Thursday, August 20. LVES students learn via distance learning three days a week when they are not in class. All students learn via virtual distance learning on Wednesdays.
According to Mr. Anderson, the hybrid schedule allows the school to have fewer students on campus with the many safety precautions the school has put in place.
“When one cohort is on campus, the other will be working on assignments aligned to what the teacher has taught. The teacher would reach out during their office hours to check in on students and provide additional instruction or help.”
Additionally, the cohort class size is under 12 students and measures are in place to have students socially distanced as much as possible following the current health department guidelines.
“The hybrid model allows fewer students on-site and allows us to stagger lunchtimes and provide spacing on the playground and field areas,” Mr. Anderson said. “The school day will be shorter (8 a.m.-1:30 p.m.) but will feature teacher online office hours and instruction for all their students in both cohorts for the days they are not on campus.”
County Superintendent Alejandre said there were, “Very strong safety precautions in place including face coverings, face shields, temperature cameras, individual student partitions, hygiene protection and others to help ensure safety of all.”
Mr. Alejandre also noted that Lucerne Elementary received a State waiver to teach students at the school due to the town’s low COVID-19 infection rates and meeting stringent requirements.
The campus is the only school in San Bernardino County that received a waiver from the California Department of Public Health, allowing Thursday’s reopening, Daily Press reporter Rene De La Cruz reported. The Daily Press was among numerous news outlets to cover the event. Others included the San Bernardino County Sun newspaper and a host of Los Angeles-area TV stations that included KABC7, NBC Los Angeles and CBS L.A.
“Incredible efforts of teachers, administrators and wonderful support of the community to make this happen,” Alejandre said. “It’s great to see these amazing students!”
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PHOTOS:
#1 From left, School Board Vice-President Jessica Risler, County Schools Superintendent Ted Alejandre, LVUSD Superintendent Peter Livingston and School Board President Tom Courtney.
#2 From left, County Schools Superintendent Ted Alejandre and Lucerne Valley Elementary School Principal Ricky Anderson.
#3 From left, LVUSD Superintendent Peter Livingston, Lucerne Valley Elementary School Assistant Principal Joanna Mora and Principal Ricky Anderson, and Assistant Superintendent Nate Lambdin.