Inland campuses open on waivers say they’re taking every precaution against the coronavirus, but it’s not clear how many cases have hit the more than 100 schools offering in-person lessons.
A sampling of calls to these campuses shows some positive cases, some close calls and continued caution. Though complete data on virus cases at waiver schools during instruction isn’t available, health officials do say no schools have been closed by outbreaks.
Most Inland campuses have been doing online learning since the pandemic closed schools in March. But some got permission from local and state health officials to bring students and staff back on campus. That number is set to climb come January, when the Corona-Norco Unified School District plans to welcome back students at more than 30 elementary schools and academies using its waiver.
The district’s year-round elementary schools return Tuesday, Jan. 5, in a combination of in-person and distance learning. Traditional elementary schools are set to resume campus classes Tuesday, Jan. 12. Teachers and staff will start a day earlier to prepare.
In September, the Upland Unified School District in San Bernardino County won a waiver to reopen schools. District officials could not be reached for comment on whether they have seen virus cases.
Riverside and San Bernardino counties were both in the most-restrictive purple tier of the state’s coronavirus reopening plan before Southern California was put under a stay-home order in early December. In the purple tier, only preschool, transitional kindergarten, kindergarten and elementary schools can reopen campuses if their waiver applications are approved.
To get a waiver, the adjusted case rate (daily average per 100,000 residents over a seven-day period) must be 14 or lower. Riverside County suspended its waiver process Nov. 16 because of a spike in cases. The county’s current rate is 73.9 — 6.6 times higher than it was at the start of November. San Bernardino County does not use county-wide numbers when considering a waiver, but instead uses the adjusted rate of the city or community in which each school is located. Its last approved waiver came Nov. 16.
To date, 139 Inland schools — 109 in San Bernardino County and 30 in Riverside County — have waivers. Some have seen no positive coronavirus cases, but others have faced challenges.
Riverside County public health spokesman Jose Arballo Jr. said that, as of Dec. 10, 95 positive cases have been reported by schools open under waivers, but he did not specify how many of those cases have occurred since in-person instruction resumed.
San Bernardino County has been tracking case numbers by school district, but county health spokeswoman Lana Culp did not provide the number of cases reported by waiver schools since their reopening. Arballo and Culp both said no schools have been forced to shut down because of outbreaks amongst staff or students.
Loma Linda Academy had a close call, however.
Elementary school Principal Ron Trautwein said the school has had 19 positive cases since classes resumed Aug. 27, causing six of the 21 classrooms to shift back to remote learning for 14 days.
The school’s early case numbers prompted a visit from county health officials.
“They looked at our procedures and offered us suggestions that we put into place immediately,” Trautwein said. “We have been tracing each of the cases that we have had, and there is no indication that any of them happened in a classroom or on the campus. All of the situations have come from contact outside of the school.”
Many of the school’s students have family members who work in the health industry, said Trautwein, who stopped short of saying that was a reason for what happened.
With approximately 1,000 students and staff on campus each day, Rancho Christian School in Temecula is one of the largest Inland schools open under a waiver. President Scott Treadway said the school has had only a handful of positive cases since classes resumed in September.
“Whenever we are informed of a positive case or suspect there might be a positive case, we follow the protocols to the letter of the law,” Treadway said. “We are 100% confident with what we have been doing, and our community has been extremely supportive in helping make this possible.”
Treadway said he has not seen families wanting to return to distance learning because of the recent surge in cases.
“It’s quite the opposite,” Treadway said. “We have more and more families signing up because they want their children back at school. We’ve hired six new teachers and have converted a couple of spaces on campuses into classrooms to accommodate this.”
Treadway knows there could be another spike after the holidays, which is why classes will resume Jan. 11 — one week later than originally scheduled.
John Black, head of schools at Valley Preparatory in Redlands, said seven students and three staff members have been exposed to someone with the virus since classes resumed. Two students eventually tested positive, as well, both traced to Thanksgiving gatherings. No classrooms have switched to remote learning because of coronavirus concerns, he said.
“The key to our success has definitely been our consistent communication with the families, as well as everyone’s cooperation in following our policies and procedures,” Black said.
Patricia Ornelas, director of finance and human resources at United Christian Academy in Rancho Cucamonga, cited the school’s caution as a reason why it’s seen no positive cases.
“Whenever a student experiences one symptom, we treat it like it’s COVID,” Ornelas said. “We have had two cases where a student was exposed to someone who tested positive, so they immediately began the quarantine process.”
St. John’s School in Hemet was one of the first in Riverside County to resume in-person lessons. Principal Stephanie Lynch said there have been no positive cases on campus and three instances of a student or staff member coming in close contact with someone who tested positive.
“We feel extremely blessed with the opportunity we have been able to give our students,” Lynch said.
“We’ve been fortunate not to have any cases. I would love to say that is going to continue, but I can’t guarantee that,” she said. “Realistically, that time probably will come for us one day, and we are prepared to handle the situation when it happens.”
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