As Newport-Mesa Unified School District middle and high school teachers used a non-student day Friday to decompress from a chaotic first semester, on the final work day before winter break district officials sent out a quick communique to the school community.
The message informed district families all secondary students would return to distance learning on the Jan. 4 start of spring semester. A two-month dalliance with in-person learning which saw kids return to campuses under a hybrid schedule would be paused, at least through Jan. 22.
“[A] significant increase of COVID-19 cases throughout the state, Orange County and our local community has impacted our district and workforce, severely limiting our ability to find appropriate substitute employees who provide critical services,” Supt. Russell Lee-Sung explained.
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An agreement between the Newport-Mesa Unified School District and its teachers union which would have eliminated one half-day of in-person learning for elementary school students to allow for teacher prep time was rejected by board members, who called the move “unacceptable.”
Trustees were asked in a meeting Tuesday to approve a memo of understanding reached between district negotiators and representatives from the Newport Mesa Federation of Teachers regarding working conditions under a hybrid learning model.
That agreement contained language regarding parent teacher conferences, special day classroom teacher compensation and preparation time.
But controversy arose over a portion of the MOU pertaining to the hybrid schedule for elementary students, who currently attend in-person classes for half days in a morning or afternoon cohort four days a week, excluding Wednesdays, learning online the rest of the day.
Newport-Mesa Unified School District board members killed an agreement with teachers union leaders that would have eliminated one half-day of in-person learning for elementary school students as the district’s COVID-19 cases reached 139 Tuesday.
All in-person activities would be temporarily suspended for athletics, arts and other extracurricular programs from the start of winter break through Jan. 22 as proposed.
A statement from the district said the increase of COVID-19 cases across the state, Orange County and local community have impacted the district and its workforce, limiting its ability to find appropriate substitute employees who provide critical services. It also cites warnings from the Orange County Health Care Agency that another surge of cases is expected immediately following winter break and the holiday season.