The Lodi Unified School District Board of Education made the decision to allow all students to return to school full time, starting on Monday April 12, 2021.
Lodi Unified School District President Ron Freitas made the announcement at the beginning of the open session of the March 30th Board of Education meeting. There he stated all students in K-12 (including Preschool and TK) will return to in-person instruction full-time as soon as legally permissible. Middle college students must follow San Joaquin Delta College’s procedures and schedules.
The Board of Education voted to affirm the start date during the April 6, 2021 meeting. That means students will remain on campus five days a week for the entire school day beginning April 12, 2021. Health and safety modifications will be in place at each school, and an online distance learning option will remain available for the 2021-2022 school year. Additionally, students must submit a daily screening form before class.
The LUSD Supervisor and Board of Education also discussed the possibility of extending instructional learning time using money from the Expanded Learning Opportunities Grant. This was during the March 30, 2021 meeting. A decision should be made by June 1, 2021. The $19.8 million from the grant may also go to accelerated learning (e.g. tutoring, learning recovery, and professional development), school meals, student health, social and emotional learning (SEL), community learning hubs, support for credit deficient students, student assessments, and training on SEL and Trauma informed practices.
Citizens of Lodi have held a handful of protests to re-open schools this past year, and the Teacher’s Union has been negotiating with the Board of Education to ensure they have everything they need and all staff is vaccinated before returning to in-person learning.
