BPUSD Announcement Regarding Students' Return to Campus / Sobre el Regreso de los Estudiantes al Plantel Escolar

November 12, 2020

Dear BPUSD Families,

Thank you for your extraordinary support over that last few months as we have implemented our Distance Learning instructional program. We recognize that our parents and students have invested tremendous effort and perseverance while learning during these challenging times. We also want to acknowledge the unwavering dedication of our staff, teachers, and administrators to deliver strong programs and services under these unique circumstances.

As we enter the holiday season, we would like to remind everyone of the importance of following the guidelines from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LACDPH), especially the avoidance of large social gatherings, in an effort to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Over the last several months, the County has experienced a spike in cases after each significant holiday. These increased cases caused LA County to remain in Tier 1 (purple), which also means that schools cannot fully reopen to in-person instruction.
The County must move to Tier 2 (red) before it will consider allowing local school districts to reopen. So it is unlikely that schools would be permitted to reopen in December. Therefore, the Baldwin Park Unified School District will not reopen for in-person instruction prior to the Winter Break which is scheduled for December 17 – January 3. In addition, the District will continue to provide our Distance Learning program after the Winter Break until further notice.

Since we must await guidance from the LACDPH, we are unable to provide a specific date for a full return to in-person instruction. Once schools are permitted to do so, Baldwin Park would offer a hybrid format where a percentage of the student body would attend on-campus school for part of the week and would participate in online instruction for the remainder of the week. Please be assured that we have been preparing our campuses for the possibility that BPUSD will be able to implement a hybrid model prior to the end of the school year.
In anticipation of the possibility of hybrid instruction, the District would like our parents to indicate their instructional preference for the remainder of the 2020-2021 school year for each of their children. The following link will take you to a digital form and parents will need to select the program of preference for each of their children: BPUSD RETURN-TO-CAMPUS INTENT FORM.

This is a definitive choice and movement between programs will not be permitted. Please complete this form no later than Wednesday, November 18, 2020. For any responses received after that date, students will only be assigned their preference if space is available.

In conclusion, we want to thank you for your patience and understanding as we navigate school in these unique circumstances. We wish you and your families a safe holiday season.

Sincerely,

Froilan N. Mendoza, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools