After months of waiting and weeks of negotiations, Oakland schools reopened for in-person instruction on Tuesday for the first time in more than a year.
In East Oakland, students and teachers expressed a mixture of excitement and apprehension.
It was a festive atmosphere at Madison Park Academy where students in pre-k through 2nd grades walked onto campus and saw each other in person, some for the first time ever.
Steven, five, said he was happy to play with his best friend and see his kindergarten teacher. His mom, Celia Gomez, told KCBS Radio she trained her son to practice safe COVID-19 protocol.
"I know he’ll wear his mask all the time," Gomez said. "He knows he needs to wash his hands, to not touch other kids."
Only about half of Oakland Unified families opted to return to in-person instruction, which is why Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell said all students will still be on Zoom during the morning hours, with in-person instruction in the afternoon.
"By trying to have a schedule that allows for in-person and still ensures that students are getting that degree of live instruction that they were getting before is one way that we are trying to ensure equity," Johnson-Trammell said.
Only a handful of Oakland Unified schools are reopening this week because teachers are returning on a voluntary basis; about 38% have opted to return to the classroom.
Full reopening for elementary grades is scheduled for April 19.
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