San Francisco Unified School District set to reopen select schools for in-person instruction in April

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San Francisco Unified School District has reached a tentative agreement with the teachers union to offer in-person instruction to some of its youngest students starting April 12.

Superintendent Dr. Vincent Matthews and Board of Education President Gabriela Lopez made the announcement late Friday.

Groups that may be allowed to return to class next month include some students in pre-kindergarten to fifth grade. Select elementary schools, including Alvarado, Cobb and Glen Park, are in the first reopening wave.

Additional students will be offered in-person learning options before the end of April, according to officials.

SFUSD is the seventh-largest school district in the state, educating over 56,000 students each year. Teacher’s union president Susan Solomon told KCBS Radio that the agreement is the product of months of planning and consideration.

"Both the union and the district recognize that the most important thing is to get our students back into school with the safest conditions and the best delivery of instruction," she said.

There has also been some progress with vaccinations for teachers, a sticking point for teachers unions in the discussions around school reopening.

"We need to keep that number up and increase it," said Solomon, and "make sure that everybody gets vaccinated."

Solomon noted that although the plan has been carefully thought out, "just as we learned when we came to a crisis distance learning agreement, things will come up because this is brand new to us."

She said the plan could change as new challenges arise or case numbers change.

The tentative agreement allows groups to return to the classroom for most of the school day, five days a week.

SFUSD will follow COVID-19 safety guidance, including physical distancing in classrooms.

The district will also continue to provide distance learning for the remainder of this school year, and continues to work to vaccinate its staff.

More details will be revealed on Monday, officials said.

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