In a 4-1 vote, the West Contra Costa Unified School District Board of Education last Friday approved a plan to offer some in-person learning for all students starting April 19.
The district includes more than 27,000 students across the cities of El Cerrito, Richmond, San Pablo, Pinole and Hercules, among others.
The memorandum of understanding approved by teachers, and hammered out with its five employee unions, says that "distance learning shall remain the primary mode of instruction" for the remainder of the school year, even for those students participating in the in-person program. However, teachers can volunteer to teach in-person to the students who participate.
The plan does not come close to offering full-time in-person instruction. Instead, it will offer what the district is calling two-hour "interventions" daily for high-need students, as well as longer in-person "hubs" on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday for students from all grades.
The district has targeted 1,400 students — about 5% of its enrollment — as having the highest need and will invite them first for the two-hour "interventions."