Dear Superintendents,
This afternoon, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond’s office sent out a
letter to “Fellow Superintendents” that said, in part, “Due to the current safety concerns and needs for ongoing social distancing it currently appears that our students will not be able to return to school campuses before the end of the school year.”
This comment reflects Superintendent Thurmond's personal judgement about the timing of re-opening campuses, not a mandate. The decision to re-open schools remains a local one made in conjunction with public health. Our messaging remains the same: it is premature to make any final determination and we are focusing on mitigating learning losses, particularly for our most vulnerable children.
As we discussed on our call today, I am doing everything I can to ensure districts get advance notice if a decision is made at the state level to close all schools for a particular length of time. SDCOE's Communications team is working on common messaging for districts to use should we find ourselves at that point.
I will continue to share updates and resources as this situation develops.
Sincerely,
Paul
Dr. Paul Gothold
San Diego County Superintendent of Schools
phone: 858-292-3514
