The Chico Unified School District will keep its AM/PM instructional model for the rest of the school year.
The district’s board voted 4-1 Wednesday to remain in the split-schedule model for in-person learning after considering opening schools full time.
Board members came to their decision after hearing comments from parents both for and against a broader reopening of schools. Christine Leistner, a faculty member in the public health department at California State University, Chico, was one of those parents.She expressed concern over the potential dangers of coronavirus variants spreading throughout the district.
“They are more contagious,” she said. “And while we are thinking about opening up schools further, schools across Europe are shutting down once again because of these new variants and how contagious they are.”
Board member Matt Tennis supported opening schools full-time, and he cast the single vote against keeping the AM/PM model. Tennis said the split instructional model has had a “heart wrenching effect on poor people in our community, children of color and other at-risk student groups.”