Poway Unified School District

Bracing for What's Next in Poway Unified Ahead of Board Meeting

The school board meets Thursday to review its re-opening plan for elementary school students.

NBC Universal, Inc.

Some parents in the Poway Unified School District are bracing for a decision about the district’s re-opening plan for elementary school students.

The board meets Thursday night to provide an update on in-person instruction. Some families fear the routine they know will be disturbed -- again -- if the district decides to delay or cancel in-person instruction after winter break.

“There is this sort of unsettling unrest that someone is going to pull the trigger and, eventually, it’s going to go back to virtual, just because it’s easier to control circumstances that way,” said Jessica McClure Kuhar, whose 8-year-old son is in the district.

McClure Kuhar said, given the rise in coronavirus cases, across the nation and specifically in her zip code, "I am not completely surprised of the notion that post the holiday, there will be a desire to go completely virtual, even if it’s for a short period of time until things come down again."

The district routinely reviews its re-opening plans at its monthly board meetings and updates them as it feels necessary.

For instance, in November, after the county moved into the purple tier, the board voted to delay middle school and high school re-opening plans until January 19, 2021.

It is not yet known what the staff recommendations will be to the board Thursday night, but a district spokesperson wrote in an e-mail that, “they could be based on factors such as changing public health orders, staffing shortages, etc.” 

“As much as I would like to say, ‘No, no, no,’ I understand there are risks involved with that and if the consensus is the risks outweigh the benefits, then, of course, I’m going to believe it’s been thought through enough for us to make that decision," McClure Kuhar said.

Contact Us