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COVID Schools: Students Returning To San Ramon Unified Classrooms On Monday

DANVILLE (CBS SF) -- From hybrid to full-time, tens of thousands of students return to classroom in the East Bay starting Monday, including high schools in the San Ramon Unified School District.

Even with more reopenings this week, California is still in the top 5 states with the highest percentage of schools that are not fully open for in-person classes.

More school districts are transitioning to full-time, but opposing voices are still loud and clear.

"Your teachers are not whining," said San Ramon Unified School District teacher Kimberly Giles.

Middle and high schoolers in hybrid mode, will return to full day-in-person learning 4 days a week starting Tuesday.

"I no longer have to speak to the computer and class," said Diablo Vista Middle School teacher Kristin Lineberry. "It's wonderful."

But reopening at different levels, continues to be a divisive issue in the San Ramon Valley Unified School district, which serves more than 32,000 students and has 3500 employees.

"I have heard them villainized and all kinds of things responsible for student not being in schools," said San Ramon Valley Unified School District Board of Education member Shelley Clark.

"You need to let the students that need to go back, the opportunity to be on campus," said parent Jen Gerolf.

"There's been a lot of us versus them, it's gotten really nasty," said Clark.

New data released from the U.S. Department of Education shows 47% of 4th graders nationwide are back in the classroom full-time, but California trails significantly at just 18%.

"If we have to pivot, we will," said SRVUSD Superintendent John Malloy. "Historically, districts that reopened were not asked to close even in the height of the pandemic, which in my perspective was in the January window."

"This isn't pivoting," Giles said. "This is slamming us into a wall and then saying it doesn't hurt."

Other school districts in the East Bay, including Mount Diablo will reopen this week.

Meanwhile, some elementary schools in San Francisco and Oakland Unified are scheduled to open in April, but no agreements in place for middle and high schoolers.

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