This Week on the Central Coast
Monterey prepares to reopen some schools, Santa Cruz provides wheelchairs at its State Beaches, and iTNMC provides free rides to vaccine appointments
Monterey prepares more reopenings as positivity rates drop.
This week, more than 1,000 teachers received their first dose of the COVID vaccine. The timing allows them to get the second dose before the MPUSD plans on reopening schools in the second week of April. Reopenings for MPUSD are as follows:
April 8 and 9 | Transitional Kindergarten - 5th Grades
April 12 | 6th, 9th, and 10th Grades (This date is contingent on Monterey County entering the red tier)
April 19 | 7th, 8th, 11th and 12th Grades (This date is contingent on Monterey County entering the red tier)
The Salinas Union High School District is currently planning on returning to the classroom April 19th. Only grades 8 and 12 are planned to return for in-person classes “this is their last year at their home school before they promote or graduate” said assistant superintendent Dr. Blanca Baltazar-Sabbah. Salinas also plans to open all city playgrounds on March 8 since Monterey County case rates have dropped significantly.
Santa Cruz County is expected to move to red tier this coming week. With this expectation, Santa Cruz City Schools are planning on returning middle and high school students to classrooms beginning March 22. Students would still have the option of attending class digitally via Zoom if they weren’t comfortable returning to in-person activities. The current timeline is:
March 15| transitional kindergarten and kindergarten return
March 22| first through fifth grades return
April 5| middle and high school students begin hybrid instruction
Finally, the Scotts Valley Unified School District was the first in Santa Cruz County to reopen. Only pre-school and kindergarten were allowed back, but feedback seemed to be mostly positive from parents and teachers.
A survey done by the district found that about 60% of parents want their students back in school. Additionally, according to Pew Research Center, about 59% of adults say they want schools to wait to reopen until all teachers who want the vaccine can get it.
The push to reopen schools comes as Governor Newsom offered additional funding to schools that reopen on time. “To receive the funds, all public schools are required to offer in-person instruction for high needs students in grades K-12 by the end of the month, losing 1% of eligible funds every day thereafter if they do not.”
The state of California also announced that amusement parks and sports stadiums will be allowed to have visitors again as soon as April 1. Recently, the state has loosened its criteria for entering red tier (from 7% positivity to 10% positivity) which would allow these businesses to open with reduced capacity (explained in more detail in the linked article). “A travel advisory remains in place in California, which urges residents to avoid venturing more than 120 miles from home or to other states or countries, except in connection with essential travel. The advisory also strongly discourages nonessential travelers from entering the state and, if they do, to adhere to a 10-day quarantine.”
Santa Cruz provides wheelchairs at all eight state beaches.
A grant from California Coastal Conservancy has allowed Santa Cruz to double the number of beach wheelchairs available to people with disabilities at state beaches. Bonny Hawley, executive director of Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks, said “Providing access to our local beaches to all users, is something we value, and our mission is to make our beaches and parks available to all.”
The grant of $13,700 was one of the biggest ever given by the conservancy to the state.
Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks is also teaming up with Shared Adventures, a non-profit that plans activities for people with disabilities. The two plan on creating fun adventures which utilize the wheelchairs.
Day reservations for the wheelchairs can be made for free. If interested, you can make a reservation by email at SCD.specialevents@parks.ca.gov or by phone: 831-335-8487. Email is the preferred method of reservation.
iTNMontereyCounty is offering free rides to vaccine appointments.
The Independent Transportation Network Monterey County said it would provide free rides for anyone who is eligible to get the vaccine. Currently, that means anyone aged 65 or older can use the service for free to get to their appointment. The company recognizes that sometimes transportation can get in the way of people getting the vaccine. Executive Director Jessica McKillip said that the offer will continue as eligibility progresses. The next bracket would include people 55 and older and those with visual impairments.
If you need a ride, you can call 831-233-3447. iTNMontereyCounty said that anyone who needs a ride should call 24 hours in advance to ensure availability.
