Hesperia Unified School District will begin 20-21 year with distance learning

HESPERIA, Calif. (VVNG.com) — The Hesperia Unified School District (HUSD) will begin the 20-21 school year on August 6th with distance learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Superintendent Dave Olney.

“It has always been my intention to fully reopen our schools as soon as we were safely able to do so. I have tracked this pandemic continuously, examining the various projection models, as well as our county and local data,” stated Olney.

Superintendent Olney said he’s met regularly with local health officials along with hospitals and in the past three weeks, the number of cases in the HUSD community have doubled. 

“While school-age children are not as susceptible to COVID, as of June 23 we had 21 childhood cases in Hesperia,” stated Olney. “We have already had a few employees test positive as well as a student.”

With the current state restrictions and cases in the community, the HUSD said they are unable to meet the guidelines put in place for reopening schools set forth by health officials in San Bernardino County.

“We do not have the facilities, staffing, or financial resources necessary to accommodate such protocols. I am not a medical expert and I have to rely on the health experts for their guidance to keep our students and staff safe,” stated Olney.

Parents were informed of the possibility that he start of the school year may be delayed depending on new information.

HUSD staff is working diligently to prepare for much-improved distance learning practices expected to being on August 6, 2020.

To read the entire message from HUSD click here.

Distance education or distance learning is the education of students who may not always be physically present at a school. Traditionally, this usually involved correspondence courses wherein the student corresponded with the school via post. Today, it involves online education.

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