When Tucson's largest school district opens for in-person instruction, students will be doing online learning regardless of whether their parents keep them home or send them to school. And their teachers may not be in the same classroom, or even at the school at all.
About 50 percent of TUSD families have said they want their children to return to in-person learning on Aug. 17 — the delayed start date set by Gov. Doug Ducey. The governor signed an executive order requiring school districts to offer a full academic year of in-person learning to any family who wants it for schools to be able to maintain funding levels comparable to last year's.
When the Tucson Unified School District opens, students who are doing in-person learning will be assigned a computer and a learning lab or work space with about 13 students to a room. That room will be overseen by a monitor, who will supervise the students, making sure they are safe and following health department guidelines around the coronavirus, such as wearing masks and social distancing.
Whether doing in-person or virtual instruction, students in the same class will be doing the same virtual instruction with the same teacher. That teacher does not need to be in the same physical space as the students, and may not be, with some teachers working from home and others at the school.
All classes will be online, including PE and fine arts. There will be a mix of online curriculum, live lessons of core instruction that a teacher will do virtually and virtual collaboration with small online groups.
Students will have breaks during the day and opportunities to do offline work within the virtual-learning curriculum plan.
Students with special needs will be prioritized for in-person learning and will not have the same mask and social-distancing requirements, but will be encouraged to wear face coverings and social distance to the extent possible, depending on a child’s sensory needs. The district will work with families to see which students meet the criteria for homebound services.
Which teachers work where has yet to be decided, although there has been a statewide and national outcry from educators who do not want to put health and lives at risk by returning to in-person instruction while the coronavirus continues to surge. However, some TUSD teachers say they are ready to return to the classroom, said Superintendent Gabriel Trujillo during the July 14 governing board meeting.
Having a completely virtual learning model will make it easier for individual schools or the district as a whole to switch to a remote-only option should there be an outbreak of COVID-19 cases in a school or if the state calls for closures again.
TUSD will be assigning a computer to each of its 44,000 students, regardless of how many students are in a home, making it a one-to-one district.
To ensure safety protocols while students aren’t in the classroom, there will be limited movement between classrooms. Lunch will be eaten on a staggered schedule and in designated spaces, marked for social distancing; and dismissal will be staggered with designated spaces to wait for pick up that promote social distancing.
“I want to assure you that this mode of instruction won't be forever,” TUSD Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Flori Huitt told the governing board. “We are adapting to the current circumstances. We will be evaluating the state of affairs very closely with our health officials, so that if and once things do return to some degree of normalcy, we can begin offering a more traditional in-person model. And until that time, we feel that this provides equity of instruction and also a safe environment for all of those that are involved.”
For TUSD’s complete reopening plan go to tusd1.org/nextsteps2020. Email answers2020@tusd1.org with questions and concerns. The governing board will vote on the final plan for reopening schools at the July 28 board meeting.
Photos for May 29: Tucson gets by during Coronavirus Pandemic
Tucson gets by during coronavirus pandemic
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The iconic Casa Molina bull and matador statue both sport masks on the first full week of the loosening of COVID19 restrictions, May 23, 2020, Tucson, Ariz. The bull previously had a mask on the testicles.
Tucson gets by during coronavirus pandemic
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Michelle Leon Cordova, right, mother, and her son Sahuarita High School senior Lino Cordova, whom is fighting cancer, wave at staff members from Diamonds Children Center, friends and the Marana Police Department during a car parade, celebrating Lino's graduation, outside of his home on May 13, 2020 in Sahuarita, Ariz. Cordova stood on the sidewalk while the team from Diamond Children Center, friends and the Marana police department gave Cordova a graduation gar parade. Cordova was given a gift basket with his favorite snacks, gift cards as well as other items he enjoys. The car parade, also, celebrated another graduating senior fighting cancer from Empire High School, Noah Nieto. Nieto, also, received a gift basket with snacks, gift cards and other items Lino enjoys.
Tucson gets by during coronavirus pandemic
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Michelle Leon Cordova, right, mother, brings celebration balloons to a car after staff members from Diamonds Children Center, friends and the Marana Police Department celebrate Sahuarita High School senior Lino Cordova, whom is fighting cancer, graduation with a car parade outside of his home on May 13, 2020 in Sahuarita, Ariz. Cordova stood on the sidewalk while the team from Diamond Children Center, friends and the Marana police department gave Cordova a graduation gar parade. Cordova was given a gift basket with his favorite snacks, gift cards as well as other items he enjoys. The car parade, also, celebrated another graduating senior fighting cancer from Empire High School, Noah Nieto. Nieto, also, received a gift basket with snacks, gift cards and other items Lino enjoys.
Tucson gets by during coronavirus pandemic
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Personnel from Tucson Medical Center line the heliport to watch A-10's from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base's 355th Wing and F-16's from the Arizona Air National Guard's 162nd Wing make a pass over the facility, one leg of an area wide community flyover, May 14, 2020, Tucson, Ariz.
Tucson gets by during coronavirus pandemic
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Nancy Celix-Campos, right, a respitory therapist at Tucson Medical Center, watches the military flyover with her daughters, Giana, 12, and Jazmyn, 8, from Sentinel Peak on May 14, 2020. Two F-16 Fighting Falcons from Arizona Air National GuardÕs 162nd Wing and two A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, fly over Tucson area hospitals to honor healthcare personnel and first responders as they are some of the frontline workers dealing with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) head on. "It's been an exhausting two to three months," says Campos, "it's pretty cool, I like how they're going by each hospital."
Tucson gets by during coronavirus pandemic
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Two F-16 Fighting Falcons from Arizona Air National Guard’s 162nd Wing and two A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, fly over Northwest Medical Center north of Tucson on May 14, 2020.
Tucson gets by during coronavirus pandemic
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A letter carrier portrait on the Ok Market building, located in the Armory Park neighborhood, is adorned with a face mask on May 18, 2020.
Tucson gets by during coronavirus pandemic
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Rosemary Garcia waits for a family member outside of a store at Park Place Mall, 5870 E. Broadway Blvd., in Tucson, Ariz. on May 19, 2020. Malls reopened today under CDC guidelines and Gov. Ducey's new rules for businesses due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Park Place Mall has signs throughout the mall reminding customers to keep a six feet distance as well as hand sanitizer stations near each entrance. About half of the tables in the food court have been removed to allow for social distances as well as less than half of the stores have opened with new guidelines. Of the stores open, only 10 customers are allowed to shop in each store at a time.
Tucson gets by during coronavirus pandemic
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Pat Schlote steams clothing before it is put on the sales floor at the Golden Goose Thrift Shop in Catalina, Ariz., on May 21, 2020.
Tucson gets by during coronavirus pandemic
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Ada Contreras, teaching assistant, looks through containers while reorganizing toys at Herencia Guadalupana Lab School, 6740 S. in Tucson, Ariz. on May 21, 2020. As Child care centers begin to re-open when they are ready, Herencia Guadalupana Lab School is reorganizing and cleaning everything in the facility before re-opening on June 2. To allow for social distancing and decrease the amount of items children touch, Herencia Guadalupana Lab School has sheds where items will go as well as placing items in containers organized by category.
Tucson gets by during coronavirus pandemic
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Jen Martinez, right, softball coach, teaches Skylar Reilly about hitting during a session at Centerfield Baseball Academy, 5120 S. Julian Dr., in Tucson, Ariz. on May 21, 2020. After re-opening on Monday, Centerfield Baseball Academy has implemented new policies in response to the Coronavirus Pandemic such as wearing masks, cleaning, signage, hand sanitizer and limiting the amount of people inside the facility.
Tucson gets by during coronavirus pandemic
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Karl Bosma, left, and George Cantua, with facilities and maintenance, lay down stickers to mark six-foot separation distance around one of the baggage carousels, part of the efforts at Tucson International Airport to work within the restrictions of COVID19, May 22, 2020, Tucson, Ariz.
Tucson gets by during coronavirus pandemic
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A lone passenger waits for a flight near one of the shuttered restaurants in the B Gates before Memorial Day at Tucson International Airport on May 22, 2020.
Tucson gets by during coronavirus pandemic
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Drew Cooper on the stage in the St. Philip's Plaza courtyard, May 22, 2020, Tucson, Ariz., where live music is back on the schedule.
Tucson gets by during coronavirus pandemic
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Many people visit Tumamoc Hill during the first day of Tumamoc's re-opening in Tucson, Ariz. on May 25, 2020. After being closed due to the Coronavirus pandemic, Tumamoc Hill re-opened with some modifications. There are hand sanitizer stations throughout the hike to the top as well as arrows, spaced 10-ft apart, lined up and down the hill. Some runners, hikers and walkers are also wearing masks during their hike. "The steps we are taking aim to provide our community with needed exercise, connection to our beautiful desert and a sense of comfort in such a trying time, while balancing the fact that gathering as a community endangers each of us and our loved ones. This is an unprecedented challenge that we are taking extremely seriously," said Benjamin T. Wilder, director of Tumamoc Hill. Visitors are also asked to limit their group to three people and to not touch the gate at the top of the hill- a tradition for some who make it to the top. "This is a time when we need to establish new traditions and adapt in a creative manner that embraces empathy, unity, care and patience," Wilder said.
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Pen Macias, artist, works on part 2 of a mural for a client on E. Broadway Rd., between S. Columbus Blvd. and S. Alvernon Way, in Tucson, Ariz. on May 25, 2020. Macias, known as The Desert Pen, has been working on her clients mural for the past three months. "It's the one thing I love, I have a passion for and the only thing I could be happy doing," said Macias. The mural represents her client, a single mother of four who works in the health care field. One half of the mural is dedicated to the connection between mothers and their children. The other half is dedicated to the connection between nurses and patients. The client wanted some positivity in the mural to show how nurses give a piece of themselves to their patients hence the puzzle pieces in the nurse and the patients, said Macias.
Tucson gets by during coronavirus pandemic
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Christina Cortinas, posing at her home, May 28, 2020, Tucson, Ariz., with a photo of her and her mother, Catherine Rodriguez, in San Diego, 1991. Rodriguez is currently in assisted living and fighting COVID19. Cortinas hasn't seen her mother in months, the longest such span in her life.
Tucson gets by during coronavirus pandemic
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Ruben Lopez looks through handouts while attending a Eviction Resource Fair with his family outside the Pima County Justice Court.
