Redondo students return to campus, COVID cases increase, as expected
Senior Samantha Krug in silent study hall during AP Statistics. Photos by Nadia Bidarian
by Garth Meyer
Redondo Beach public schools students are back for the 2021-22 year, fully in-person for the first time since the start of the pandemic, but enrollment is down 237 students from those on campus and online at this time last year.
Fewer kids translates to fewer teachers hired for the new year.
“We’re being prudent on hiring. Though I don’t know the exact number, we’ll be down as far as teachers,” said Superintendent Steven Keller, in his 16th year with the district. “Before COVID, we have seen nothing but (student) increases.”
The last school year (2020-21) began with 203 fewer students than 2019-20.
Keller said the primary cause for the enrollment predictions is the pandemic.
A false positive COVID case was reported at Beryl Heights School the first day of school, Aug. 18. By the following Wednesday, 22 positive cases were reported at the district’s 12 schools, and two cases among staff at the district office.
“It’s gonna happen,” Keller said. He expects more COVID cases than last school year because students are back to in-person full-time, amidst the more contagious Delta variant. “We knew we would see more cases, and we are.”
Case counts are updated daily on the COVID-19 dashboard at the district website (RBUSD.org).
Redondo’s public and private schools require masks indoors, and by Oct. 15, all staff need to be vaccinated, or tested weekly to enter the campus. The regulations are in compliance with the Los Angeles Department of Public Health..
“I think it will go well,” Keller said, noting he believes 80 percent of the district staff are fully vaccinated. “We need to be diligent. Not just at school, but in the larger community. What happens outside of school, students and staff bring those activities with them into school.”
Teachers who test positive will be told to leave the classroom immediately, and a temporary substitute teacher would resume the class. More substitutes are being hired, Keller said.
Holding of events such as homecoming will be decided on a case-by-case basis.
“I think the biggest challenge is endurance,” said Keller. “We’re all tired of wearing a mask and washing our hands 100 times a day, but we’re doing it.”
The district has 9,605 students.
“What’s great is a significant majority of our parents couldn’t be happier having the kids back full-time, in-person,” Keller said. “A few parents want more restrictions, a few want fewer restrictions.” ER