Monterey Bay Charter School begins outdoor, in-person instruction
PACIFIC GROVE, Calif. (KION) Students at a Pacific Grove K-8 school are back on campus this week after being away for the COVID-19 pandemic.
Monterey Bay Charter School had been planning the reopening since the start of the school year, and they wanted to incorporate the natural landscapes both for fresh air and for coronavirus safety.
All this is possible since Monterey County has fewer than 25 active COVID cases per 100,000 residents, a threshold put on by the governor's "Safe Schools for All" plan.
Grades TK through fourth grade have started their outdoor classes now in unique outdoor setting that staff designed. The school actually partnered with Green Schoolyards America and also had input from students about what these outdoor classrooms should look like.
To do all this, staff raised a few thousand dollars and got donations for their supplies. Teachers have the option to do class indoors with doors and windows open, do a roaming class outside anywhere on campus or use the designed semi-permanent outdoor spaces.
Your typical COVID-19 safety protocols are mandated as well, but students are just excited to be back.
"It's a lot better and I get to, not do whatever I want, but it's better than staring at a computer all day," said Levi, a second grader at MBCS.
"As a parents, my children are so excited and happy to be back. They wish it was longer, they wish they could've been here for more time. But it's just exciting to see them back at school and enjoying their time," said Candace Villarta, the communications manager at MBCS.
There are two groups, or cohorts, of students that stagger their time here on campus: the Pine Cohort and the Cypress Cohort. One group comes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and the other Thursdays and Fridays. The rest of the days of school will be through distance learning.
While grades TK through fourth started on Tuesday on campus, grades fifth through eighth will be starting next Tuesday.
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The school says they've "invested a tremendous amount of time and energy into designing outdoor classroom spaces in preparation for the reopening of our school and partnered with Green Schoolyards America to create safe and efficient outdoor classrooms."
The state still requires every county to have less than 25 active COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents for schools like Monterey Bay Charter to reopen. Monterey County met the requirements in mid February.
KION's Josh Kristianto will have more at 5 and 6 p.m. tonight.
