VCS School Watch

#ICYMI: Ventura County schools reported 188 COVID cases in November. It's important to note that several school districts including Simi Valley Unified, Conejo Unified and others reopened for hybrid learning in that time frame. This brings the total number of cases to 224 since the beginning of the school year.

On Wednesday, Oxnard Union High School District school board voted 4-1 to appoint Tom McCoy as superintendent.

ICYMI: Here's what moving back to the purple tier means for Ventura County schools.

From tonight's Conejo Valley Unified School District board of trustees meeting: Board voted 4-1, with a 'no' vote from Trustee Sandee Everett, on dates for students' return to school. Here's the breakdown: TK-2 = Nov. 9 Grades 3-5 = Nov. 12... Grades 6-8 = Nov. 16 Grades 9-12 = Jan. 19 The original motion with last week's proposed timeline was amended by Trustee Betsy Connolly. Story to come.

Happy Election Day, folks. The Star is providing live updates about polling locations, as well as information about voting (it's not too late to register in California), here. Want to share your voter experience? Scroll to the bottom of the article and fill out the form, or feel free to email [email protected]. #vcvotes https://www.vcstar.com//ventura-county-electio/6076357002/

Yesterday, Moorpark Unified became the first public school district locally to open its campus for hybrid learning. The Star visited Arroyo West Active Learning Academy to see how it went.

#ICYMI: Here's the latest we know about reopening for local public schools. Pleasant Valley School District is bringing back TK-K students this week.

Here's a roundup of free and ticketed COVID-safe Halloween events in Ventura County.

Based on the agreement between the district + teachers union and Tuesday's town hall meeting, here are some things we know about quarter 2, and the plan for reopening in Oxnard Union High School District. Oxnard Union students won't be back until third quarter at the earliest, which starts January. However, there are some opportunities for some students to have in-person experience (via activities/sports, tutoring, small cohorts for high-needs groups, for example).

Earlier this week, Ventura school board trustees voted unanimously to bring students attending district elementary, El Camino High, Pacific High and Sunset Middle schools back for hybrid in-person/remote learning by a Nov. 30 target date.

A week later, Conejo Valley Unified School District has announced a proposed return to school timeline. If the school board approves it, students in TK-12 will begin to return to school in phases.

Here's where Conejo Valley Unified School District is at on the road to reopening. Small cohorts of high-needs groups, like special education and English learner students, will be returning in the next two weeks. A reopen date for all students is unclear, but one thing is for certain: everyone will wear masks.

At their board meeting today, Simi Valley Unified School District trustees voted 4-1 to hold off on submitting a waiver application until Oct. 14. This decision was made in light of the county's new COVID-19 case rate. (Remember: If we move into the red tier, which is the direction the county is headed in at the moment, schools will be able to reopen for all grade levels.) Here's what the actual motion was:

An update to this story: Moorpark Unified plans to open TK-5 schools on Oct. 19, instead of the original Oct. 5 date. The change was made due to upcoming parent conferences under a modified class schedule, per Superintendent Kelli Hays. https://www.vcstar.com//waiver-covid-ventura-c/3567100001/

NEW: Conejo Valley Unified School District has applied for an elementary school waiver, right on the heels of Moorpark Unified's approval. If CVUSD is approved, the district hopes to reopen for kindergarten through sixth grade. Additionally, Our Lady of Assumption School in Ventura now awaits state approval to reopen.

And here's the story. Moorpark Unified School District will be the first in the county to reopen public schools for in-person learning. Here's what we know:

NEW: Moorpark Unified School District has officially gotten local and state approval to reopen its TK-5 schools, the first Ventura County public school district to get the green light. Their tentative reopen date is Oct. 5. Additionally, St. Mary Magdalen School (Camarillo) has been approved to reopen. Our Lady of Assumption School in Ventura is the latest school to apply for a waiver. Story to come.

In the past few months, student-led campaigns -- from groups like Justice in the Classroom, Ventura County Youth Coalition, Simi Valley Unified School District students and Oxnard Middle College High School -- have been working to get youth voters registered and engaged.

Ventura, Moorpark and Oxnard colleges will stay remote through the spring semester barring a handful of classes that can't be done remotely. Locally, CSU Channel Islands will also be doing the same. No word on Cal Lutheran's plan yet.