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Reopening: Santa Clara Unified School District To Start Upcoming Academic Year At Home; Officials Cite Surge In New Cases

SANTA CLARA (CBS SF) -- Students in Santa Clara Unified School District will begin the new academic year next month at home with classes being conducted remotely, officials announced Saturday.

(Note: Clarifying -- Plan covers Santa Clara Unified District's 29 schools and is not county-wide)

While district officials said they were hopeful they could give parents a variety of opinions when it came to the school year, a current surge in COVID-19 cases made it impossible to bring students safely back into the classroom.

"Our community was clear in wanting options for their children's instructional model during the pandemic," school officials said in a statement. "Every family will be able to choose from distance learning, hybrid learning, in-person learning, and independent study for the 2020-2021 school year. However, due to the recent increases in COVID-19 cases in Santa Clara County, and out of concern for the health, safety, and wellbeing of our students, staff, and community, all students will start the school year in distance learning."

RELATED: KPIX 5 Back To School Section

The schools covered include:

  • Bowers Elementary School
  • Bracher Elementary School
  • Braly Elementary School
  • Briarwood Elementary School
  • Buchser Middle School
  • Cabrillo Middle School
  • Callejon K-8 School
  • Central Park Elementary School
  • Haman Elementary School
  • Hughes Elementary School
  • Laurelwood Elementary School
  • Mayne Elementary School
  • Millikin Basics+ Elementary School
  • Mission Early College High School
  • New Valley High School
  • Peterson Middle School
  • Pomeroy Elementary School
  • Ponderosa Elementary School
  • Preschool and After School
  • Santa Clara Community School
  • Santa Clara High School
  • Scott Lane Elementary School
  • Washington Open Elementary School
  • Westwood Elementary School
  • Wilcox High School
  • Wilson High School

Santa Clara County health Dr. Sara Cody also issued a YouTube statement Saturday, warning that other difficult decisions about reopening within the county and lifting COVID-19 restrictions may be ahead.

A Message from Dr. Sara Cody | 7-10-2020 by County of Santa Clara Public Health on YouTube

"Right now, the numbers we are seeing aren't going in the right direction," she said. "Right now, 116 people are hospitalized (in the county) with COVID-19, and 45 of them are in the ICU. The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 is growing every day. They are members of our community who are seriously ill and several may die. In the last two weeks, almost 2,000 people have been diagnosed (with the virus)."

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