Local districts cancel school due to coronavirus

The San Dieguito Union School District, Del Mar Union High School District and Solana Beach School District closed all schools beginning March 16 to curb the potential transmission of the coronavirus.

The closures have left many parents scrambling to set up home school schedules to keep kids busy, utilizing a variety of online resources everything from Pinterest arts and science projects to math worksheets from math-drills.com

This week, San Diego County Office of Education partnered with San Diego Unified and KPBS to launch “At Home Learning: Where Children Matter” which includes a broadcast component with standards-aligned programming in blocks by grade level and a digital component with access to an online library at pbslearningmedia.org.

KPBS 2 will broadcast 12 hours of programming selected to meet the grades TK-12 California educational standards.

“It’s critical that learning continues for all students in this time of uncertainty,” said Dr. Paul Gothold, San Diego County superintendent of schools in a release. “Schools may be closed but our responsibility to our students’ future remains. We can’t let students who have worked so hard lose that hard-won progress away from the classroom.”

The Solana Beach School District announced that schools will be closed through April 13, following spring break—the timeline may shorten or extend depending on how the pandemic unfolds. According to a letter from Superintendent Jodee Brentlinger, beginning on March 23, students will be expected to continue their learning experiences through educational materials and resources provided by the district.

San Dieguito has announced that school will be closed through March 27. The district still wants to ensure that all students have access to meals and the nutrition services program will provide an opportunity for families to pick up meals between 11:30 a.m, and 1 p.m. Monday through Friday at Earl Warren Middle School and San Dieguito Academy. The most updated information will be available on the district’s website.

Del Mar Union School District has announced that students are not required to complete any schoolwork during the period of school closure. However, in order to minimize the impact to each student’s learning during the closure, the district will provide access to supplemental resources for students to use at home. Specific times will be announced regarding access to school campuses for the purpose of picking up supplemental resources next week, for those families who are interested.
The most accurate and up-to-date information will be on the website at dmusd.org.

While the city of San Diego has closed all libraries, the Solana Beach and Del Mar Libraries, both county libraries, will offer curbside pickup service weekdays from 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. The library does offer free eBooks and eAudiobooks, including a collection of kids’ eBooks, to read or listen to on your Nook, Kindle, tablet, mobile phone and other compatible devices. For more information, visit sdcl.org.

Hoping to help families find a little calm during a stressful time, If I Was a Bird Yoga in Flower Hill Promenade is now offering live kids and family yoga classes on their Instagram and Facebook live feeds at @ifiwasabirdyoga—the classes are live at 10 a.m. every day and will be available for 24 hours in Instagram stories.