A school in the South Bay on Thursday became the first in Santa Clara County to hold in-class learning during the pandemic. Damian Trujillo reports.
A school in the South Bay on Thursday became the first in Santa Clara County to hold in-class learning during the pandemic.
The move comes after meeting all the safety requirements and getting a state waiver.
The Sunnyvale Christian School said it has been working on the state waiver all summer.
Each class at the campus has 16 kids, who are not allowed to mingle with any other class during the school year.
There are also other pandemic safety rules in place on campus, including students sitting six feet apart and children above second grade must wear masks.
"Teachers also expect when they're teaching phonics or in some need of communication," said John Christie, Sunnyvale Christian School principal.
The school spent a week and a half in distance learning, but the state gave them the green light to open the classroom on Thursday.
"We appreciate the process," Christie said. "It's frustrating at times. Yeah, we need patience, but it worked out well."
Some parents said they are happy school is back to normal for students.
"I feel she needed that interaction," parent Edma Hernandez said of her child. "And I needed that as a mom. I saw such a change in her."
School officials said classrooms are constantly disinfected, which includes a 10-minute break after each cleaning for better results.
In addition, no visitors are allowed on campus, including parents.
Meanwhile, the Moreland School District in San Jose is also about to hold in-class learning. About 54 private schools and four public schools in Santa Clara County are waiting for updates from the state on their waiver requests.
