Following the continued low numbers of positive COVID-19 cases in Ventura County and California and guidance from the California Department of Public Health, Superintendent Dr. Tony Knight announced that Oak Park Unified School District is planning for a full, regular school opening on August 9.

The district is planning for the 2021-2022 school year and will follow the guidelines of the California Department of Public Health and are prepared to modify protocols based on the guidance. 

“The health, safety, and wellbeing of our students, staff, and families remain our priority,” Knight wrote in the ParentSquare and StudentSquare post.

OPUSD is planning to no longer offer hybrid or distance learning in the 2021-2022 school year. Oak Park Independent School is available for families who want an alternative option. 

“The expectation is that schools will open as usual,” Knight wrote to the Talon. “If parents want to choose another option, we have the Oak Park Independent School (OPIS) where students meet with their teacher once a week and otherwise work from home on assignments and projects.”

According to the Beyond the Blueprint for Safer Economy, California will fully open its economy on June 15 if there is “equitable vaccine availability” and a “consistently low burden of disease.” 

“We will only progress to this stage if we continue to stay vigilant, keep wearing our masks and getting vaccinated,” the website reads. “The state will monitor hospitalization rates, vaccine access, and vaccine efficacy against variants with the option to revisit the June 15 date if needed.”

When California’s economy reopens fully, with common-sense health measures, the state will be able to move beyond the Blueprint for a Safer Economy. When California moves beyond the Blueprint, the website states that, “schools and institutions of higher education should conduct full-time, in person instruction, in compliance with Cal/OSHA emergency temporary standards and public health guidelines.”

Currently, anyone over the age of 16 is eligible to be vaccinated. OPUSD is not planning to require the vaccine for students.

“I would like to recommend that all of our students over 16 get vaccinated ASAP,” Knight wrote. “This is the best way to ensure that things will return to normal including the opening of the schools. All parents should already be vaccinated.”