South San Francisco Colleges Put together to Open for In-Individual Lessons – CBS San Francisco

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – The South San Francisco Unified School District (SSFUSD) begins the new school year on Wednesday, allowing all students to return to campus for the first time since the pandemic began.

“Aside from a small group of elementary school students who were able to return to a hybrid model, this is the first time all of our students are returning to campus from pre-K through 12,” said Superintendent Dr. Shawnterra Moore. “We’re going to be very careful, making sure we’re communicating health and safety expectations and holding ourselves and each other accountable, but we’re happy to have children back.”

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Some of the changes include updated HVAC systems, a new focus on healthy hand hygiene, mask requirements for students, staff and visitors, and the addition of 30 mobile disinfection units.

“It’s an ultraviolet, antimicrobial machine,” said interim director of the facilities, John Daley. “Everything that the light hits – it kills the bacteria in the room.”

Daley explained that the units can sanitize a classroom in around 3-4 minutes and an auditorium in around 30 minutes. This cleaning process is done every day after school.

“We call it zapping – we zap every room in the school,” he continued. He says the district will keep these long after the pandemic.

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“The amount of germs that is going to be eradicated to keep our children in the classrooms and at school will increase sharply,” he said.

The Hong family attended Buri Buri Elementary School on Tuesday to help their daughter Isabella orientate herself before her first day of school in more than a year.

“We’re nervous, but I think it’s best for Isabella right now to go back to school, be with her friends and socialize – but obviously with a mask and all,” said Christian Hong. “We would not allow her to go back to school – we would teach her at home – if she did not take these measures.”

Superintendent Moore said some families choose to keep their children out of the classrooms by completing an independent study program, but the vast majority of the over 8,000 students in the district will be back in the classrooms.

“Right now I’d say about 80 are interested,” she said.

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“There may be students who do not want to wear masks – and such individual situations are handled on a case-by-case basis,” she continued. “Wearing masks has really proven to be a containment strategy that can really minimize the transmission of the virus.”