November 24, 2020

Dear 4th and 5th Grade Parents and Guardians,

The safety of students and staff as we reopen our schools to in-person instruction is a top priority.
If your child will be attending school on campus, we need your help in providing a safe environment
that will keep our schools open. Therefore, we are requiring your commitment to screen your
child daily for COVID related symptoms before sending them to school. If your child shows any
symptoms of being ill during your daily screening, please keep them home and notify your child’s
school.
Please review, print, and sign the screening commitment form and send it to school with your child
on the first day they return. The form can be accessed HERE. Please complete one form for each
of your children.
Also, we strongly encourage parents to provide transportation to and from school for their child if
they possibly can rather than use district-provided busing. This will reduce the number of students
riding the bus and reduce the possibility of transmitting the COVID virus.

Procedures for Notification of Possible COVID-19 Exposure

 November 20, 2020 

Dear Parents and Guardians,

As cases of COVID-19 increase in our community, it can be expected that, periodically, we experience a positive case on school campuses. The Pioneer School District has developed notification procedures based on guidance provided by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and the Kings County Department of Public Health. Should a positive case of COVID-19 be identified at school, and your child has had close contact with the staff member or another student who has tested positive for COVID-19, you will receive notice that your child has potentially been exposed. Close contact is defined by the CDPH as being within 6 feet of a person for 15 minutes or more. Your child will then be required to quarantine for 14 days. Please expect to be contacted by our registered nurse or licensed vocational nurse about the specific steps needed for your child to return to school. If your child is quarantined, they will be provided distance learning.

If your child was determined NOT to be in close contact with the COVID-19 positive person but may have been in the same classroom as the positive case, you will receive notice to monitor your child for symptoms related to COVID-19. However, your child will not be required to quarantine and is to continue to attend school in-person.

Thank you for your continued support of our schools and programs.

Sincerely,

Pioneer Union Elementary School District

Dear Pioneer Parents and Guardians,

On November 16, the California Department of Public Health revised the guidance for wearing face coverings in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19. The new guidance now requires children two years old and older to wear face coverings. Previously, children who were second grade or younger were not required to wear face coverings at school. However, the new guidance now requires ALL students to wear face coverings at all times while at school except while eating. Therefore, we encourage all parents to send their child to school with a face-covering tomorrow. We appreciate your cooperation with the new face-covering guidance in an effort to keep our schools open to in-person instruction.

Thank you,

Pioneer School District

October 27, 2020
Dear Parents and Guardians,
On October 13, 2020, the County of Kings met the requirements to move from tier 1 (purple) to tier 2 (red) on the State’s COVID tiered system. Schools within a county that are on tier 2 for fourteen days may open for in-person instruction. Based on the county status, Pioneer is planning for the reopening of its schools to in-person instruction. In doing so, the health and safety of students and staff is the top priority and the district has safety procedures in place that follow state and local health guidelines.
The Governing Board of Pioneer Union Elementary School District has determined the district will open in phases, bringing a few grade levels onto campus over a period of time. The dates set for the return of grade levels are below. *These dates are subject to change if there are safety concerns such as an increase in COVID cases and transmission either on a county-wide basis affecting the county status or within our school community.

Elementary Schools:
*November 2, 2020: TK - 1
*November 16, 2020: Grades 2 & 3
*November 30, 2020: Grades 4 & 5

Middle School
*November 16, 2020: Grade 6
Grade 6 will return using a hybrid model. Students will receive two days of in-person instruction and three days of distance learning each week. This is necessary to reduce the number of students in each class in order to follow state and local health guidelines.

*January 11, 2021: Grades 7 & 8
Seventh and eighth grade will return under a hybrid model in which they will receive in-person instruction two days per week and receive distance learning three days per week. Additionally, their schedule will be blocked so that they will be in one class for a longer period of time, approximately 70 minutes.
Because the district is providing both distance and in-person Instruction based on the Instructional program election parent’s made for their child, your child’s current teacher may change.
Instructional schedules are being finalized and will be communicated to you by your child’s school when they are completed. However, if your child is attending school in-person, school hours will be:

Elementary School:
7:45 - Campus opens
8:05 - First bell
1:15 - Grade K-2 dismissal (when 2nd-grade return)
1:55 - Grade 3-5 dismissal (when grades 3-5 return)
Dismissal times will be staggered to prevent congregating. More information will come from your child’s school.

Middle School:
7:45 - Campus opens
8:05 - First bell
2:25 - Dismissal
Dismissal times will be staggered to prevent congregating. More information will come from your child’s school.

Thank you for your patience and understanding, as we navigate these difficult times and reopen our facilities with the health and safety of our students and staff in mind.