With the Palisades fire hovering around 11% containment on Sunday night, several students displaced due to evacuation orders, and at least four schools under evacuation warning, LVUSD made the decision to reopen schools after closing the district for most of last week. With containment at 19% and evacuation warnings and orders still in place, how does the district plan for any possible changes that might threaten or affect the schools?
During the past week, LVUSD has been in constant communication with local first responders, according to Superintendent Dan Stepenosky. Authorities were the one who advised LVUSD to close and were also the ones who gave the go to reopen. Along with approval from authorities, LVUSD schools regained power and Wi-Fi.
“Our first responders have made progress in the region surrounding our district and we’ve continued to consult with local agencies who are supportive of us resuming in-person instruction on Monday. Additionally, power has been restored to all of our campuses and communities as of this writing,” wrote Stepenosky in an email to parents Sunday.
Authorities are to continue to alert the district if any danger appears close to the schools.
“They assured us that if conditions changed, they’d alert us immediately and we’d have time to respond,” wrote Stepenosky in an email to the Courier.
In the event that any LVUSD school were to receive an immediate evacuation order LVUSD has prepared a plan that they have even rehearsed. Numerous school buses will show up at the school. These buses receive a police escort out of the area until they reach a safe location. For those who drive themselves, the police block off the streets, allowing students to evacuate without worry of traffic.
“Most recently, we evacuated A.C. Stelle and Bay Laurel. It involves numerous school buses, a police escort, and the police shutting down streets for the evacuation. For an immediate evacuation, we’d bring in buses and the sheriff,” wrote Stepenosky. “And when I say we rehearsed it, we did it during the school day, with all the students, all the staff, and moved everyone. It was unannounced. We just showed up with the buses and told the principal to evacuate.”
While most students have returned to school, many are still evacuated or have no power, making it difficult to consider keeping facilities closed while conducting school online
“Students without power or without the internet is one of the reasons that going virtual was not a great option,” wrote Stepenosky.
Due to the uncertainty of power at schools, teachers have had to adapt and plan for this possibility. Although departments at CHS don’t have official plans for what to do in cases of a power outage, many are ready for the change.
“The English department does not have an official plan or policy, but we are aware of the need to be flexible and ready to pivot at a moment’s notice. We want our students to know that we are here for them and we are with them as we navigate these unpredictable next few days,” said English Department Chair Christina Heredia. “Whether we have power and internet or we are back to good old-fashioned paper, pen, and book, we will make adjustments as necessary to make sure our students’ needs come first.”
One math teacher, Andrea Camacho, has urged her students to prepare ahead of time by printing assignments in case they were to lose power.
“My AP Calculus BC students were given these packets so they would have them in the event the school is closed and/or students cannot be at school due to evacuation circumstances. This evening I posted in Google Classroom a message to students with an assignment. In the event they lose power and/or we do not have school tomorrow, they can still be productive at home, provided they are safe and able,” said Camacho.
Through the duration of this week senior leadership team will be present on LVUSD campuses.
“To prepare for all scenarios in the days ahead, my senior leadership team will be deployed to campuses for additional support,” wrote Stepenosky in the parent email.
