Wine Country Times

California education superintendents said that the Napa Valley Unified School District should be held up as the model for reopening public school districts after the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In person classes restarted in Napa Valley's school district last fall.

“Communicating with your community about the fact that you’re opening the schools and it’s actually safe, and that you’re maintaining safety and health of students and staff is critical. So, we have full transparency from the first week that we opened,” Dr. Rosanna Mucetti, the Napa Valley Unified School District superintendent, told Tony Thurmond of KCBS Radio in one of his webinars about post coronavirus reopening. 

Mucetti also talked about how to create a more safe environment in Napa Valley schools for both students and faculty. 

"If the rules are clear and visible, and site administrators are holding their whole team accountable, students will follow suit," Mucetti said regarding safety in Napa Valley schools.

The superintendent continued by talking about the students reactions to being back in school after months of lockdowns and virtual learning.  

“We have to say overwhelmingly, from the five-year-old and four-year-old, to the 18-year-old seniors, the students who are coming in-person are so grateful to be back” Mucetti said. “They are respectful.”

Various efforts were taken to accommodate in person classes when they restarted. These included moving desks for social distancing, getting new ventilation systems and strict enforcement of regulations regarding mask wearing. 

In the Napa Valley School District, there have been more new coronavirus cases amongst virtual students than students in their schools in person, demonstrating the success of their efforts for a safe reopening. The Napa school district publicly posts new cases of the coronavirus that occur in their schools online. Forty percent of the 17,000 Napa Valley students are attending school in person this spring.