By Philip Haldiman
Twitter: @PhilipHaldiman

If health data remains, Peoria Unified K-2 students will be welcomed back to school for full instruction Sept. 21, and all other grades could return Sept. 28, officials said Friday afternoon.

Currently the district for the first time is meeting the following benchmarks set by the Arizona Department of Health Services:

--There must be a two-week decline in the number of cases or two weeks with new case rates below 100 per 100,000;
--Two weeks with less than 7% positivity;
--Two weeks with hospital visits due to COVID-like illness below 10%.

If the public health benchmarks continue to be met for all three categories for two consecutive weeks with percent of positive COVID-19 cases remaining below 5%, then kindergarten through second-grade students will return to classroom instruction for a regular schedule, five days a week, beginning on Monday, Sept. 21.

All remaining students will have a target return date of Monday, Sep. 28 for classroom instruction five days a week, again, if the data continues to be positive.

Families who still wish to continue virtual instruction must notify the district by Sept 11.

PUSD spokeswoman Danielle Airey said the benchmarks have only been initially met and will be monitored during the next two weeks, per guidance from ADHS.

"We are hopeful they will remain flat or decrease further," she said. "Our K-2 students are considered vulnerable as the online format is not ideal for them to develop those basic foundational skills. We’re prioritizing these grade levels, allowing them to acclimate and then looking to bring back all other students one week later."

The issue of returning to school has been divisive for parents across the district, including complaints about the district's online learning platform Florida Virtual.

Leading up to the announcemnt of opening school, a rally was organized to support a full return to school, 4:25 p.m. Sept. 10, outside the Peoria Unified School District administrative offices, 6330 W. Thunderbird Road, Glendale.

The rally is still on, according to organizers and PUSD parents Hayley James-Hannigan, Mia Ellis, Julie Peters and Wendy Van Wie.

"We are still planning a rally, depending on how this next week goes because there are still a lot of 'ifs' and I was just told by a district source that they're still going to keep the kids in the online platform Florida Virtual, which is going to get a lot of pushback."

Philip Haldiman
News Editor | Peoria
@PhilipHaldiman

phaldiman@iniusa.org

Philip Haldiman is a third generation Arizona native with brief residencies on the east and west coasts. He has bachelor’s degrees in Theater and Journalism at Arizona State University, and is an award winning journalist with more than 15 years worth of experience in reporting and editing. Most recently, he took first place for investigative reporting and third place for best sustained coverage or series at the 2023 Arizona Newspapers Association awards. In his free time, he produces an autobiographical comic book about his time spent in Hollywood and his life as a cult film star.