After a meeting with William S. Hart Union High School District officials Wednesday, an update was provided on a plan to return to partial in-person learning set to begin March 29.

Hart District officials provided an update on students in grades 7 through 12 returning to their classrooms later this month during a District Governing Board meeting Wednesday. The “Blended Learning” campaign is set to begin March 29 and incorporate both in-person and virtual learning.

“Adjusted case rates for COVID-19 are moving in the right direction. They fell from 5.2% to 4.1% out of 100 thousand people this past Tuesday,” said Superintendent Mike Kuhlman. “Athletics are in full swing, and we are on track to launch the Blended Learning reopening plan on both March 29 and April 1.”

Blended learning allows students two in-person days on campus with the rest of the week continuing remotely. Out of the two days, it is set to be split into two separate groups by last name, both with different starting dates and weekly schedules.

Families still have the option to choose exclusively online schooling if preferred, Hart district officials say.

School sites in the Santa Clarita Valley are currently hosting tours for new students seeing campuses for the first time this school year, both at the 7th and 9th grade levels.

Administrators, custodians, and campus supervisors with the Hart district are administering COVID-19 safety precautions on campus, officials say. Informative signs, as well as numerous sanitizing stations, are set to be ready for students upon their return.

“I want to encourage both staff and families to take the pressure off. We have absolute confidence in our teachers and students to take this success and grow and learn from mistakes along the way,” Kuhlman said. “I’m very encouraged at where we are at when in-person learning begins on the 29th.”

Jim Klipfel, who in a previous story here was the first educator in the Hart district to be vaccinated, has been testing a trial run for the concurrent classroom situation involving educating both in-person and virtual students.

Kathy Hunter, Assistant Superintendent of the Hart district, was able to sit in during one of Klipfel’s trial teachings, calling it a “wonderful experience.”

Hunter stated Wednesday that “if students would come back for even one day, they’ll find out that returning to school is just a wonderful experience that they’ve missed so much.”

Wellness centers are set to re-open at Hart district schools to give as much support as needed whenever students return to campus. Wellness resources are reportedly plentiful for both students and teachers and are set to provide grief support and mental wellness help for everyone in the Hart district.

For more information on the upcoming “Blended Learning” campaign, visit their webpage here.

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