Lafayette is famous for having an excellent public school system. The Lafayette School District, which teaches children from kindergarten through the 8th grade, includes approximately 3,200 students in four elementary schools. The District offers a full range of services based on the needs of students, yet the basic training day centers around the core subjects: reading, language arts, mathematics and science.
There's a strong music and arts program in all of our schools. Students continue to score among the highest of all students in California. Most of them will be college-bound after attending either Acalanes or Campolindo High Schools.
On December 30, 2020, Governor of Lafayette School District announced a $2 billion "Safe Schools for All" plan (the "Plan") to encourage more California schools to re-open for in-person instruction in 2021.
Here are some highlights of the Plan:
- The Plan provides an incentive for in-person instruction for TK-2nd grade students to begin on February 15, and for 3rd to 6th grade students (if 6th grade is part of elementary school) on March 15.
- Districts are eligible to participate in the Plan, and the participating districts will receive a basic grant of $450 per student. This money will come from the extra state funding of Proposition 98 as a result of unexpected revenue in the current fiscal year.
- Districts in counties with fewer than 28 positive COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people may implement the Plan even though the county is still on the Purple Tier. If the infection rate is higher than that, the timeline for the district will be pushed back.
- Districts must submit a COVID-19 safety plan to their County Education Office by 1 February in order to participate. According to the proposal, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) will issue guidance on what should be included in the COVID-19 safety plan, but has not yet done so.
- Participating schools are required to provide surveillance testing for COVID-19 for both staff and students on a regular basis, with more frequent testing required when a community has a higher incidence rate of COVID-19.
- There will be a state dashboard that will allow families to see their school's reopening status, the level of funding available, and data on in-school transmission.
- The proposed Safe Schools for All Plan has two components: the first is a grant program that requires legislative approval, and the second is the updated CDPH guidance that is expected to be released next week. That guidance should explicitly address the pathways for all school districts in California to reopen, and will replace the previous waiver process, becoming the pathway for reopening schools in California.
