The Garden Grove Unified School District is reopening their schools! Many Santa Ana children attend Garden Grove public schools on the west side of Santa Ana. Those families with kids in the SAUSD are out of luck as their schools will remain closed.

Here is the official announcement to parents:

We are happy to announce that all GGUSD schools will return to 5 full days of in-person instruction in the 2021-2022 school year.  A “normal” 5-day schedule is possible due to updated K-12 Schools Guidance announced by the California Department of Public Health on March 20th, which altered the 4-6 feet of distance from the previous guidance of February 22. Three feet of distance is now recommended but not required if other health and safety mitigation protocols are in effect, which they are in GGUSD. CDPH’s new guidance aligns to the CDC’s update which reflects the latest science on physical distance between students in classrooms.

Under this new guidance, schools are examining the possibility of expanding their current hybrid schedules to provide increased hours of in-person instruction for the remainder of this school year.  The expansion of in-person learning hours will be contingent upon the number of distance learning students as well as scheduling and staffing capacity at each school. Each school will be following up with more information in the weeks to come. For more information, please contact your school principal.

Families who prefer a distance learning option in the Fall can apply for our district’s Virtual Learning Academy. Information regarding open enrollment for the Virtual Learning Academy will be shared in the weeks ahead.

In-person education is safe and classrooms are the best place for students to learn. Positive cases of COVID-19 remain low and isolated at all schools. GGUSD is using stringent health and safety protocols (temperature taking, masks, physical distancing, desk shields, hand washing, and more) – all of which are effectively working to create a safe environment for students and staff. Additionally, staff have been given the opportunity to be vaccinated, doing their part to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in their work place and in their community. 

As we plan for the 2021-2022 school year, we will continue to follow guidance from the CDPH and OCHCA and modify our protocols based on the most current guidance.

We remain grateful to our students, families, and staff as we all work together to keep our schools safe.