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Kadima Receives Go-Ahead for In-Person Learning

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October 21, 2020
Kadima Day School

Kadima Day School in West Hills announced Oct. 21 that it is one of four schools in Los Angeles County to open in-person learning. The waiver the religious school received from Los Angeles County says they can open classes for Kindergarten, first and second grades.

“We just received the news last night and we are already busy preparing the detailed plan to have our 1st and 2nd grade students return to campus as soon as possible,” Dr. Steven Lorch, head of school said in an email sent out to families. “Thank you, as always, for your patience, flexibility and support.”

According the the DPH’s website, since Los Angeles County remains in Tier 1 (Widespread Community Transmission) on the state’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy, most schools must remain closed to in-person instruction with some exceptions. The waiver opportunity allows some schools to bring back some grades upon approval by Public Health. No more than 30 schools will be granted approvals each week.

Rabbi Jacob Pressman Academy of Temple Beth Ann has also been granted a waiver.

Kadima’s statement told parents they will be notified in the upcoming days to review COVID-19 protocol, prepare students for their return and answer any remaining questions.

Kadima’s statement told parents they will be notified in the upcoming days to review COVID-19 protocol, prepare students for their return and answer any remaining questions.

Many schools closed in-person learning opportunities in March because of the pandemic. A Sept. 11 L.A. County Department of Public Health notice said some k-12 schools in the country may be eligible to reopen in-person learning with 10% enrollment. All schools wishing to be enrolled but be in compliance with the L.A. County DPH K-12 School re-opening protocol checklist.

According to an additional submission form list updated Oct. 19, more than 50 schools in the area have also applied to reopen in person for specialized services including Abraham Joshua Heschel Day School, Adat Ari El Day School, Beth Hillel Day School, Brawerman Elementary School of Wilshire Boulevard Temple-West, de Toledo High School, Sinai Akiba Academy, and Wise School.

Mark Shpall, head of school at de Toledo, told the Journal Oct. 22 that they started to bring back students last week at 10% capacity for social and emotional work. They started with their ninth graders with outdoor team building since they had never seen the campus or met fellow peers in their grade. The school can only bring back 40 students at a time with 12 people capacity in each divided group.

“There were some people that were a little bit nervous at first but the kids were so happy to see each other,” Shpall said noting that teachers even saw an improvement during classes following in-person programs. “[The services] really did what we were hoping to do on a social and emotional level.”

UPDATE: This story was updated on Oct. 22 to include information about de Toledo High School and the specialized service form.

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