Pacific Oaks Children’s School Plans to Reopen to Young Students in Early September

A preschool operated by Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena is planning to welcome students back in early September, while the college will continue on a course of online and distance education, representatives said.

“The Pacific Oaks Children’s School has received clearance from the L.A. County Department of Public Health for its plan to resume operating Sept. 8, Pacific Oaks College and Children’s School President,’’ Jack Paduntin said.

Many families depend on the 75-year-old nonprofit school, where teachers in training get experience, he said.

“We need to support the families,” Paduntin said. “And at the same time to honor the children themselves, because they need to learn and they need to progress in their education. It’s a play-based, anti-bias curriculum.”

Pacific Oaks College Director of Early Childhood Education Judy Kraus said it was important for the young students to get back to school “so that they can learn from each other, because they do learn through hands-on interaction and they do learn through play.”

The plan allows for the children’s school to operate with up to 80 students, Paduntin said. But some parents remain leery of sending their kids back to school amid the pandemic.

“Based on the information we have received from parents, we might not reach that” number of 80, he said. “The most important thing for us is safety and health: Well-being of the children, and also the teachers as well.”

A group of Pacific Oaks staff has been assembled to help guide the reopening process, Kraus said.

“We created a team where we followed everything that’s happening with the CDC, the Department of Public Health, (and) Cal/OSHA to make sure that we are following all of the guidelines and regulations to keep children safe,” she said.

An advisory board on reopening has also been established, Klaus said.

The recent months have been hard on Pacific Oaks, Paduntin said.

“It was heartbreaking to actually close the school over the summer period and have to furlough the staff,” he said. As a nonprofit, he added, “We’re not eligible to receive the PPP grant like some other smaller schools.”

But the support from the community and the college staff has been immense and appreciated, Paduntin said.

The college is scheduled to begin its semester with online and distance education on Aug. 31.