Polytechnic Becomes 5th School OK’d by City Health Department to open for PreK-2nd Grade Students

Polytechnic School has become the fifth local school to have its waiver to reopen for pre-kindergarten through second-grade students approved by the city Health Department, and the first school to get permission in November.

Last month, city Health Director Dr. Ying-Ying Goh said that more than 40 schools were eligible for waivers.

“Your waiver application has been approved by both the Pasadena Public Health Department and the California Department of Public Health. This waiver allows in-person instruction for grades PreK-2nd at your institution, as applicable, in compliance with your application and reopening plan as submitted,” wrote city Health Department Deputy Director Manuel Carmona in the Nov. 2 notice.

Polytechnic School joins High Point Academy, Sequoyah School, Chandler School, and St. Philip the Apostle School in having waivers approved.

All the schools have been warned that they could be forced to close again in the event of a COVID-19 outbreak.

In Pasadena, school waiver application components have been posted for two months to allow schools to prepare for reopening. City Health Department officials have been visiting local schools to provide hands-on consulting.

Contract talks between the Pasadena Unified School District and the union representing its teachers, United Teachers of Pasadena, are ongoing. The district does not expect to fully open schools for in-person instruction this year.

“We expect to maintain an ongoing conversation with schools that have reopened under the waiver process so that we may continue to provide technical assistance and support,” Carmona wrote in his letter to Polytechnic School.

“As community conditions change and science evolves, we may require you to evolve your application and/or reopening plan and update your posted documents,” he wrote.