News Update

Marin County to open one classroom for special education students this week

The Marin County Office of Education will open up one classroom at a middle school in Novato to serve a dozen students starting Monday in what could be a pilot for the restart of school in the fall.

All 12 will be special education students who have had difficulty adjusting to distance learning, county Superintendent Mary Jane Burke told TV station CBSN Bay Area, which reported the story.

Because of safety precautions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, school districts are considering a range of options for the fall, including scheduling students on alternate days or offering only distance learning. Burke said a year-round school to make up learning loss is another option. The experience of the class at San Jose Middle school will inform that decision.

Special education teacher Cindy Evans, who volunteered to lead the class, told the CBSN, “I had a phone call with one of the parents and she said to me I feel like a failure, and she was teary eyed, and at that point I said, I really, really need to help.”