After re-evaluating the continued potential spread of the novel coronavirus, Del Norte Unified School District officials decided schools will continue to remain closed.While Superintendent Jeff Harris recommended the school board revisit the situation at its April 9 meeting, he told the trustees graduation plans are still in the works.“At the all-principal meeting, a couple of things I’ve been telling everyone is to plan everything after April 20 as if we’re moving forward,” Harris said. “I don’t want to not plan for it and not have it because we didn’t plan for it. I want to plan as if we’re going to do it if we’re able to. I don’t want to miss an opportunity for lack of planning.”#placement_573654_0_i{width:100%;max-width:550px;margin:0 auto;}var rnd = window.rnd || Math.floor(Math.random()*10e6);var pid573654 = window.pid573654 || rnd;var plc573654 = window.plc573654 || 0;var abkw = window.abkw || '';var absrc = 'https://ads.empowerlocal.co/adserve/;ID=181918;size=0x0;setID=573654;type=js;sw='+screen.width+';sh='+screen.height+';spr='+window.devicePixelRatio+';kw='+abkw+';pid='+pid573654+';place='+(plc573654++)+';rnd='+rnd+';click=CLICK_MACRO_PLACEHOLDER';var _absrc = absrc.split("type=js"); absrc = _absrc[0] + 'type=js;referrer=' + encodeURIComponent(document.location.href) + _absrc[1];document.write('');In the meantime, Harris said they are looking at canceling a physical ceremony and looking at virtual graduation options or a blended in-person and virtual graduation.Student board member representative Elizabeth Ward asked how the grading period that ends May 1 would be handled during the closure.Harris said after conversations with other county superintendents and State Superintendent of Schools Tony Thurmond, the bottom line is the state hasn’t determined how grading would be handled for the interrupted semester.“The Legislature hasn’t decided what it wants to do yet. But what we’re thinking of, for instance, if you were enrolled in civics class, then just being enrolled in civics class when we went out on March 13 would act for the state as if you have completed civics class,” he said.Harris added that because things are changing rapidly, he didn’t know what would happen but promised to keep high school seniors in the loop.Harris explained it wouldn’t be prudent to reopen schools now as the state expects a surge in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in April and May. He added school districts in the Bay Area and Southern California, areas hardest hit by the coronavirus, have committed to remaining closed through the first full week of May.Starting this week, Harris said there is a “soft closure” of the district administration office, located at 301 W. Washington Blvd. The doors will be closed to the general public Mondays and Fridays and open the rest of the week from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. To limit traffic to the building, there will be a table in the main office where parents can still pick up such things as applications for childcare, work and school registration packets. Harris said this follows the lead of the city and county offices which have closed offices and the only access for the public is to call in advance or meet at the door with physical items.To keep the lines of communication open during the social distancing guidelines, Ryan Bahten, DNUSD’s Director of Information Network Services, said the district can host up to 100 meetings via the Zoom video conferencing program simultaneously. She said this includes staff meetings, teacher interactions with students and the school board meeting itself.Harris also said the school district is working to set up childcare for residents who are first-responders, healthcare workers or other employees considered essential during the pandemic.“At this point, there are between 180 and 200 students who may need some sort of childcare because we’re a government-heavy community,” he said. “Our families work as first-responders. They’re healthcare workers, essential workers and that includes our staff.”Harris said they are going to operate these childcare services at Mary Peacock and Pine Grove elementary schools, due to their proximity to local healthcare facilities. They will be limited to no more than 10 students per room to comply with social distancing guidelines, he said. Two employees will also be in the room with the students.“We have some of the best people in the state of California who do after school programs,” Harris said. “We also have substitute teachers out there who cannot work in Oregon and cannot work in California and they’re not getting paid like our employees are.”To keep up to date on the latest news from the school district, go to www.dnusd.org/covid19. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('ad-1515727'); });