Reports of large parties over Halloween weekend have postponed the return to in person learning for both Mission Vista High School and Vista High school.
Vista Unified School District released a statement to parents where they said several hundred students from both high schools attended the parties, and were not practicing social distancing or wearing face coverings.
To prevent the further spread of COVID-19, the students of both high schools will not return to in person learning until Monday, Nov. 16. Mission Vista High was scheduled to return to in person learning this coming Monday, and Vista High on Nov. 12.
In the statement, district officials said, “If your child attended one of these gatherings or your child begins to experience any symptoms of COVID-19, we urge you to consider COVID-19 testing as soon as possible."
Patrick Emaus, a teacher and vice president of the Vista Teachers Association says he isn’t surprised about the students behavior at the party.
“Our kids are learning from us, we're putting them in classrooms one or two feet away from each other, what do we expect when we teach them that this is safe enough,” he said.
Since the return to in-person learning of Vista Unified Schools generally on October 20th, there have been 21 COVID-19 cases reported throughout Vista schools.
Teachers protested over the reopening saying that not enough safety measures have been set in place, and students would not be spaced six feet apart.
Superintendent Matt Doyle addressed concerns in a community statement.
“As a school district, we have created a pathway for students to return to campus for in-person learning. In order for us to continue to provide this option for parents and students, we all need to work together to ensure that all students that come onto campus are healthy, do not show symptoms, and do not participate in large group activities in the community.”
