The Conejo Valley Unified School District, the largest in the county, on Monday is welcoming back more than 3,600 high schoolers at Westlake, Thousand Oaks and Newbury Park high schools.
For now, the return to the classroom will be on a hybrid basis, with some attending class in the morning and others in the afternoon. Students will only be on campus two days out of the week over the next two weeks.
By week three, they'll be in classrooms four days a week through the end of the school year.
The school district has a pretty solid model to follow. Lower grades have been on campus for in-person learning since November.
Jason Branham, the principal of Westlake High School, says it's been a long year and is glad they've finally gotten to this point.
"(It's) been a long time coming... our high school kids have been really waiting for it. (I'm) especially happy for our seniors who haven't had an opportunity to be here and our freshman, who have never stepped foot on our campus," he said.
Students who don't want to do in-person instruction have the option of continuing with their remote learning. Those who do return will be required to undergo health screenings and temperature checks before entering campus.
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