CHILDREN in elementary schools in Garden Grove could be returning to campus later this month or early in March (Shutterstock).

If current positive trends on the coronavirus pandemic in Orange County continue, elementary schools in the Garden Grove Unified School District could be re-opening in late February or early March.

That’s the word from Abby Broyles, public information officer for the GGUSD.

“This week’s COVID-19 rates show great improvement,” according to Broyles. The criteria for reopening are based on the metric of 25 or less new cases per 100,000 residents in a zip code.

None are in place today, but “if rates continue to decline, we anticipate we’ll hit the metric soon.” Countywide the rate is at 29.7.

Area school systems are also considering returning to a hybrid system of in-person and “distance” learning. The Huntington Beach Union High School District has announced it would re-open on Feb. 2 and the Westminster School District Board of Education will meet on Thursday to consider approval of re-opening on Tuesday, Feb. 16.

The GGUSD is a K-12 system serving most of Garden Grove and portions of Anaheim, Cypress, Fountain Valley, Santa Ana, Stanton and Westminster.