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OCDE NEWSROOM
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California state superintendent outlines priorities to address pandemic’s impact on students |
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State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond last week outlined priorities and investments needed to address the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on students. During a virtual media briefing, Thurmond laid out critical next steps and discussed the many ways the California Department of Education is working with top officials and school district leaders across the state to support student success.
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https://newsroom.ocde.us/california-state-superintendent-outlines-priorities-to-address-pandemics-impact-on-students/ |
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ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
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More OC schools temporarily shifting to distance learning amid rise in COVID-19 cases |
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The ledger of Orange County schools returning exclusively to online learning in response to recent spikes in coronavirus cases is expanding, though many school districts are still offering varying levels of in-person instruction. “I think we’re close to a 50-50 split now,” Grant Schuster, president of the Anaheim Secondary Teachers Association, said of what he is seeing countywide in terms of having students on campuses.
Newport-Mesa Unified School District leaders on Thursday became the latest to pivot, saying students in middle school and high school will shift back to online-only learning through Jan. 22. Since early November the older students have been rotating between some online and some in-person learning.
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https://www.ocregister.com/2020/12/19/more-oc-schools-temporarily-shifting-to-distance-learning-amid-rise-in-covid-19-cases/ |
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LOS ANGELES TIMES
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L.A. Unified will not reopen campuses when the spring semester starts Jan. 11 |
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The Los Angeles school district will not reopen campuses when the spring semester starts Jan. 11, and in a Monday statement Supt. Austin Beutner provided no timetable for bringing students back to campuses amid the dangerous coronavirus surge and “alarming” data from the district’s own testing program. “It will not be possible for us to reopen school campuses by the time next semester starts on Jan. 11,” Beutner said in a Monday pre-recorded briefing. “We’ll remain in online-only mode until community health conditions improve significantly.”
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https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-12-21/covid-19-surge-keep-lausd-closed-january |
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San Francisco public schools won’t reopen for in-person learning in January |
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San Francisco public schools won’t reopen for in-person learning in January because of a breakdown in negotiations between the school district and teachers unions over coronavirus safety, the San Francisco Unified School District said. “The district cannot meet all of the new requirements SFUSD’s labor unions have proposed, and there is not sufficient time to complete bargaining in order to reopen any school sites on Jan. 25,” the district said in an online statement.
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https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-12-20/san-francisco-public-schools-wont-reopen-in-january |
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SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE
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Staffing shortages are driving school closures |
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One by one, however, districts that reopened have shut down campuses again, as positive COVID-19 cases have emerged. The problem isn’t that the virus is spreading widely on campus, but that scattered positive cases set off chain reactions that make it difficult or impossible to keep schools running in-person. If a student, staff member or teacher turns up positive, school officials trace and notify close contacts, and place those people in isolation as well. When teachers or other employees are sent home, schools must find replacements to fulfill their duties.
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https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/education/story/2020-12-19/staffing-shortages-are-driving-school-closures |
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EDSOURCE
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Fauci puts priority on getting teachers vaccinated and a return to in-person classes |
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When Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, takes on his new role as President-elect Biden’s chief medical adviser, one of his top priorities will be reopening schools safely and getting teachers vaccinated for the coronavirus. In a wide-ranging interview with California State University Chancellor Tim White Friday, Fauci expressed optimism for getting most of the United States’ population vaccinated and reopening schools and college campuses to in-person instruction.
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https://edsource.org/2020/fauci-puts-priority-on-getting-teachers-vaccinated-and-a-return-to-in-person-classes/645499 |
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California teachers' unions affirm opposition to opening schools without more safety precautions |
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As the pandemic continues to spread in a seemingly uncontrolled fashion, California’s leading teachers’ unions have affirmed their opposition to school openings without significantly more safety precautions, further complicating hopes for bringing more students back to school for in-person instruction. Currently, almost all students attend schools in counties in the state’s Tier One “purple” list. That means schools are prohibited from providing in-person instruction unless they were already doing so before the county went on the purple list, are providing instruction to small groups of students with special needs, or through special waivers for K-6 students.
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https://edsource.org/2020/california-teachers-unions-affirm-opposition-to-opening-schools-without-more-safety-precautions/645460 |
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DAILY BREEZE
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LAUSD teachers to provide more synchronous instruction, office hours next semester |
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In hopes of engaging more with Los Angeles Unified students and families during distance learning, teachers will provide an additional 20 to 30 minutes of synchronous instruction for grades 1 through 12 on Mondays and hold an extra 30 minutes of office hours Tuesday through Friday of each week starting next semester. The plan is part of a deal the district struck with the teachers union, which extends the distance learning agreement that the parties had reached last summer through June 30, or whenever students can physically return to school. The agreement was set to expire the end of this month.
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https://www.dailybreeze.com/2020/12/18/lausd-teachers-to-provide-more-synchronous-instruction-office-hours-next-semester/ |
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KQED
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SF's In-Person 'Learning Hubs' Had Zero COVID-19 Outbreaks. What Does This Mean for Reopening Public Schools? |
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At 826 Valencia, a community center for kids in San Francisco’s Mission District, music instructor Beth Wilmurt watched on as some of her young students practice a clapping game she taught them. "High five each other!" she said after they successfully complete several rounds. 826 Valencia is one of 78 locations around the city where children who are at highest risk of falling behind, including homeless and foster care students, have gathered to study, socialize and participate in after-school programs — like the one Wilmurt leads two days a week. Her class has nine children in it, ranging from kindergarteners to fifth grade.
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https://www.kqed.org/news/11851837/sfs-in-person-learning-hubs-had-zero-covid-19-outbreaks-what-does-this-mean-for-reopening-public-schools |
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KPBS
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Vaccinated Teachers Won’t Mean Automatic School Reopenings In San Diego County |
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Many teachers are hoping to receive the COVD-19 vaccine as soon as possible to start undoing the damage the pandemic has done to students. But vaccinated teachers won’t necessarily mean mass school reopenings.
Even with a vaccine the task of school reopenings remains complicated.
“We want schools to continue to reopen in a way that slows the spread,” said Kisha Borden, president of the teachers union at San Diego Unified School District.
“We would ask again, as we’ve been asking for a long time, that families continue to wear their masks and help the community spread slow down,” she said.
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https://www.kpbs.org/news/2020/dec/18/vaccinated-teachers-wont-mean-automatic-school-reo/ |
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CALmatters
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School reopening battle intensifies as unions and Democrats face off |
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School reopenings will likely take center stage in 2021 as one of California’s biggest political battles. It’s a battle all the more noteworthy because it pits two groups that are often allies — unions and Democratic lawmakers — against each other. This week, the state’s two largest teachers unions — the California Teachers Association and the California Federation of Teachers — publicly opposed a bill introduced by eight Democratic lawmakers that could force schools to reopen in March. The unions’ decision to come out against the bill in December, several weeks before legislators return to Sacramento, was unusual — and an indication of their intent to halt it in its tracks.
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https://calmatters.org/newsletters/whatmatters/2020/12/school-reopening-battle-intensifies/ |
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