OCDE Education in the News

Tuesday, March 31, 2020

OCDE NEWSROOM

COVID-19 update: State and national social distancing orders remain in effect

OCDE continues to track the latest developments related to the COVID-19 respiratory illness while working closely with partner agencies including the Orange County Health Care Agency and local school districts.

https://newsroom.ocde.us/coronavirus-update/

ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Coronavirus: Parents missing work to care for out-of-school kids could get help under new bill

With schools across California closed to slow the spread of the coronavirus, State Sen. Ling Ling Chang on Monday announced a bill intended to help parents who miss work to care for kids recoup a portion of their lost wages. “There are so many people who have followed the rules; they pay taxes, they save money, they scrape by so their kids can go to college. And now this crisis has taken all of that away,” said Chang.

https://www.ocregister.com/2020/03/30/coronavirus-parents-missing-work-to-care-for-out-of-school-kids-could-get-help-under-new-bill/

DAILY NEWS LOS ANGELES

March 30 message from LAUSD Superintendent Beutner regarding closed schools amid coronavirus outbreak

At Los Angeles Unified School District, amid the coronavirus-forced closure of our campuses, our focus remains on helping students continue to learn, connecting with students and families most in need and making sure employees are safe and have what they need to educate students under these circumstances. Here’s our update on March 30:

https://www.dailynews.com/2020/03/30/march-30-message-from-lausd-superintendent-beutner-regarding-closed-schools-amid-coronavirus-outbreak/

SACRAMENTO BEE

Sacramento students getting technology as distance learning launch nears for thousands

School districts in the Sacramento area are ramping up the distribution of essential technology to households as formal “distance learning” programs are close to launching for tens of thousands of students. Students and parents lined up at Mira Loma High and El Camino Fundamental high schools on Monday for laptop computers. Natomas Unified announced it will be distributing nearly 7,000 Chromebook laptops and about 2,000 WiFi Hotspots to families.

https://www.sacbee.com/news/coronavirus/article241619351.html

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY SUN

Redlands teachers parade for students sidelined by coronavirus

Staff from Kingsbury Elementary School in Redlands paraded past their students’ homes on what would have been their first day back from spring break, if the novel coronavirus outbreak hadn’t changed plans. Teachers and other staff decorated 20 vehicles Monday, March 30, and waved signs that read “We love you, bears” and “we’ll see you soon, bears” as they drove by. The Bears are the school’s mascot.

https://www.sbsun.com/2020/03/30/redlands-teachers-parade-for-students-sidelined-by-coronavirus/

FRESNO BEE

Fresno Unified will keep school lunch program going over spring break next week

Fresno Unified reversed course Monday, saying the grab-and-go school lunch program will continue serving meals over the district’s spring break, which begins April 6. Superintendent Bob Nelson made the announcement via social media and a news release.

https://www.fresnobee.com/news/coronavirus/article241626196.html

EDSOURCE

Thousands of Los Angeles high school students are not accessing online learning during school closures

About 15,000 high school students in Los Angeles Unified did not participate in any online learning during the first two weeks of school closures, district Superintendent Austin Beutner said Monday. In addition, for the remaining 105,000 high school students who have participated in online classes, about 26,000 of them are not doing so on a daily basis.

https://edsource.org/2020/thousands-of-los-angeles-high-school-students-are-not-accessing-online-learning-during-school-closures/627448

California districts move to extend school closures to beginning of May — at least

Even before President Trump announced Sunday that he would extend federal guidelines to “shelter in place” to April 30, most of California’s largest school districts had already announced that they would be closed for at least another month.

https://edsource.org/2020/california-school-districts-move-to-closing-schools-to-end-of-april-at-least/627404

KPCC

Community College Leaders Worry COVID-19 Crisis Will Push Students To Drop Out

The effort to move community classes online has been a large feat. Some of these campuses educate as many students as the larger four-year campuses and with 115 colleges, the state's community college network is the largest higher education system in the country. "Our main focus has been helping to support students through this crisis," said system Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley.

https://laist.com/2020/03/30/community_college_coronavirus_crisis_students_teaching_remote_learning_drop_out.php?_ga=2.156939769.317703984.1585583318

NPR

Essential' Child Care Workers Struggle To Balance Family Needs, Safety

Some states are urging childcare centers to stay open to keep essential workers on the job. In California, the decision is up to each individual provider, who must balance the needs of families with the health and safety of workers and children. But providers say they're not trained to keep everyone safe, and there's no social distancing toddlers.

https://www.npr.org/2020/03/31/824385002/essential-child-care-workers-struggle-to-balance-family-needs-safety

CALmatters

Coronavirus stretches California’s special education system to the brink

Children, parents, and educators are struggling to adapt to a remote teaching necessity at odds with how special education is delivered.

https://calmatters.org/education/k-12-education/2020/03/coronavirus-stretches-californias-special-education-system-to-the-brink/

Tune in Wednesday: How to Homeschool Our Kids

CalMatters K-12 reporter Ricardo Cano will hold a virtual conversation with Linda Darling-Hammond, the president of California’s State Board of Education, and Cindy Marten, the superintendent San Diego Unified School District, about what the state is doing to prepare parents, students and educators for homeschooling and distance learning during this unprecedented chapter in California’s history.

https://calmatters.org/blogs/events/2020/03/getting-through-coronavirus-explained-how-to-homeschool-our-kids/

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