OCDE Education in the News

Tuesday, March 30, 2021

OCDE NEWSROOM

University, Woodbridge high schools finish in the top 10 at the California Academic Decathlon

Two high schools from Irvine posted top-10 scores over the weekend at the 2021 California Academic Decathlon. On the heels of winning its first Orange County Academic Decathlon in February, University High School earned seventh place overall at the state-level contest, while Woodbridge High finished one spot away in eighth place. Both campuses are in the Irvine Unified School District.

https://newsroom.ocde.us/university-woodbridge-high-schools-finish-in-the-top-10-at-the-california-academic-decathlon/

DAILY NEWS LOS ANGELES

LAUSD works to persuade parents it’s safe on campus

With fewer than two in five elementary students and less than a quarter of middle and high schoolers returning to in-person learning if campuses were to reopen today, Los Angeles Unified School District officials are pushing hard to convince families it’s safe to send their children back.

https://www.dailynews.com/2021/03/29/lausd-works-to-persuade-parents-its-safe-on-campus-less-than-half-sending-kids-back-survey-says/

SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

Oakland schools reopen Tuesday for younger students: 'a long time coming'

The first Oakland elementary schools are opening their doors Tuesday after a year of distance learning that left many students struggling academically and emotionally and many parents frantically balancing work and child care. “This is a long time coming,” said Salem Brown, a kindergarten parent. Her son will attend his first day of school at Thornhill Elementary in the Montclair neighborhood on Tuesday.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/local/article/Oakland-schools-reopen-Tuesday-for-younger-16062586.php

NEW YORK TIMES

A majority of school districts are now open. But not everyone wants to return.

Elementary students returned to classrooms in Long Beach, Calif, on Monday and campuses from Los Angeles to Boston prepared for significant expansions of in-person instruction as a majority of the nation’s districts have now begun to reopen school buildings.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/29/us/long-beach-schools-reopen-covid.html

PRESS-TELEGRAM LONG BEACH

Long Beach elementary school students return to campus

Teachers, parents and thousands of children descended upon the district’s 46 elementary campuses across the city early Monday in the first major step toward resuming all in-person instruction.

https://www.presstelegram.com/2021/03/29/long-beach-elementary-school-students-return-to-campus/

EDSOURCE

Teachers on Covid: lessons learned and advice to pass along

California teachers have had time in distance learning — more than they ever imagined — to crystallize their thoughts about teaching during Covid: How did the pandemic affect students and relationships with students and families? How did it affect their outlook on teaching? How might schools be structured differently based on what you learned from distance learning?

https://edsource.org/2021/teachers-on-covid-lessons-learned-and-advice-to-pass-along/652202

SAN GABRIEL VALLEY TRIBUNE

Southern California suicides down during coronavirus pandemic — but not among young people

In three of four Los Angeles-area counties, suicides among minors rose in 2020, causing concern about isolation during distance learning.

https://www.sgvtribune.com/2021/03/30/southern-california-suicides-down-during-coronavirus-pandemic-but-not-among-young-people/

KQED

Berkeley's youngest students return to classrooms

On Monday, nearly all Berkeley public elementary schools resumed in-person classes, opening their doors to children in pre-K through second grade — one of the first districts in the region to do so.

https://www.kqed.org/news/11866954/the-day-has-finally-arrived-berkeleys-youngest-students-return-to-classrooms-for-first-time-in-a-very-long-year

LAGUNA BEACH INDEPENDENT

Laguna Beach USD consultant shares roadmap to confront institutional racism

The Laguna Beach Unified School District, in partnership with a consulting firm, has taken the first steps to analyze and highlight areas of improvement following the school board’s commitment to addressing institutional racism. Education Elements, a company based in San Carlos, Calif, was contracted to advise board members and administrators. The group has worked with more than 1,000 schools and districts over the past decade on various issues.

https://www.lagunabeachindy.com/laguna-beach-usd-consultant-shares-roadmap-to-confront-institutional-racism/

NPR

As Bad Information Spreads, Florida Schools Seek To Teach 'Digital Literacy'

At Countryside High School in Clearwater, Fla., 16-year-old Sage Waite is already taking a class in cybersecurity, and she'd welcome one that's in the works on cyber disinformation. "For the longest time, I didn't actually know what disinformation was," said Waite, who's in the 11th grade. "There was always the idea that things could be wrong in what you're hearing and what you're being told. But the idea of misinformation and disinformation wasn't in my day-to-day.” This past year, she says, has been an eye-opener. Particularly the COVID-19 pandemic.

https://www.npr.org/2021/03/30/980405254/as-bad-information-spreads-florida-schools-seek-to-teach-digital-literacy

OTHER NEWS OUTLETS

LAUSD Announces Staggered School Reopening Schedule for April

Los Angeles Unified is moving ahead with plans to reopen 61 elementary schools and 11 early education centers the week of April 12, requiring weekly COVID-19 testing for students and staff and enforcing rigorous safety standards, the superintendent announced Monday. "To put this in perspective, these 72 schools we are opening the week of April 12 would be, by themselves, the eighth-largest school district in the state," Superintendent Austin Beutner said in his weekly address.

https://spectrumnews1.com/ca/orange-county/education/2021/03/29/lausd-announces-staggered-school-reopening-schedule

Granada Hills Charter High School Advances To US Academic Decathlon

Granada Hills Charter High School will vie for its eighth national Academic Decathlon championship next week, after emerging victorious in the California statewide competition. Granada Hills won the California decathlon by scoring 54,021.1 out of a possible 60,000 points. That was good enough to edge out its long-time rival, El Camino Real Charter High School in Woodland Hills, which placed second with 53,665.5 points.

https://mynewsla.com/education/2021/03/29/granada-hills-charter-high-school-advances-to-us-academic-decathlon/

San Francisco tumult over reopening schools roils city

The pandemic has brought grinding frustrations for parents, educators and students across the country. But perhaps no place has matched San Francisco in its level of infighting, public outrage and halting efforts to reopen schools.

https://www.marinij.com/2021/03/29/in-san-francisco-turmoil-over-reopening-schools-turns-a-city-against-itself-3/

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