OCDE Education in the News

Thursday, April 1, 2021

OCDE NEWSROOM

Santa Ana student named winner of Imagination Celebration poster contest

A 10th-grader from Santa Ana High School will soon have her artwork displayed on posters aimed at promoting the importance of arts education in Orange County schools. Esmerelda Espejo, 15, was recently named the winner of Imagination Celebration’s poster contest for her design titled “A Thought Outside of the Universe.” In celebration of her winning artwork, Espejo received a $300 award, and a $200 award was given to her art teacher, Judith Westing. And what’s more, her design will be used as the official poster for the 2021 event aimed at celebrating the arts and promoting student achievement.

https://newsroom.ocde.us/santa-ana-student-named-winner-of-imagination-celebration-poster-contest/

ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

More Orange County students to head into classrooms full-time

Citing declining COVID-19 cases and increasing vaccine availability, more public school districts in Orange County are bringing elementary school students back to the classroom five days a week. Newport Mesa Unified, Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified and Ocean View school districts announced recently they will return kids to a more traditional school day, reminiscent of pre-pandemic days, save for Plexiglas partitions and a host of other safety implementations. All three districts are transitioning from a hybrid schooling model, which mixed some in-person classroom time with virtual learning at home.

https://www.ocregister.com/2021/03/31/more-orange-county-students-to-head-into-classrooms-full-time/

DAILY NEWS LOS ANGELES

LAUSD, UTLA sued by parents unhappy with school reopening efforts

A group of parents frustrated by efforts made to date to reopen classrooms in the nation’s second-largest K-12 system is suing the Los Angeles Unified School District and local teachers union.

https://www.dailynews.com/2021/03/31/lausd-utla-sued-by-parents-unhappy-with-school-reopening-efforts/

SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS

Fremont schools to remain in distance learning through end of school year

Fremont Unified School District, one of the largest in the East Bay serving roughly 35,000 students, will remain in distance learning for the rest of the current school year, according to Superintendent CJ Cammack.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/03/31/fremont-schools-to-remain-in-distance-learning-through-end-of-school-year/

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY SUN

Redlands Unified revisits in-person learning for middle and high school students

The Board of Education is scheduled to meet April 1 to review a new proposal that increases face-to-face interaction between teachers and students.

https://www.sbsun.com/2021/03/31/redlands-unified-revisits-in-person-learning-for-middle-and-high-school-students/

EDSOURCE

Some districts looking to cut back PE as campuses reopen

As many students begin returning to campus after a year of being mostly stuck indoors during school hours staring at screens, some districts in California are cutting the programs that advocates say students need more than ever: physical education. Faced with declining enrollment, several school districts are trying to save money by laying off or reassigning PE teachers.

https://edsource.org/2021/some-districts-looking-to-cut-back-p-e-as-campuses-reopen/652309

While staying mostly in distance learning mode, West Contra Costa Unified to offer limited in-person options

Underscoring the patchwork of reopening plans emerging even among adjoining districts, West Contra Costa Unified students will be able to return to the classroom April 19 under a plan approved Friday by the district’s school board following weeks of intense labor negotiations with its five employee unions.

https://edsource.org/2021/while-staying-mostly-in-distance-learning-mode-west-contra-costa-unified-to-offer-limited-in-person-options/652290

OTHER NEWS OUTLETS

Why some high school students aren’t ready to go back to school, despite the isolation

High school students have trudged through a year of isolation as their school lives morphed before their eyes. Theirs is a year of lost milestone experiences — missed proms, sports games and friendship bonds. Studies have pointed to increasing mental health problems. And yet it is high school students, more than any others, who are opting to finish the year online.

https://news.yahoo.com/why-high-school-students-arent-120008842.html

Many rural remote learners are receiving little to no live teaching, federal survey reveals

More students than previously understood may be attending school virtually, survey data released in March by the U.S. Department of Education reveal. And many students — particularly remote learners from rural schools — are getting little to no live instructional time with teachers. While the survey finds that over three-quarters of elementary and middle schoolers attend schools that offer at least some classroom learning, a smaller share of students have actually opted into in-person classes.

http://laschoolreport.com/many-rural-remote-learners-are-receiving-little-to-no-live-teaching-federal-survey-reveals/

Esports Club Returns to Campus to Assemble Prizes

It's ironic: A virtual activity brought people physically closer together. Several brand-new computers were just delivered and taken out of the box at Glendale High School. Students were brought to campus to assemble them. This prize, along with the in-person assembly assistance, comes from the High School Esports League, or HSEL, the largest and longest-running competitive gaming organization for high school students in the country. Glendale High was chosen from thousands of hopeful applicants because the equipment required to compete in esports is expensive.

https://spectrumnews1.com/ca/orange-county/education/2021/03/31/esports-club-returns-to-campus-to-assemble-prizes

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