OCDE Education in the News

Tuesday, April 13, 2021

OCDE NEWSROOM

Upcoming series of online gaming events seeks to build friendships, promote inclusivity

Orange County high schoolers are invited to build friendships while playing popular games online during a series of upcoming gaming nights. The North America Scholastic Esports Federation is piloting its new Community Game Nights initiative to promote inclusivity and bridge accessibility gaps. Working with OC STEM, OCDE, Special Olympics SoCal, UCI Esports and IVC Esports, the OC-based federation is encouraging students of all abilities to bond through shared experiences by playing and learning on the same teams in hourlong sessions.

https://newsroom.ocde.us/open-to-all-students-upcoming-series-of-gaming-nights-will-promote-friendships-inclusivity/

ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Anaheim elementary students are latest to return to campus

Anaheim’s Sunkist Elementary School welcomed students back to classrooms on Monday, April 12, for the first time in more than a year, as part of a district-wide shift to hybrid learning. Anaheim Elementary School District’s roughly 16,000 students have had online-only classes since last spring due to the pandemic. But Orange County’s COVID-19 metrics are improving and state restrictions are loosening, and district officials said a survey of families showed most wanted kids to return to campus.

https://www.ocregister.com/2021/04/12/anaheim-elementary-students-are-latest-to-return-to-campus/

LOS ANGELES TIMES

LAUSD’s slow reopening shows the influence of the teachers union but has critics

The Los Angeles school district is set to unfold a gradual and partial reopening plan on Tuesday, one that was heavily influenced by teachers union demands that led to a delayed start date and limited live instructional time — and also by strict safety imperatives shared by both the district and union.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-04-13/la-teachers-union-influences-reopenings-online-school

L.A. Unified proposes a 2-week school year extension for student learning loss, trauma

Los Angeles school officials will consider a plan to extend the next school year by adding one week at the start in August and another week in January after winter break to address learning loss and trauma suffered by students during the yearlong pandemic-forced school closures.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-04-12/lausd-wants-school-year-extension-covid-19-losses

DAILY NEWS LOS ANGELES

School’s in: Day finally arrives for LAUSD to reopen its first wave of campuses

More than a year after abruptly shuttering campuses, the Los Angeles Unified School District is embarking on a new chapter by reopening its first schools.

https://www.dailynews.com/2021/04/13/schools-in-day-finally-arrives-for-lausd-to-reopen-its-first-wave-of-campuses/

SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE

Thousands of San Diego kids go back to school, finally

Tens of thousands of San Diego-area students returned to classrooms Monday as their districts, some of the largest, were among the last in the county to open campuses for in-person instruction — to a mix of delight and nervousness among parents and educators.

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/education/story/2021-04-12/thousands-of-san-diego-kids-go-back-to-school-finally

USA TODAY

Rural schools have a teacher shortage. Why don’t people who live there, teach there?

For the past six years, Shari Daniels has tried to be the person she wishes she had in her life as a student. Daniels grew up on the Fort Peck Reservation, home to about 6,000 members of the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes, in northeast Montana. Now 48, she struggles to remember the name of even one of her teachers, and she has no memory of making a personal connection with any of them.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2021/04/13/covid-could-make-teacher-shortage-even-worse-hard-hit-rural-schools/7189706002/

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY SUN

Redlands Unified middle schools reopen after 13 months

Teachers used headsets, cameras and a monitor to teach both distance learning and in-person students at the same time.

https://www.sbsun.com/2021/04/12/redlands-unified-middle-schools-reopen-after-13-months/

EDSOURCE

Many English learners reluctant to return to in-person instruction at California schools

Students who are learning English as a second language have priority to return to in-person class at some school districts in California, but many are still staying home because their parents fear the risk of Covid-19 infection is too high. For English learners, live instruction and small groups can offer more opportunities to practice English, a critical part of learning the language.

https://edsource.org/2021/many-english-learners-reluctant-to-return-to-in-person-instruction-at-california-schools/652916

SAN GABRIEL VALLEY TRIBUNE

Pasadena Unified’s youngest head back to the classroom on Tuesday

Pasadena Unified will bring its youngest students back into the classroom on Tuesday, April 13, one week ahead of the rest of the district’s students who will return on April 20.

https://www.sgvtribune.com/2021/04/12/pasadena-unifieds-youngest-head-back-to-the-classroom-on-tuesday/

VENTURA COUNTY STAR

At long last, Ventura Unified's secondary students return to campus

On Monday, Ventura Unified School District's secondary students arrived on campus for the start of their hybrid learning program.

https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/2021/04/12/ventura-unified-secondary-students-start-hybrid-learning-since-covid-19/7145444002/

KPCC

Preparing To Go Back To Preschool In A Pandemic: 'Fun, But In A Different Way'

Among the Los Angeles Unified School District campuses reopening Tuesday are 11 of the district's 88 early education centers, attended by kids 2 to 4 years old. More than three-quarters of early education center families enrolled filled out the return to campus form, and 40% of those want their children to continue learning online, while 60% opted for in-person instruction, according to a Los Angeles Unified spokesperson.

https://laist.com/2021/04/12/preparing_to_go_back_to_preschool_in_a_pandemic_fun_but_in_a_different_way.php

KPBS

First Day Back At School A ‘Little Weird’ For Many San Diego Unified Students

For the first time in over a year, Kate Chasin left her house Monday morning and headed off to school. Chasin is a 17-year-old junior at Canyon Hills High, formerly known as Serra High School in Tierrasanta. She’s one of about 50,000 students in the San Diego Unified School District who returned to the classroom Monday for part-time, in-person learning.

https://www.kpbs.org/news/2021/apr/12/first-day-back-school-little-weird-many-san-diego-/

OTHER NEWS OUTLETS

Report: Learning loss data show 40,000 Los Angeles high school students off track to graduate

Forty thousand high school students in the Los Angeles Unified School District are at risk of not graduating — including 6,000 this year — according to a new analysis that tracks the effects of school closures on students in the nation’s second largest district.

http://laschoolreport.com/report-learning-loss-data-shows-40000-los-angeles-high-school-students-off-track-to-graduate/

Most Marin students return to full-time classroom learning

After months of switching back and forth between remote and hybrid instruction, about 85% of students in the county had resumed normal schedules on Monday, educators said.

https://www.marinij.com/2021/04/12/most-marin-students-return-to-full-time-classroom-learning/

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