Name: Cajon Valley school district's COVID-19 reopening strategy spotlighted at national reopening summit
Brand: sandiegouniontribune.com
SKU: sandiegouniontribune-com-245
Availability: OnlineOnly

critic

Cajon Valley school district's COVID-19 reopening strategy spotlighted at national reopening summit

preview

Copyright © 2022, The San Diego Union-Tribune | | AdvertisementAdvertisement Transitioning to online learning and navigating the changes brought on by the pandemic was tough for El Cajon eighth-grade student Anisha Ward.However, Anisha, a student at Bostonia Language Academy, said it was the support from her teachers that helped her get through the unprecedented challenge. “They are not only our teachers now, they are our counselors, they are our friends,” Ward said. “We can go to them, we can talk to them ... time has been difficult, and they’ve been helping a lot with that.” The Cajon Valley Union School District student joined teachers and administrators, as well as thousands of educators on Wednesday for the U.S. Department of Education’s first “National Safe Schools Reopening Summit” virtual series. Educators from across the country shared how they are addressing academic, social, emotional needs of students, while implementing reopening plans that keep students and staff safe. AdvertisementCajon Valley Union’s focus on the emotional well-being of students, outreach to parents and community was recognized during a panel discussion on reopening. Cajon Valley Union announced last week that it would return to full-time in-person learning after spring break on April 12. The school district, however, will still offer a distance learning option. The district serves more than 17,000 students in 27 schools in East County. About 69 percent of its students are low-income. The students are 49 percent White, 34 percent Latino, 7 percent Black and 4 percent Asian. The district was one of the first in the state to , not for school but for free child care services for essential workers in May 2020. It also offered summer school to more than 6,500 students. Cajon Valley Union is one of the only California school districts offering free child care to essential workers Those programs allowed the district to prepare for a larger reopening in September, when four schools opened to in-person instruction five days a week, with the rest offering hybrid options, school district officials said. The district reported one case of COVID-19, with zero cases of student-to-student transmission. Karen Minshew, assistant superintendent of Cajon Valley Union, said that when the pandemic hit, the district made an effort to hear from families and teachers. She said the district hosted about 100 listening sessions and town halls to identify needs and concerns from families. “Engaging our customers was the key and that has provided us the steps and the guidance to reopen, and it has created trust with each of our groups,” Minshew said. Nerel Winter, principal of Bostonia Language Academy, said that as a result of feedback the school placed additional focus on connecting with students to ensure that their emotional needs were met. Cajon Valley Union was one of several districts spotlighted during the summit for their reopening efforts. Educators from Cleveland, Tulsa and New York City shared examples that worked and others that did not. The virtual summit is one of many the Department of Education plans to host to provide school districts with support and resources to reopen quickly. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona led two panels about reopening strategies, alongside Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Cardona emphasized reopening strategies must be mindful of inequities nationwide. He said only 28 percent of Black students in the United States are back to in-person learning, 33 percent of Latino students are in-person, and only 15 percent of Asian students are back — that’s compared to half of White students. Cardona encouraged school districts to prioritize the emotional well-being of students, as well as their safety moving forward. He announced plans to tour schools across the country. Guest speakers Wednesday included President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, first lady Dr. Jill Biden and Linda Darling-Hammond, president of the Learning Policy Institute. Top headlines by email, weekday mornings Get top headlines from the Union-Tribune in your inbox weekday mornings, including top news, local, sports, business, entertainment and opinion. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the San Diego Union-Tribune. Show Comments Load More Advertisement Advertisement AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement AdvertisementAdvertisement

Copyright © 2022, The San Diego Union-Tribune | | AdvertisementAdvertisement Transitioning to online learning and navigating the changes brought on by the pandemic was tough for El Cajon eighth-grade student Anisha Ward.However, Anisha, a student at Bostonia Language Academy, said it was the support from her teachers that helped her get through the unprecedented challenge. “They are not only our teachers now, they are our counselors, they are our friends,” Ward said. “We can go to them, we can talk to them ... time has been difficult, and they’ve been helping a lot with that.” The Cajon...

public

Andrea Lopez-Villafaña

The San Diego Union-Tribune, the region's leading news source since 1868. Follow our journalists, too: http://j.mp/UTstaff

Cajon Valley school district's COVID-19 reopening strategy spotlighted at national reopening summit

No article scores yet.

CRITIC REVIEWS

PUBLIC REVIEWS