Here’s how Fresno schools will work now that Newsom has closed local campuses

In the wake of Gov. Gavin Newsom effectively shutting down all Fresno-area school campuses, Fresno Unified’s distance learning program will look a lot different than it did in the spring, Superintendent Bob Nelson announced Friday.

All students will be using the eLearn At My School platform and receive instruction from their teachers every day, Nelson said. Attendance will be taken.

Newsom said counties on the state’s monitoring list must be off the list for 14 consecutive days before they are eligible to reopen. Fresno, Tulare, Kings and Madera counties remained on the watchlist Friday.

Nelson urged residents to help flatten the curve so Fresno County can get off the watch list, and students can go back to campuses. “Do the simplistic things” like wearing a mask, washing hands and socially distancing, he said.

“A lot of people have made this an issue of schools. I’m telling you this is a community health concern,” Nelson said. “If you think it’s (COVID-19) a hoax you need to tell that to the people at Kaweah Delta Medical Center and Community (Regional Medical Center) who now have (federal) medical practitioners in their space because enough of them are going down with exposure to COVID that we have to bring people in from the outside.

“The time of politicizing this is over.”

Positive COVID-19 cases in Fresno County have surged since June. The county has been on the state’s watch list since at least July 8, after surpassing an 8% positive test rate.

Fresno teachers want to delay the start of school

The first day of school is Aug. 17.

However, the Fresno Teachers Association released a statement that said the start date should be delayed “in order to ensure a well‐developed distance learning plan, clear communication about the distance learning plan, adequate training, and distribution of technology.”

“There are so many unknowns right now, and if we want to build a robust system for suitable learning, we need time to develop a plan, design what that looks like and get feedback,” FTA President Manuel Bonilla told The Bee.

When asked about the teacher’s suggestion to delay the start of school, Fresno Unified spokesperson Nikki Henry referred to Nelson’s statement Friday and reiterated the Aug. 17 start date.

However, Bonilla said, “given the circumstances, the beginning of the school year should be determined by when a detailed plan is developed and communicated to all the stakeholders and not by a schedule approved last year.”

Bonilla said Fresno Unified needs to make sure every student has built-in free WiFi, a device, three meals a day, free tutoring for students and small-group or one-on-one instruction supported by aides.

Nelson said Fresno Unified would continue to serve meals for all students. More information on the distribution of meals will be announced in the coming weeks.

The district will open for in-person instruction when it’s safe, Nelson said, and parents who would rather continue distance learning still need to register to secure a seat for online learning. So far, about 13,000 students have registered.

Staff and teachers who are more susceptible to the virus and need to work from home must also notify the district, Nelson said.

Students will be able to transfer from on-campus and online learning during the first two weeks of each quarter, Nelson said.

Wellness check-ins, counseling, mentoring, mindfulness intervention, mental health services and parent support groups will all be available virtually.

“Target focus groups” will be set up for students who are in foster care, homeless, living in shelters or motels, Nelson said, and for those transitioning into middle and high school.

“We know that our English language learners, foster and homeless youth, our special education students, and students in other groups ... need to have targeted and effective supports, especially during this online learning process,” Nelson said.

The district is waiting to hear from the state and the California Interscholastic Federation on guidelines for sports, Nelson said. Students will be able to be in band, choir, and other extracurricular activities.

Fresno parents worry about distance learning

Some parents have had anxiety about sending their children to school without knowing more about safety procedures. Others are grappling with childcare issues and facilitating distance learning in a household with working parents.

“I’m a father of four, and I can’t be supervising what they’re doing online 24/7,” one Central Unified parent said during this week’s board meeting. “In the Valley, every job is essential. So taking that into consideration, if we’re going to open up the schools, we should do it 100%.”

Marlyce Williams takes care of her granddaughter, a first-grader at Jackson Elementary. Williams said the girl is “totally upset and wants to be in school.”

Williams said her granddaughter hadn’t learned anything at home. She won’t sit still and has a short attention span, she said.

“She doesn’t learn like another child would and needs that one-on-one time,” Williams told The Bee

Fresno Unified’s Parent University will be providing technology training for parents, Nelson said. Translation support will also be available for parents.

“I’m also a parent and had to work from home and be a teacher as well,” Trustee Claudia Cazares said. “It’s difficult. We had a hard time figuring out the computer programs, and it does take some time.”

Schools in Fresno County struggled to make online learning equitable after campuses closed in March. Many students didn’t have internet access or a device. Many parents also reported not hearing from their children’s teachers for weeks.

One out of four households in Fresno County has no internet access, an estimated 73,600 homes. The majority of those homes are low-income and in rural areas, U.S. Census Bureau data show.

Fresno Unified is in the process of giving out 8,300 hot spots, Nelson said and exploring creating its own Internet network for students living in areas with low bandwidth.

Fresno Unified has created a Family Technology Support Center, and people can call 559-457-3939 during business hours to get help.

COVID-19 precautions on Fresno campuses

Guidelines coming down from the state Friday include mandatory mask-wearing for teachers and students in third grade and above. Students in lower grades are encouraged to wear masks but not mandated to, Newsom said.

According to the new rules, schools that do open will close if a certain number of infections are traced to the school. If one student gets sick in a classroom, the class will move to distance learning, he said.

If multiple classrooms have infections or 5% of the school is infected, the whole school will go dark. If 25% of schools in a district have gone home within a 14-day period, the district will have to close, according to guidelines.

Teachers and staff must remain six feet away from students and each other, but the guidelines did not mention social distancing between students.

State contact tracers will make schools a priority, and staff will be tested regularly, he said. Newsom also said that distance learning in the state would be better than it was in the spring.

“We want daily live interaction with teachers and other students,” he said. “Students connecting peer to peer with other students.”

The Education Lab is a local journalism initiative that highlights education issues critical to the advancement of the San Joaquin Valley. It is funded by donors. Learn about The Bee’s Education Lab on our website.

This story was originally published July 17, 2020 at 1:12 PM.