Education Lab: How Fresno schools are handling new coronavirus stay-at-home orders

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Most Fresno-area schools don’t anticipate any significant changes to school operations as the new coronavirus stay-at-home order settles over the central San Joaquin Valley.

Fresno Unified and Clovis Unified have obtained a series of COVID-19 waivers that allow them to continue balancing small-group learning on campuses with online distance learning from homes.

But for Central Unified — Fresno County’s third-largest school district — it could be a different story.

Central Unified hasn’t obtained any reopening waivers, though a recently submitted application is pending. All teaching remains completely online, so, in the short term, at least, nothing will change.

But with Fresno County’s return to the most-restrictive purple tier of the state’s coronavirus safety mandates and Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recent stay-at-home orders, plans to begin returning some students to classrooms on Jan. 11 are in question.

District administrators plan to update the public on reopening plans on Dec. 15.

Here’s the latest list of central San Joaquin Valley schools that can remain open even during a stay-at-home order.

Getting creative to help struggling Fresno students during COVID-19

A new story out this morning from the Ed Lab’s Ashleigh Panoo shines a light on a volunteer-run program that appears to have found success with distance learning in one of Fresno’s poorest neighborhoods.

Pastor Rici Skei from the On Ramps Covenant Church has been welcoming nearly a dozen students into her Lowell neighborhood church for what some have been missing since the pandemic shut down schools in March — mentorship, meals, and socialization.

The idea of a “pandemic pod,” a small cohort of students that learn together while campuses are closed, is not new. But a primary criticism of those pods is that they tend to be only accessible to wealthy families who can pay for a teacher or other adult supervisor.

But the pod at On Ramps is free.

Check out the Ed Lab’s latest story here.

Fresno’s Muslim college student discusses discrimination

After a large spike in anti-Muslim hate crimes leading up to the 2016 election, many Muslim college students in the central San Joaquin Valley still feel unsafe on campus and face discrimination from professors and peers.

The Ed Lab’s Ashleigh Panoo breaks down the new report from the Council on American-Islamic Relations in an article published last week.

Here’s a key excerpt from Ashleigh’s story: Students who spoke with The Fresno Bee said they felt the most discrimination from professors who shut down discussions related to Islam and emboldened other students to make derogatory remarks.

A bulletin board for education groups, events

Are you a high school or college student or teacher who is coordinating education-related community events? Do you need a virtual bulletin board to help spread the word about your education event? If so, please contact us! Our Ed Lab newsletter is creating a small community board for Fresno high school and college groups.

The Digital Divide: Tell us your story

Does your household have enough broadband? The Education Lab is exploring a series of stories about the digital divide in Fresno County.

Last spring, readers told us about shortages of laptops and tablets among local students. Now we are asking community members, teachers, professors, and students to help us once again with our reporting.

The Ed Lab has created this short survey to understand the broadband situation teachers students and professors face. Please fill out and share with others.

Thanks for helping to tell this story.

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Ask the Ed Lab

Do you have an education question you’d like for us to answer? Have a story tip? Contact the Ed Lab team at edlab@fresnobee.com.

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