Fontana Unified to Launch School Year on Aug. 24
Fontana Unified School District will begin the 2020-2021 school year on Monday, Aug. 24, with online instruction for all students. The decision to start the school year on Aug. 24 was announced during a July 22 Board of Education special meeting. The new start date supports Fontana Unified’s continued efforts to ensure all students are equipped with devices needed to engage in distance learning and provide parents and teachers with additional trainings prior to the start of the 2020-21 year.
El Monte City School District Launches Mandarin Dual Language Program
El Monte City School District will launch a Mandarin Dual Language (DLI) program at New Lexington School when the 2020-21 school year begins Thursday, Aug. 20, offering students the opportunity to gain intercultural understanding and develop biliteracy in English and Mandarin. The program will launch with an inaugural kindergarten class and build upon the success of El Monte City’s Spanish DLI program.
Buena Park School District Starts School Year with Distance Learning
Buena Park School District will start its 2020-21 school year on Tuesday, Aug. 11 with three weeks of distance learning as part of a plan to keep the community safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. The District has a five-phase plan to shift students back onto campus, including minimum days, blended learning for online and in-person learning and staggered lunch periods.
West Covina Unified High School Delivers Virtual Freshman Orientation
West Covina Unified’s Edgewood High School will welcome the Class of 2024 with a virtual orientation from 9:30 to 11 a.m. Wednesday, July 29, held via Google Meet. The virtual orientation will provide freshmen with the opportunity to bond with their peers and tour the campus before the 2020-21 year begins. Edgewood High School is part of the International World Schools of West Covina, which offer a TK-12 International Baccalaureate continuum.
Fontana Unified Provides Parent Tech Training for Distance Learning
Fontana Unified is helping families prepare for the 2020-21 year, which will begin with distance learning, by offering a series of technology trainings on how to use Microsoft Teams and make the most of digital learning tools. The trainings – which began July 21 and run through Wednesday, July 29 – are offered in English and Spanish and highlight how parents and students can attend virtual meetings, find class resources, complete digital assignments and more.
Whittier Union Develops Flexible Learning Plan for Fall 2020
Whittier Union High School District is exploring adopting a quarter system for the fall semester of the 2020-21 school year, which begins Aug. 12. The instructional model is part of a four-stage teaching and learning plan that is adaptable to the continuously changing environment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Board of Trustees is expected to vote on the recommended instructional model and one of the four stages in which schools will reopen, which range from 100% online to 100% in-person, during a special meeting Tuesday, July 28, when health conditions will be clearer.
Four Buena Park School District teachers have received the 2020 Mathspace Esteemed Educator Award for their skill in boosting understanding of math concepts to students through personalized instruction.
Mathspace recognized teachers Sean Hamilton, Courtney Hsu, Scott Magnin and Jon Christensen on July 6, making Buena Park School District one of only two districts in California to earn four Esteemed Educator Awards. Mathspace is an adaptive online math platform used by students worldwide that helps replicate the experience of having a teacher conduct a lesson in person. The program became a highly effective tool when the District transitioned to distance learning in March.
Before spending the next four years studying biomedical engineering at Harvard University, Whittier High School graduate Julia Casas is dedicating her summer to working with PIH Health Whittier Hospital to develop a volunteer social network and raise awareness of COVID-19 and the available health services in the community. Casas, who is one of Whittier High’s seven valedictorians for the Class of 2020, is working with PIH Health volunteer services and health marketing administrators to compile a large volunteer database; create a volunteer website, social media accounts and weekly newsletter; coordinate donations of personal protective equipment; and organize online fundraisers.
Fontana Unified School District announced their plans for the 2020-21 academic year, providing families with two learning options, understanding that the situation with COVID-19 requires options that are flexible and allow for instructional model adaptation as the situation evolves. These two options include a “Flexible Learning Program” and a “Virtual Learning Program.”
Both learning programs start off with online learning. The flexible learning program has four stages, beginning with distance learning, as mandated July 17 by Governor Gavin Newsom in recognition of the state’s rise in COVID-19 cases. According to the new state guidelines, only schools in counties that have been off the state’s County Monitoring List for 14 days and follow strict health and safety guidelines may reopen for in-person instruction. The flexible learning program will allow the District to seamlessly phase-in on-campus learning as the community health dynamic improves.
Whittier Union Develops Flexible Back-to-School Learning Plan for Fall 2020
Whittier Union High School District is exploring adopting a quarter system for the fall semester of the 2020-21 school year, which begins Aug. 12. The instructional model is part of a four-stage teaching and learning plan that is adaptable to the continuously changing environment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Board of Trustees is expected to vote on the recommended instructional model and one of the four stages in which schools will reopen, which range from 100% online to 100% in-person, during a special meeting Tuesday, July 28, when health conditions will be clearer.
