California parents, teachers scramble to keep education going now that school’s ‘out’ for spring

Children all over the greater Sacramento region — from Davis to Lake Tahoe — packed up their book bags Friday afternoon, waited for the last bell to ring and went home for a few weeks.

Except this is no vacation, or break from school.

School districts across California, the state, and the world closed for several weeks — some for the rest of the school year — as an attempt to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said nearly 85 percent of California’s 6 million children will be home starting Monday, and all but one large school district have now shut down.

On Tuesday, the state will give out detailed guidelines for both open and closed school districts.

“We are vetting and curating and validating all kinds of private and public sector solutions to address the following and obvious and real problems,” Newsom said at a press conference on Sunday.

In Sacramento, officials including school superintendents, county superintendent David Gordon, Mayor Darrell Steinberg and Assemblymen Richard Pan and Kevin McCarty met on Saturday to brainstorm and discuss region-wide plans to help students at home.

Officials discussed a road map on how to minimize interruption, and possibly implement remote broadcast instruction and lesson learning.

“We don’t want to leave it on the shoulders of the school district,” Sacramento County Board Supervisor Phil Serna said to The Bee.

In advance of those developments, many school districts last week sent home thick work packets and registered students for online programs to ensure children benefit academically as they spend much of their day at home.

They will have new teachers, too: Their parents and guardians. Many of them are now navigating “home-schooling” for the first time, and some parents are doing this while working full time.

Coronavirus: Get news and updates emailed to you from The Sacramento Bee

How does coronavirus spread? Tips to help protect yourself from the virus

“This is an uncertain time in our state. We are grateful to California leaders for taking important steps to prepare and protect the public against coronavirus,” said Elisha Smith Arrillaga, executive director of The Education Trust–West, which advocates high academic achievement for all students.

“These closures will have a wide-ranging and unknown impact on students, families, and educators. To mitigate negative effects, it’s critical that schools do everything in their power to ensure that closures do not exacerbate educational inequities.”

Schools should provide instructional materials to students, said Education Trust-West officials, and should not rely on distance learning unless the school district has previously provided all students with access to required materials, including technology. Instead, schools should provide take-home activities, and ensure that resources are available for families in multiple languages.

What are the options?

But Sacramento schools closed abruptly, leaving many teachers and schools feeling less prepared to supply students with materials and directions. Several Sacramento area families who spoke with The Bee said they are waiting for further directions from their school districts and teachers, while others are beginning to map out the first week of home instruction.

Cammie Woodward, a Folsom parent of a 4th grader and 7th grader, said she plans to have her children read, practice their instruments, exercise, work on scouting activities, and do other educational activities.

Heather McClain, a homeschooling parent of six children, said having a schedule is important.

“Everyone’s schedule will look different,” she said. “We have breakfast, then I usually read aloud a novel to my kids while they draw, then my oldest child does math on the computer while I help my other children do their language arts or writing.”

After an hour, the children switch subjects.

Several parents said they plan to have their children follow a “Covid-19 Daily Schedule” that is being shared through social media.

Larry Ferlazzo, a Luther Burbank High School teacher in Sacramento, is communicating with his students online through an app called Remind, and through Google Classroom.

Will Cannady, a teacher at the School of Engineering and Sciences in Sacramento, is streaming his classes online through YouTube for his junior high and high school students.

“My goal is to share assignments and other materials through Google Drive and Google Classroom and then guide them through it via the stream,” he said. “Overall I want my students to have a sense of normalcy during this time of crisis.”

Creativity is key. Sacramento Waldorf teachers are using Zoom to teach high school students, but also implementing activity logs with creative ideas for indoor and outdoor physical activity. The school’s gardening teacher will update students on their school farm through a live blog., and will ask students to start a journal about plants and about their pets.

“We were in constant research and plan development as we worked with the rapidly changing information last week,” said Kat McFee, Waldorf administrator. “Communicating thoughtfully and responsibly with our parents was our priority. There simply were not enough hours in the day to proactively consider what the parents would need on the Sunday before the next Monday - except for school-to-home curriculum.”

Rachel La Due is a middle school teacher at Capitol Collegiate Academy, an independent charter school that follows Sacramento City Unified’s guidelines for closure. The school initially closed for three days, along with all Sacramento City Unified schools.

So La Due only prepared students with three days of work. Now La Due is relying on Google Classroom, Newsela, and Commonlit to help students prepare to return to classes.

“The assignments I am sending are not based off of any anchor tests, but it’s Common Core aligned and productive,” she said. “It’s similar to what I give over summer break. And when we return, we can resume where we left off.”

La Due is also delivering books and packets to students at free meal locations to provide Sacramento area students with some type of curriculum to work as schools remain closed.

What is at stake?

California students are scheduled in May to take the statewide CAASPP test from the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress. CAASPP said it understands that with school closures, the standardized test may need to make accommodations in the future.

The College Board’s SAT Exam was scheduled for March 14 in several states and countries. Dozens of testing sites closed, and the College Board promised to issue refunds to students who could no longer take the exam. The test, most commonly taken by juniors in the spring, is a requirement for many college admissions.

Teachers who teach advanced AP and IB classes are having students read and complete guided notes at home in preparation for the May exams. Students who pass the exams receive college credit for courses in chemistry, English, biology and math. There is no word yet from the College Board if exams will be rescheduled.

Lori Jablonski, who teaches AP Government at C.K. McClatchy High School, said teachers are making themselves available to students. Jablonski is providing quizzes and short answer tests for them to work on at home in preparation for their exams. But she says it’s not enough.

“I also have students who will be responsible for the childcare of their siblings,” she said. “They will be very busy with helping keep their households afloat.”

Volunteering and helping community

In several Facebook parenting groups, some teachers like Albert Einstein Middle School teacher Julie Del Agua, said the majority of her own students can do their work on their own, but wanted to help students who don’t know how to use technology, or link lessons to day-to-day life.

“We’re reading ‘Roll of Thunder Hear my Cry,’ so I want students to talk to their parents about history,” she said. “I don’t like reverting back to worksheets.”

Del Agua is a former district coordinator who helped integrate technology and roll out Google Classroom.

“There is a wide range of parents, some who are capable to home school and other parents who may not be able to read (English),” she said. “I am not as concerned about the students and parents who feel ready. It’s the kids who don’t have it and already a grade level behind.”

Agua offered to visit young students who need extra in-person support.

Some parents condemned the idea.

“I would not welcome our teacher into our home after they’ve been to other homes,” read one response. “This is explicitly what we’re being advised against. You could literally just be blazing a contamination trail with these visits.”

Other parents began to offer their teenagers as babysitters through Facebook posts--some offering to work for free--recognizing that many parents are still working in the office and at home while their children are expected to study.

Melody Serra, a former K-12 teacher in Oakland, put out a call on Twitter offering to help parents of students at home. Serra is a college teacher now and volunteers for Girls Who Code. With classes and activities canceled, she wanted to fill her day with helping working parents who are finding themselves in a bind. She is now coordinating with five families of kindergartners, using the web-based meeting program Zoom to do story-time and basic counting.

“I know I am just one person, but I’ve been in education for a long time,” Serra said. “If I can’t help students, I can find someone who can.”

Serra said a 30-minute check in each day with a teacher online can go a long way.

Questions about online education and equity

But like many others, Serra recognizes not all students can jump online easily.

“There is a huge gap to access, and we aren’t prepared to move all our youth digitally,” she said.

School officials across the region began to discuss online learning, but posed the question if students truly had equitable access.

“Not everyone has internet at home,” Michelle Eklund, chief communications officer for the county’s office of education, told The Bee. “How do you read a book and answer a question? How do you make sure that our most vulnerable students are getting the education they need? A lot more goes into distance learning than just the internet and a device.”

Teachers at Title 1 schools, like Cannady at the School of Engineering and Sciences in Sacramento, recognize that some students might not have access to the internet. Cannady is not giving any penalties to students who do not work on online assignments.