Overcoming Barriers Two key barriers had to be overcome. The first was that 95% of our teachers had never taught online. How could we train teachers quickly, not only about the technology, but the process? How would we teach distance-learning? How would we train students and teachers on video teleconferencing applications that most of us had never heard about—or used? The second barrier was: what would we need to do to make it possible for our students to connect from home? Our Information Technology (IT) staff quickly analyzed that 60,000 of our students did not have access to either a device or high-speed Internet at home. We immediately distributed 50,000 laptops to our students. Fortunately, years before, we had invested in a technology program that would provide each student with a Chromebook. We also contacted Cox Communications
Three Big Lessons I came away with three big lessons from this experience. The first lesson is that a student’s connection to school goes well beyond academics. It’s the core of what school is about. When you take away the school environment from kids, particularly those from families that are struggling with a number of financial or housing issues, it can affect a kid’s mental health, which can lead to depression.
(Courtesy The San Diego Union-Tribune)
and negotiated a program where SDUSD would pay the cost of installing high-speed Internet in all students’ homes that didn’t have it —20,000 students total. We had been aware of the digital divide, but I don’t believe people understood just how deep that divide was until COVID.
Students head to class Monday morning at Perkins K-8 on their first day of school in April 2021. (Eduardo Contreras / Union-Tribune)
The critical role schools play in addressing students’ mental health was magnified by the pandemic. During home learning, it rose to a heightened level of urgency. Places like Rady Children’s Hospital scheduled increasing numbers of appointments, partly because when the schools closed, school counselors were no longer available. It’s led us to emphasize students’ mental health and social and emotional needs, probably at a level that we hadn’t done prior to the pandemic.
Fifth-grader Natalie Ortega, 10, from Perkins Elementary School, used a laptop in February to work on a math assignment. San Diego Unified announced plans Tuesday to transition to full distance learning, grading and instruction by April 27, 2020. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
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San Diego Latino Legacy – Timeline • Milestones • Stories
Chapter 8 – Facing COVID-19
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