Amid high emotions, the board of education makes hard decisions.

By Mary O’KEEFE

Students in the Glendale Unified School District will be learning remotely, at least for the time being, as the school board determined that would be the safest and best thing for children returning for the new school year in August. The district will also offer free childcare for specific students and staff members.

“How did we get to this place that we are today?” asked Superintendent Vivian Ekchian.

At the school board meeting on Tuesday, Ekchian presented a detailed PowerPoint presentation that gave a look into how the district conducted stakeholder outreach, researched other school districts’ teaching methods – both nationally and internationally – and the requirements/guidelines set forth by the state and Los Angeles County.

She presented three options for the 2020-21 school year. Option One: School-Linked Distance Learning. This included students remaining at their assigned schools with daily live instruction and interactions with teachers and peers, having virtual teachers offer office hours to provide one-on-one instructions or small group instructions, and having technological training and on-campus technology learning pods for elementary-age students.

Option Two: Hybrid Model, Staggered Days. This included a combination of distance learning and on-campus instruction time. Students would be divided into two groups; one group would attend on-campus during certain days then the second group on other days. While not on campus, students would be part of school-linked distance learning. This would give any student who felt uncomfortable attending on-campus classes the chance to opt out and attend 100% remote learning.

Option Three: Phased Return to On-Site Hybrid Instruction with Option for Distance Learning. This included that the first day of school on Aug. 19 would be 100% distance learning then on Oct. 16, pending on LA County Public Health guidelines, there would be a gradual return to school sites beginning with specific students including those with IEPs or 504 Plans and English Language Learners. Then, also pending the guidelines concerning COVID-19, campuses would “welcome” more students back to school using the hybrid model similar to Option Two.

“This [Option Three] would be developed over time; not all students would return at the same time,” Ekchian said.

In the end, the board voted to move forward with Option Three with the stipulation that dates of when students will be phased into on-campus classes may be changed in accordance with Public Health guidelines.

“The district will offer on-campus childcare during the regular school day for elementary-age students, prioritizing students currently enrolled in state-subsidized childcare programs, foster/homeless youth and children of essential workers. Students reporting to campus for childcare will be grouped into small, supervised technology learning pods to ensure proper physical distancing.

“Whether students report to campus or stay at home, they will all participate in the same online curriculum. The district will distribute Chromebooks and Internet hotspots to all students who need them, and will continue to provide free meals for all children. The first day of school for the 2020-21 school year will be August 19,” according to a GUSD statement.

The decision of how to best handle the upcoming school year has been a difficult one, not only for GUSD but for all school districts.

“[To] say this has been a challenging time for all of us would be an understatement,” said GUSD board member Greg Krikorian.

He added that any decision made by the board would not please everyone but, at the end of the day, the decision had to be made that would be the safest for the children. He voted to begin the year with complete distance learning.

“I think it is critical we do this right,” he said.

Board Vice President Shant Sahakian also voted for Option Three.

“I am fully committed to the fall [semester] being remote,” he said, but added that he would prefer for the entire fall semester be remote, not a phase-in return to campus as early as October.

“For me, starting with remote right now makes sense,” said Nayiri Nahabedian, GUSD school board clerk.

She did add that teaching remotely, no matter how robustly, is not going to be the same as in-person class time; however, with the increasing number of cases of COVID-19 and new orders by Gov. Gavin Newsom to restrict reopening of businesses in some counties, this was the best decision.

Board member Jennifer Freemon also agreed that beginning the year with remote learning was the best choice.

Dr. Armina Gharpetian, GUSD president, reflected how personal making the decision has been. Emotions overcame her as she talked about the pandemic and how school closures had and continue to affect students.

“Especially our kindergartners, who have never been to the school site,” she said.

Students who are moving from sixth grade to middle school and from middle school to high school may not have even seen their school campus, she said.

Gharpetian echoed what other members mentioned about making the first day of school special.

“The re-opening should be a very exciting day for our students,” she said.

There is still work to do for the district as it incorporates all the board and public suggestions into their remote learning plan while continually preparing for a future campus reopening.

As for the future of sports in the district, at this time it does not have clearance from the LA County Dept. of Public Health to reopen sports or the athletic fields. The district is also awaiting more information from the California Interscholastic Federation [CIF]. That report is expected to be released on July 20. 

The district is sending out online school commitment/information requests to all registered families. These forms will ask for information concerning the need for childcare and technology assistance. The forms are being sent out from July 15 through July 22.

  Mary Okeefe, Melanie BURZYNSKI