Projections of future deficit spending by the Denair Unified School District caught the
eye of state and county officials, who worry such a scenario is the slippery
slope that could return Denair to the precarious financial situation it was in
eight years ago.
School districts pass budgets in June that govern fiscal years
that begin July 1. Each budget anticipates spending not only for that year, but
for two years into the future. In Denair’s case, the balanced budget school
trustees approved June 4 also projects the district will spend $151,593 more
that it receives in state and other funding in 2021-22. The district’s plan
would be to dip into its reserves that year to make up the difference.
Caution, uncertainty and strong desire to return students to the
classroom without compromising their health or that of their teachers were
among the emotions that permeated a lengthy discussion by Denair Unified School District trustees
Thursday night about what it will take to reopen campuses during the COVID-19
pandemic.
The bottom line: It may be December or January before school
officials, employees and parents feel confident that a limited amount of
on-campus instruction each week can replace the distance-learning format Denair
and hundreds of other California districts have used since March.
“These
are not easy decisions,” said Trustee Carmen Wilson. “It’s the logistics of
them. If we say yes, it takes a lot of resources to execute and can we do that?”
Before trustees weighed in with their opinions, Superintendent Terry
Metzger presented an outline of the health situation in Stanislaus County,
which strongly influences what schools can and can’t do. Today, the county
remains in Purple tier denoting “widespread” COVID cases. It is expected to
move into the Red (“substantial”) tier as soon as next week.
Elementary campuses only may apply for a waiver and open under the
Purple tier. Denair has not yet sought a waiver for Denair Elementary Charter
Academy, but that may be moot. Once any county has been in the Red tier for 14
consecutive days, all campuses theoretically could open under a hybrid model
that blends two days of on-campus instruction with three days of distance
learning. Rules would limit how many students can be in class together and numerous
safety precautions would be required.
Two neat things happened Wednesday in the Denair Unified
School District Food Services Department.
The first occurred during the normal drive-through meal
pickup from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Denair Middle School parking lot. Seven
employees of the department all sported T-shirts commemorating Autism Awareness
Day – 5½ months “late,” but no less enthusiastically.
April 2 was the official date of Autism Awareness Day, a
time to celebrate the millions of children and their families who battle the
learning disorder that includes autism and Asperger syndrome. One of the food
service workers has a nephew with autism. The department ordered the T-shirts
last spring, but the shipment was delayed by the COVID pandemic. The shirts finally
arrived just last week. Wednesday, food service workers proudly wore them as
they handed out hundreds of grab-and-go meals to parents to take home to
students.
The other news Wednesday was the expansion of the food distribution
program, which has been in place since the spring, when Denair and other public
school districts in California were forced to close their campuses because of
the health crisis.
Breakfasts and lunches are distributed Monday through
Thursday in the middle school parking lot.
Beginning Oct. 1, three weekend meals and a snack will be
added to the food bags that are handed out
on Thursdays. Every bag is filled with tasty and nutritious food for all
children under the age of 18.
It is another way that Denair Unified and its Food Service
Department remains committed to providing nutritional support for the community.
The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically impacted how education is
delivered. Beginning in March, all Stanislaus County school districts –
including Denair Unified
— were forced to suspend on-campus classes and move to a distance learning
model. Today, in the latest in a series of profiles, we talk with a Denair teacher about
distance learning, some of the challenges involved and the lessons that can be
learned.
Teacher:
Robert Moore
School:
Denair High School
Grade/subject:
9-12/ Mild-Moderate Special Education
Years
in district: 4
What does a typical
school day look like for you now? How do you organize your time?
Right now, my typical day is having six periods of instruction live on Zoom
with my students. Periods are 30 minutes apiece and we have a five-minute
“passing period” in order for students to navigate between classes. I teach
three periods of math, two periods of English Language Arts and a period of our
Project Life curriculum to help kids with their post-secondary transition
needs. I then try to take lunch after this synchronous time is done so that I
can be back at a little after noon because I have a prep for seventh period. I
then have open office hours for students to get help on content or assignment
completion. I also use this time to communicate with other staff, set up IEP
meetings and work on writing IEPs, meet with my induction mentor and prepare
for the next day’s lessons. I do all of this from my classroom computer and
then try to complete this by 3 p.m.
What are some of the things you are
doing during live instruction with students?
During live
instruction, I have been using my Ugee graphic tablet to write math content on
the virtual whiteboard. I think we have gravitated to this because of how easy
it is and how easily I can switch colors and size in order to help with math
concepts. We also will watch short videos on new concepts together and I will
pause for us to work on the examples together. I usually draw on the screen
using the graphic pad. The students give their answers to me, usually privately
in the chat using Zoom so that their answers don’t influence their peers.
I have also
used this time to look at our reading materials using Savvas Realize and the
Kami app. This allows students to use highlighting, dictionary and text-to-speech
tools in order to comb through the material for the academic vocabulary that
they aren’t familiar with. We spend a lot of our time close reading using these
tools. Students then usually have some time to read aloud in order to get some
of that practice. We then will have some writing assignments where my classroom
aid, Maria, and myself can help them edit their work and discuss writing
strategies using Google Docs and Google Classroom. I also spend some time just
having brainstorming sessions for our writing using the graphic pad to draw on
the screen so that we can have a free flow of ideas.
For Project
Life, we often have social skills and career-related material that we work on.
We have worked to build and fill out our resumés, research websites for desired
job opportunities, conducted mock job interviews, talked about social skills in
the workplace vs. in less professional settings, conflict resolution, etc.
What are the biggest
adjustments you’ve had to make?
I feel that
the biggest adjustments we have had to make as a class would be the amount of
work they are responsible for completing while unsupervised. Normally, my class
doesn’t require students to do a lot of homework. Right now, students are
needing to take more responsibility to turn in their assignments during our
asynchronous time. Also, our students are having to adjust to turning things in
using primarily Google Classroom. This means navigating technology that they
may not be completely familiar with. Our biggest struggle has been students making
a copy for themselves, attaching their work rather than just emailing me, using
different extensions or tools to annotate PDFs, and communicating with me when
the work hasn’t been attached or when there is something missing.
What are your favorite
teaching tools? Why?
My favorite
teaching tool right now would be the graphic pad I got this year using grant
money. My students all know that I like to use the whiteboard and overhead to
use drawings or images to supplement the material in order to try to give them
visuals to work from. This tool allows me to do that with the same specific
style and personality that I can in the classroom. I would also say that I have
really liked using Kami as well. This has allowed my students to be more
independent when reading material that is above their natural reading level.
Zoom is a great tool as well because of the ability to let us meet in real time
and be creative with our backgrounds and communication style as well as sharing
our screens to troubleshoot issues.
Are there teaching
techniques you’re using now that you’ll be able to apply in your classrooms
when in-person classes resume?
I would like
to maintain our online learning as much as possible even when we are in the
classroom so that my students have access to these tools that will make them
more valuable in the work force. I want to continue to use the Google apps to
complete our work and I want to continue to encourage them to use tools like
Kami so that they can do this on their own for material that might be hard for
them to decode or comprehend.
What are your biggest
concerns about students and distance learning?
My biggest
concerns for my students during distance learning would be their socialization.
I feel like I get a lot from meeting my students in person every day and
reading their non-verbal cues. I am sure this is true in the reverse as well. I
am happy that we are able to meet on Zoom, but I always worry about the missing
component of in-person socialization. Also, my pride and joy for Denair High is
our Project Life/Work Studies programs. This how we allow our students to
intern in local businesses in our community as well as neighboring communities
and gain the skills that will ensure that they are employable upon completion
of high school. This component is missing right now and it is a shame. My
students love this program and are very excited to get back to work.
How often do you
interact with parents? What are their most common questions?
I interact
with parents on a regular basis because of the nature of special education. I
hear a lot of parents concerned about their student’s active engagement during
the live synchronous meetings, especially for parents who have to go to work
and leave their students at home. I have also heard some concerns about their
student’s ability to manage the amount of work during asynchronous time and
that students can feel overwhelmed because of the way they are managing their
time. I feel like the most common questions are, “When will we be resuming our
normal school routines?” and, “How can my student get more specialized support
for their problem areas?”
Do you have a favorite
distance learning story to share?
When we
first started distance learning, I had a student who gathered up all of his
classmate’s cell phone numbers that he could get and shared them with me to
start a group text and then started to text students in the evening to make
sure to remind them to complete their work to be ready for class on Google meet
in the morning. He also texted me sometimes when he felt like I wasn’t posting
work on Google C;assroom as fast as we had agreed upon. Another student, who
had a reputation for very slow work output and motivation, was texting me very
early in the morning almost every day to ask me what work he could be doing and
when I would be posting more work on the Google Classroom.
These are my
favorite stories because they are stories about students with a lot of
obstacles in their way who chose to rise up to these challenges rather than
complain about how different things had become so quickly. They motivated me to
fulfill my duties to the best of my abilities and maybe even try to do more
than I was being asked because that is what they were doing.
These are only two of these examples, but I have probably 5-10 of these
examples of students who didn’t do the easy thing and just take advantage of a
difficult situation. I have seen a lot of growth in the maturity of my
students, hopefully because our classroom is more tight-knit due to the
challenges that students with disabilities are accustomed to facing. I am proud
of our district for holding everyone to high standards during this time because
these students that I have discussed deserve our very best efforts and to know
that they haven’t been set aside for easier times.
The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically impacted how education is
delivered. Beginning in March, all Stanislaus County school districts –
including Denair Unified
— were forced to suspend on-campus classes and move to a distance learning
model. Today, in the latest in a series of profiles, we talk with a Denair teacher about
distance learning, some of the challenges involved and the lessons that can be
learned.
Teacher: James Zepeda
School: Denair Middle School
Grade/Subject: 7th– and 8th-grade science
Years in the district: 1
What does a typical school day look like for you now? How do you
organize your time?
I wake up at 5 a.m. and begin checking emails from students or
parents who may have concerns regarding my class. Depending on the emails, if
any, I reply with the best of my knowledge and information. Depending on my
lesson plan for the day, I begin looking over the Google Slide, Homework, check-in
question or Kahoot to ensure the information is easily accessible. By 7:45 a.m.,
I arrive at school ready to begin my day and meet all the students in my
classes. From 8 a.m. to noon, I will hold a class for students Monday through Friday.
On Mondays and Wednesdays, I review with students the topic(s) we are
discussing that incorporate Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and post a
“check-in question.” On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I have homework
assignments(s) about the discussion on the previous days and will go over the
homework with them. On Fridays, in class, we play Kahoot. In Kahoot, the
questions are based on the week’s lecture materials, homework assignments and
previously covered materials.I utilize Kahoot as a tool to help create a fun
environment to help refresh and reiterate lessons and major essential NGSS
concepts.
As noon comes around, I have my lunch and start working on other
assignments/materials related to my work. From 12:30 to 2:45 p.m., I hold online
office hours for the students to ask questions, work on assignments and get
guided/scaffolded instruction on any homework assignments. After 2:45 p.m., I
head home and respond to emails or questions concerning my class from students
or parents until approximately 8 p.m.
