Will Distance Learning Make The Grade In San Diego Schools?

Tuesday, April 28, 2020

Credit: City of San Diego

Above: San Diego Unified School District Superintendent Cindy Marten at a press briefing on April 24, 2020.

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The teacher's union has agreed to the San Diego Unified School District's plan for distance learning for all students for the remainder of the school year because of COVID-19. The plan, which the district begins implementing this week, is flexible and contains some unusual features.

Aired: April 28, 2020 | Transcript

San Diego Unified School District launches its new distance learning model this week for all students.

COVID-19 has shuttered all schools and classrooms, and now teachers and students alike are learning how to cope with learning in an environment that is at once alien and all-too-familiar.

The plan, approved by the teacher's union Friday, is nothing if not flexible.

Some highlights: No student will receive a grade lower than that which he or she was earning before the schools closed. Teachers set their own daily schedules, are not required to work more than four hours a day and won’t be evaluated based on their distance learning instruction skills.

To reach students without access to a computer, the district has loaned more than 40,000 Chromebooks to students who need them, made special fee arrangements with internet providers and arranged for students who do not have internet access to receive printed materials.

The agreement with the teacher's union expires July 2

Joining KPBS Midday Edition on Tuesday to talk about SDUSD's distance learning plan are Superintendent Cindy Marten and Zachary Patterson, a sophomore at University High School and an elected student member of SD Unified's Board of Trustees.