MORNING.
MORNING. GOOD THURSDAY MORNING, EVERYONE GETTING A LITTLE CLOSER TO THAT FRIDAY. I'M ERIC
KONRAD. DON'T WE LOVE THOSE
DAYS? GOOD MORNING TO YOU. I'M
STILL ESCOVEDO. THANK YOU SO
MUCH FOR WAKING UP WITH US.
LET'S GET RIGHT INTO YOUR TOP
HEADLINES TO BEGIN WITH THIS.
ONE OF OUR COUNTY'S LARGEST
SCHOOL DISTRICTS WILL HAVE ALL
OF ITS STUDENTS LEARNING ONLINE
THROUGH AT LEAST WINTER BREAK.
POWER UNIFIED PUSHED BACK THEIR
START DATE. NEWSAGENT RON PAUL
JOINS US LIVE FROM HALLWAY HIGH
SCHOOL TO EXPLAIN HERE. AND MY
KIDS GO TO THAT DISTRICT. I
UNDERSTAND THAT THEY JUST FELT
LIKE THEY DIDN'T WANT TO GO
BACK AND FORTH ANYMORE AND JUST
DECIDED HEY, LET'S AT LEAST
PICK A DATE SO THAT PARENTS
WILL KNOW HOW LONG WE'LL BE
DOING DISTANCE LEARNING FOR NOW
.YEAH. YOU KNOW, THIS IS
THE FIRST DISTRICT ACTUALLY
THROUGHOUT SAN DIEGO COUNTY TO
DECLARE THAT THE WHOLE SEMESTER
WILL BE VIRTUAL INSTEAD WAITING
TO SEE IF FOR ON THE MARCH LIST
AND THEN GOING INTO
THE CLASSROOMS THEY'RE
COMMITTING TO THAT FALL
SEMESTER OR STAYING ONLINE
WHICH MEANS STUDENTS WON'T BE
ABLE TO WALK ON CAMPUS, GO INTO
THEIR CLASSROOMS HERE AT POWWOW
HIGH SCHOOL. INSTEAD THEY'LL BE
LOGGING ON TO THEIR LAPTOPS
STARTING SEPTEMBER 2ND. THAT'S
WHEN THE SCHOOL SEMESTER IS
GOING TO BE STARTING WITH POWER
UNIFIED SUPERINTENDENT SAYING
THAT HER DISTRICT HAD
ORIGINALLY PUSHED BACK
THE START DATE TO SEPTEMBER 2ND
HOPING THAT SAN DIEGO COUNTY
WOULD HAVE FALLEN OFF THE WATCH
LIST. BY THAT POINT BUT
THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE JUST NOW
CLARIFYING THAT IT WOULD
REQUIRED TO 14 DAY WAITING
PERIODS. SO THAT'S A TOTAL OF
28 DAYS FOR SAN DIEGO COUNTY
HAS TO BE OFF THE WATCH LIST
WHICH MEANS OUR CASE RATE HAS
TO BE AT 100 OR LESS FOR EVERY
100000 RESIDENTS AND THEN WE
WOULD GET THE GREEN LIGHT TO
REOPEN CLASSROOMS. SO AGAIN
STAY OFF THE WATCH LIST FOR 28
DAYS TOTAL. THAT MEANS POWER
UNIFIED. THE OTHER SCHOOLS IN
OUR DISTRICT WOULD NEED TO BE
OFF THE WATCH LIST BY NOW. DR.
KIM PHELPS SAID WITH THOSE
REVISED METRICS IT JUST MAKES
MORE SENSE FOR THEM TO ENGAGE
IN VIRTUAL LEARNING FOR
THE FIRST HALF OF THE SCHOOL
YEAR EVEN THOUGH A RECENT POLL
SHOWED ABOUT 70 PERCENT AWAY
PARENTS PREFERRED RETURNING TO
THE CLASSROOM. THEY SAY MORE
THAN 70 PERCENT OF TEACHERS
WANTED TO DO THE SAME. SO RIGHT
NOW PARENTS SCRAMBLING TO
FIGURE OUT HOW THEY'RE GOING TO
HELP THEIR KIDS LEARN AT THEIR
COMPUTERS AND WHAT THEY'RE
GOING TO DO WITH WORK AND HOW
THEY'RE GOING TO MANAGE ALL OF
THAT. DR. KIM SPOUTS SAYING
THAT THE DISTRICT HAS BEEN
REFINING ITS VIRTUAL
INSTRUCTION MODELS SINCE ALL OF
THIS BEGAN BACK IN MARCH. FOR
THE SAKE OF HER FAMILY, OUR
TEACHERS AND OUR STUDENTS, I
THINK PEOPLE ARE LOOKING FOR
SOME ANSWERS AND WE WANT TO
ENSURE AND REASSURE OUR
FAMILIES THAT WE'RE READY
PREPARED TO OPEN SCHOOLS. I
FEEL LIKE THE DISTRICT WAS KIND
OF IN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE
AND THAT THIS DECISION HELPS
THEM TO KIND OF MAKE SURE THAT
THEY CAN ACCOMMODATE EVERYONE
EQUALLY. THAT WAS A POW A MOM
JENNIFER FERGUSON WHO HAD
ALREADY OPTED FOR DISTANCE
LEARNING FOR HER DAUGHTER
BECAUSE HEALTH CONDITIONS PLACE
HER IN A HIGH RISK GROUP. SHE
ALSO WORKS AS A SPECIAL NEEDS
INSTRUCTIONAL ASSISTANT FOR
THE DISTRICT AND REALIZES THAT
DISTANCE LEARNING DOES NOT
NECESSARILY WORK WELL FOR
EVERYONE SAYING THAT, YOU KNOW,
THERE ARE SOME STUDENTS OUT
THERE WHO DO BETTER WHEN THEY
HAVE THAT HUMAN CONNECTION. SO
THEY'RE GOING TO DO THEIR BEST
IN THE DISTRICT AND ALL
THE OTHER DISTRICTS THAT HAVE
TO REMAIN ONLINE TO MAKE SURE
THAT TEACHERS AND STUDENTS
STILL STAY CONNECTED THROUGH
ALL OF THIS. THEY'VE CERTAINLY
HAD SOME TIME TO AT LEAST
REVAMP SOME OF THE PROBLEMS
THAT THEY SAW WITH DISTANCE
LEARNING THE LAST TIME AROUND
WHEN IT WAS MORE OF AN
EMERGENCY. BUT THROUGHOUT
THE SUMMER THEY'VE REALLY BEEN
TRYING TO CHANGE IT AND MAKE IT
WORK FOR EVERYONE AS BEST AS
THEY CAN. POWER UNIFIED
EMPHASIZING THAT BY THE TIME
JANUARY BEGINS JANUARY OF 2021
THEY WILL BE READY FOR A SAFE
RETURN TO THE CLASSROOM. IF OF
COURSE WE REMAIN OFF OF THAT
WATCH LIST FOR 28 DAYS. AGAIN