RED BLUFF— The Red Bluff Joint Union High School District held a special meeting Tuesday to discuss how the school district was making the transition to long-distance learning.
Superintendent Todd Brose said most students in the district have access to the internet, and Red Bluff High School had given out about 240 Google Chromebooks by Tuesday for students to continue their education.
Brose said teachers were asked to pick five or six key topics to teach for the rest of the year and administer assignments through Google Classroom.
Those who do not have internet readily available were able to pick up packets at the high school or have packets mailed to them containing similar curriculum and assignments.
Students with special needs will receive assignments and support from their teachers and paraprofessionals.
“We are looking for additional support we can give those students for their specific academic instruction,” Brose said.
Teachers are providing office hours for students through Zoom. Counselors will have Zoom hours as well to help students with registration for classes next year and check-in on their mental well being.
Brose said the district’s goal is for teachers and students to have the availability to meet 60 minutes twice a week per class, so if a teacher is teaching five periods, that would be 10 hours of meeting time.
Office hours will be held Monday through Thursday, with Friday being a prep day for staff to get ready for the next week.
Bilingual aids will be joining into meetings specific to English-language learners.
Grading will be pass-fail for college entrance requirements this semester. Brose said it’s challenging to assign letter grades and validating work done by students because of the difficultly in assessing everyone’s access to the internet, packet work and the work they did.
A pass-fail grade this semester will not affect a student’s grade point average, Brose said.
California has waived all college entrance examinations for 2021 applicants to the University of California and California State Universities, Brose said. Both university systems are accepting pass or fail grades.
The district is working on how to give grades to graduating seniors.
Brose said the plan is a living document and can change and adapt when a situation arises.
