San Francisco Unified Kicks Off School Year With Distance-Learning Concerns
SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX 5) -- The San Francisco Unified School District is the latest Bay Area district to begin the new school year with online learning only amid deep concerns about the quality of instruction students will receive.
"Some parents had two half-hour Zoom meetings a week and the rest of the time was independent learning for the kids. So there wasn't a lot of structure," said SF parent Kathleen Reed.
Reed says her nine-year-old daughter Sophia had a genuinely good experience with online learning in the spring. She said Sophia's teacher offered detailed daily lesson plans and made a concerted effort to keep the students connected and engaged.
But Reed says she heard other parents describe nightmarish scenarios in which little instruction or learning occurred during the rocky rollout of distance learning in the spring.
"We must do better than we did in the spring," said San Francisco School Board Member Jenny Lam, who also has two children in the district.
"Connection is going to be key. Not only having a device in your hand and your schedule, we need to support our students and families holistically," said Lam.
She said over the summer the district handed out thousands of laptops, tablets and WiFi hotspots, but added that equipment alone will not be enough the bridge the potential achievement gap.
"This is about connecting with our students. We have to make sure there's outreach from as many people as possible. Not just classroom teachers, but principals, counselors and social workers too," said Susan Solomon, President of the United Educators of San Francisco.
