Education

Education

East Side school district easing back with on-campus learning next week

East Side Union High School District (ESUHSD) students are returning to in-person learning next week. Onsite learning will occur during tutorials, advisory periods, after school and on Saturdays as East Side students continue in their block schedules with distance learning. ESUHSD will continue distance learning for the remainder of the school year or until there...

Alum Rock Union School District candidates face off in new forum

East San Jose parents on Tuesday heard from three candidates vying for two seats on the Alum Rock Union School District. The half-hour long virtual forum, hosted by neighborhood group District 5 United, came three days after another Alum Rock candidate forum hosted by SOMOS Mayfair was canceled because only one candidate — Corina Herrera-Loera...

East San Jose candidates skip on school board forum

Alum Rock Union School District organizers scheduled a virtual forum with five board of trustees candidates Saturday morning – but when around 20 parents tuned in over Zoom, there was no candidate in sight. “Unfortunately we are not hosting the candidate forum today,” said Andrea Portillo of the East San Jose organization SOMOS Mayfair. “We...

Catholic schools gradually reopening in Santa Clara County

While most San Jose public school campuses will remain closed at least until January, Catholic schools are starting to welcome back students with sanitizing stations and wellness checks in place. “It’s been a real boost for faculty to see kids on campus,” said Principal Kristina Luscher of Bellarmine College Preparatory, which opened Sept. 23. “Overall,...

Santa Clara County education leader drops lawsuit against board

Education leader Joseph Di Salvo is dropping his lawsuit against the Santa Clara County Board of Education and fellow trustees who voted in July to censure him, but Di Salvo says the fight is far from over. “I am 100 percent innocent of the alleged charges,” Di Salvo told San Jose Spotlight Sept. 24. “The...

Why San Jose schools aren’t opening for the rest of the year

Saying they are ill equipped to take on the burden of testing students for COVID-19, San Jose officials extended distance learning through the end of December — and may not reopen classes until 2021. San Jose Unified School District Superintendent Nancy Albarrán said there are now more COVID-19 cases than in March when schools first closed, especially...

New program guides East San Jose parents through online learning

As school districts across Silicon Valley extend online learning to stop the spread of COVID-19, one local school district is helping parents — mostly immigrants and communities of color — get comfortable with the technology. This week, the San Jose Evergreen Community College District began its Parent Academy, a series of courses that train East...

Waivers pave way for some Santa Clara County schools to open

Although distance learning is the new educational normal for Santa Clara County, some public schools and one private school have received waivers for in-person learning. Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered distance learning for counties on the state’s COVID-19 watch list but schools could resume in-person learning if their county had been off the watch list for...

Free student meals harder to come by in South Bay

East Side Union High School District was handing out 6,000 free lunches daily after COVID-19 shut down schools earlier this year. Now, with classes back in session, that number has dropped to about 120 a day. When the pandemic hit, the federal government issued a waiver allowing schools to distribute free lunches without checking to...