Schools in Santa Clara County recently reopened after much anticipation, but most students opted to stay home. Reasons for choosing to continue remote learning ranged from concerns of catching COVID-19 to abbreviated days making transportation difficult for parents. Chris Funk, superintendent for East Side Union High School District and a San José Spotlight columnist, said...
Will South Bay students need COVID shots to return to school?
Now that anyone over age 16 can get a COVID-19 vaccine, will South Bay school districts require them for students returning to the classroom? Not exactly. In California, state law requires that public school students receive vaccinations for certain transmissible diseases, including polio, Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis, Measles, Mumps, Rubella, Hepatitis B and chickenpox. COVID-19 is not...
Alum Rock teachers return to school days after new union agreement
After weeks of negotiations, the Alum Rock Union School District and its teachers union have reached an agreement on teachers returning to the classroom — just days before the return to school. But teachers say they had little time to prepare, and didn’t know how many students would be back in the classroom. Before the...
How to help San Jose students return to the classroom
After a year of distance learning, students returning to the classroom may experience anxiety and insecurity. What can parents do to help? According to Dane Caldwell-Holden, director of student services for San Jose Unified School District, being back at school is going to look and feel different during the coronavirus pandemic. “This is not typical...
Alum Rock schools face lingering encampments amid reopening
Alum Rock Union Elementary School District trustees set a tentative reopening date of Monday for its campuses across East San Jose. However, there remains no concrete solution for addressing the homeless encampments growing along some of the district’s schools. “With less eyes from the community and schools having been shut down, all of a sudden...
As San Jose schools begin reopening, legislators push to help families recover
As students across the South Bay begin returning to the classroom, lawmakers and education leaders are pushing legislation to make classrooms safer, more supportive and equitable. The Santa Clara County Office of Education recently introduced its legislative package, which includes bills to increase mental health care access, guarantee additional funding for early childcare and incentivize...
San Jose school district avoids laying off nearly 40 teachers and staff
Mere weeks after nearly 40 San Jose teachers and staff were given pink slips, administrators reversed the decision in a rare turn of events. Early retirement and state and federal funding came to the rescue. A total of 38 Evergreen School District teachers and tenured staff received notices in early March saying they wouldn’t be...
San Jose school district denies improper lobbying charges
Officials with San Jose’s biggest school district denied charges they improperly hired lobbying firms to push a teacher housing proposal—saying that at least one of the firms never lobbied for them at all, despite meeting with officials who would approve the plans. The allegations stem from a Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury report released...
Developmentally disabled kids in San Jose left behind amid COVID-19
Access to a COVID-19 vaccine may be the first step to getting students back on campus, but youth are in the back of the line for vaccines in California. That’s especially tough for students with special needs and developmental disabilities for whom distance learning is not conducive. For these students, online education halts months of...