jumped into action with surveys to families asking about their technology needs when schools suddenly closed. The subsequent run on, and supply issues with, devices and hotspots are a testament to both the need and response from the state’s districts. Districts that had already implemented technology initiatives fared best, with a student/teacher population that was already outfitted with devices and familiar with learning online.

“LEAs large and small have shown fierce determination and incredible innovation in preparing for and beginning this school year,” said CSBA CEO & Executive Director Vernon M. Billy. “Whether schools are operating in distance learning or beginning to reopen for in-person instruction, we have seen thoughtful plans regarding not only academic, social-emotional and mental health supports at a time when the need is great, but also plans to give extra support to our most vulnerable students.”

Large districts were able to tackle the issue with hefty contracts and investments, which can require detailed planning and input from teachers. “We made a $77 million investment last year with connectivity,” said Alison Yoshimoto-Towery, Los Angeles Unified School District chief academic officer. “We said, every student has to have a device, every student’s going to have connectivity and every student is going to be engaged in learning.”

After teachers used a mishmash of software and programs in the spring, the second-largest district in the country realized it needed to get everyone on the same learning management platform, Schoology, so that it could track student usage and attendance. To still allow teachers choices in what programs they used in their virtual classrooms, the district surveyed teachers to determine the top 20 most-used applications — of almost 400 — and created data-use agreements with each one to obtain the reports they need.

The district also spent the summer doing a detailed analysis of its own program offerings and filling in gaps it found in online curriculum in areas such as high school science and music. Yoshimoto-Towery said district leaders also knew they needed to build in extra supports for English learners. In addition to providing EL Instructional Coaches to support teacher capacity and professional development at schools with high EL populations, and newcomer coaches/counselors at high schools with high newcomer populations, the district contracted with Rosetta Stone for additional asynchronous learning supports.

“Young learners, those learning English, students with learning differences and disabilities and those who were struggling in the classroom before school facilities were closed are facing real challenges with online learning,” said Superintendent Austin Beutner in a video address on Sept. 28. “Studies tell us about the ‘summer slide,’ when students regress during a traditional summer break. It’s now been more than six months since students were in schools and the learning loss for some may be significant. But schools have to balance the learning needs of students with the health and safety of all in the school community.”

In the meantime, LAUSD has increased its tutoring efforts. Along with services normally offered by schools, the district has a partnership with the Los Angeles Public Library where each student has access to an online tutoring service in which they can upload individual problems or questions they have to get individualized help. The district is also piloting a partnership with Step Up Tutoring, which is providing an initial 500 tutors for three communities in LAUSD. “We’ll continue to support all of our English learners in taking assessments,” said Yoshimoto-Towery. “We are structuring those practice opportunities and interventions and also doing the specific tutoring and small group supports for our English learners, and funding that program to ensure that there are opportunities to reclassify and that they’re being supported in that work.”

Earlimart Elementary School District, located north of Bakersfield in Tulare County, has about 1,600 students. The student body is 97 percent Latino, 68 percent English learners and about 94 percent qualify for free and reduced-price meals. Earlimart ESD Board President Abigail Solis said one major challenge is being in an area that is rural and unincorporated. “That means we don’t have a city council or a local government to speak for us,” Solis said. “I consider the size of the district an advantage … The challenge is being an unincorporated community that lacks resources.”

Solis said the district has been working to close the digital divide for years and had already achieved a one-to-one ratio for devices. However, not all families had an internet connection, either because a signal did not reach their home or due to affordability. “We never want to be in a situation where one student has an advantage over another,” said Solis. “So, we took it as a personal responsibility to do what we could to come up with a solution.”

The district decided to purchase two antennas that would be installed at schools on either end of town and extend the cell signal to up to 800 families. Hotspots were purchased with differing ranges, one within 1 mile and the other within 7 miles. District-issued devices connect to a filtered internet signal automatically. The project was paid for with Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act funds.

While pleased that the district has implemented a workable solution, Solis expressed concern about the slow pace of progress at the state and national levels. “Before this, we as a small school district in rural Tulare County were trying to do whatever we can to bring opportunities for STEAM into our classrooms. And those types of opportunities require access to internet,” she said. “I really see it as a fundamental necessity that everyone needs and should have. I’m hopeful that out of COVID-19 comes a statewide solution to this longtime issue that we’ve been trying to bring attention to.”

Solis said open communication and strong foundational relationships are the basis of the district’s work with its special education students. “We have found that for assisting students with special needs, open lines of communication is key to identifying student needs,” she said. “We know the kind of support that they need because we know the student. It’s really just a matter of getting creative within the guidelines that have been set forth for us to follow.”

“The key is communicating with parents and making sure that we meet them where they’re at and what makes them feel safe and comfortable, and then developing a plan that that addresses their concerns and at the same time meets the needs of our students,” she said.

Further north, Patterson Joint USD in Stanislaus County was looking to provide an innovative solution to connect families in need in the district of about 6,000 students. A technology initiative over the last five years provided every student with a device, and hotspots were provided to those in need when schools closed last March. While these measures provided a temporary fix to connectivity barriers that many Patterson families faced at the time of the closure, data limitations and the lack of proper firewall security led the district to partner with Motorola Solutions to install private broadband towers to provide free, reliable and secure internet access to all Patterson students.

“The district’s plan to partner with Motorola Solutions to provide reliable internet access to students in their homes started well before the COVID-19 pandemic,” Superintendent Phil Alfano said in a statement. “This is the most significant equity issue facing students in the 21st century. We simply couldn’t wait any longer or rely on others to solve the problem for us.”

School districts around the state are working with their local public health departments to assess the level of risk in their communities and determine if using cohorts is a good fit for them. In mid-September, Modesto City Schools was in the process of implementing the cohort model and applying for an elementary waiver at the same time. Superintendent Sara Noguchi said that the district realized early on it would need to bring at least some students onto campus, and had already done so on an individual basis for English learners to take the ELPAC assessment and for assessing students in special education, both with the proper safety precautions in place. Though the district has a one-to-one device ratio and a robust support team, Noguchi said some students were still not logging on. Teachers and other support staff called and followed up with home visits for these students to figure out the issues preventing them from logging in. Students that were home alone will be prioritized for cohort instruction.

With the first cohorts beginning Sept. 14, the district planned the logistics and worked to secure participants. Special education and English learner students at each school will be given the first chances to come back on campus. Available space at the school site, as well as availability of support staff and paraprofessionals, will determine the size and number of cohorts in the district. Supervising staff is coming from the district’s pool of classified staff, after-school program staff and through partnering with the city’s parks and recreation department and Boys and Girls Clubs.

“We’re all working really hard and we still are working well together because we have a really strong board that works as a team,” Noguchi said. “We have union partners that work as a team. And so, we’re able to continue to move. It’s not just survive COVID — we’re getting some new things in the system right. We’re not just surviving, we’re actually thriving, despite where we’re at.”

The district is well prepared for when schools will be able to open on a larger scale, with plans for in-person, hybrid, and independent study learning, said Modesto City Schools Board President Cindy Marks. She noted that collecting the stakeholder feedback necessary to make these plans was easier in a virtual environment. “Dr. Noguchi has held many community forums to share information and get feedback,” Marks said. “Being able to watch those online and hear the answers, I think, has alleviated a lot of the community concerns. It’s easier to get feedback and input from parents while we’re in this virtual environment, because more people can come. We’ve been doing forums at different times to meet the needs of different people. So, we have far more engagement than we had last year, but I think it’s because of this environment.”

The San Diego County school district with more than 17,000 students is now open for all students who would like to participate in in-person learning, which nearly 70 percent have chosen to do. Miyashiro said that open, two-way communication is key to ensuring all stakeholders, from teachers and staff to families, feel comfortable that they will be safe. Beginning the week after schools shut down in March, the superintendent and other staff, including board members, held weekly Zoom meetings with various stakeholder groups such as PTA presidents, advisory councils and teacher representatives from the labor union. “It was that level of open communication that really allowed us to build trust and do the work together,” Miyashiro said. “It was all stakeholder groups really pushing on the idea of ‘how do we do it safely?’”

Miyashiro said the summer program allowed the district to put protocols into action and see what works. “In addition to the 6,500 kids, we also had about 1,200 staff, teachers and classified come back to the school site to help facilitate and run the program,” he said. “We used that as a feedback and input tool to help us improve what’s working, what’s not, what are we learning?”

One issue staff reported was students becoming lax with social distancing and mask wearing. The district brought together its labor partners to discuss how this could be addressed and agreed upon putting together a district policy that states how students will be held accountable for violating COVID-19 safety protocols. That policy then went into the parent guidebook and is part of the overall discipline protocol. “Those are the things that, by listening to each other, we’re able to put into place new protocols. That really just made us feel like everyone was listening to each other and cared about, not just the kids, but everyone’s safety,” Miyashiro said.

All students, whether through distance or in-person learning, have worked with their teachers and classroom assistants on comprehensive diagnostic assessments and computer adaptive tools for goal setting and progress monitoring. Personalized and blended learning has been in place in the district since 2014.

In-person learning models are decided depending on school size and the percentage of students who would like to participate. Some schools can accommodate all students five days a week, but many are implementing hybrid schedules to accommodate COVID-19 safety measures. Miyashiro noted that there are some difficulties regarding labor union contracts and differing school schedules, but allowing principals to work with their staff and communities directly to form plans has helped immensely.

Open communication proved invaluable for Fall River USD as well, and community feedback indicated that most families wanted to return to in-person instruction. “Communication is the key to success,” said Fall River Joint USD trustee Teri Vigil. “We had special board meetings to make sure our stakeholders knew the plan. Our superintendent did a great job and talked with parents about their concerns.”

The district is conducting assessments to meet children where they are in their learning and providing tutoring support for those in need. Schools have monthly, site-based data meetings where each student’s achievement is looked at and evaluated to see if they need extra support. Support staff will work with struggling students in small groups and individually.

Though schools had only been open 11 days at the time of this writing, Grant said things were going well and that only about 160 students chose to stay in the distance learning program. Teachers, classified staff and administrators are all working together to finetune safety protocols and keep students learning, a collaboration Fall Rivers as well as Cajon Valley see as essential.

“The communication and relationships that we have with our parents, community and our labor organizations are what allow this work to happen because it’s people that do the work,” said Cajon Valley USD Superintendent Miyashiro. “And if people aren’t trusting and collaborating together, it’s going to be impossible.”