
Back to School


Advice for parents from PSUSD’s nursing supervisor as the school year begins
Palm Springs Unified School District hosted a COVID-19 parent training session to educate parents and answer questions as the new school year begins. The session was held virtually and covered everything from how to talk to your student about COVID-19 to the best daily practices to keep them safe. News Channel 3’s Madison Weil spoke
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Foods to help fuel your child’s school day and help them stay focused at home
With students spending more time at home and less time in the classroom, experts say it’s important that parents make sure their children are hydrated and getting the nutrients they need to stay on track. News Channel 3’s Madison Weil spoke with Jill Coleman, a registered nurse specializing in holistic nutrition, to learn what foods
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PSUSD using upgraded cellular service to provide free internet access to students in Sky Valley
A cell phone tower in Sky Valley just completed a technology upgrade to provide more reliable internet access to people living in the area, including 78 families with children enrolled in schools in the Palm Springs Unified School District. “The district’s goal is that every single student have access to distance learning,” said Will Carr,
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What tutoring services are still available for local students during the pandemic?
With the new school year beginning with distance learning from home, more parents are already turning to tutoring to help their kids stay on track. News Channel 3’s Madison Weil breaks down three options for students looking for extra help during the pandemic. Check with your school district or email your child’s teacher directly. All
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Parents struggle with child care and distance learning in the fall
Many working parents are facing a major concern as the new school year begins. Who will watch their kids and help them with online learning? “My biggest challenge feeling like I being a good enough mom and I being a good enough employee,” said Angel Meraz, mother of three children. Angel Meraz is feeling the
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Exclusive: Valley private school to start in-person classroom learning despite no state clearance
A private valley religious school is gearing up to bring its students back into the classroom in a few weeks, defying state and county guidance. Desert Christian Academy in Bermuda Dunes plans to teach its hundreds of students in person starting Sept. 2. School leaders said being in the classroom is always a matter of
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Teaching inside an empty classroom, a look at PSUSD’s first day of school
Wednesday was the first day of the new school year for Palm Springs Unified School District families. The school year began with distance learning from home. News Channel 3’s Madison Weil visited Landau Elementary and spoke with Christina, Alaniz, a fifth grade teacher, who explained her plan for virtual learning. By 8:30 a.m., her classroom
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Local child psychologist shares how “distance learning” may impact a child’s mental health
With schools starting distance learning, many parents are increasingly concerned about the negative impacts of social isolation.News Channel 3’s Caitlin Thropay spoke with a child psychologist and a local family about these fears. “We’ve had concerns just with the isolation and the impact that it has on their mental health,” Mark Barons told News Channel
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What to know about start of new year and distance learning in Palm Springs Unified School District
At the PUSD office in Palm Springs, administrators are expressing confidence in saying they’re ready and able to deliver a much more effective “distance learning” experience than what was offered last March when the coronavirus pandemic began. “We are further along and so much more prepared for now in providing instruction in the distance learning
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PSUSD teachers will be able to teach from home or from inside their empty classrooms, per district board vote
Palm Springs Unified School District teachers will have the option to teach from home or from inside their empty classrooms as the upcoming school year begins for students next week with distance learning from home. The district reached an agreement with its teachers’ association — voted on and passed unanimously by the district board Friday
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Three tips to set your child up for success when it comes to distance learning from home
Palm Springs Unified School District is set to begin the upcoming school year next Wednesday with distance learning from home. News Channel 3’s Madison Weil spoke with teachers and educators about the best practices for home learning. They all agreed on three simple tips: Set up a quiet, organized and consistent space for school work
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Eye on the Desert Thursday 7-30-2020
The Palm Springs Gay Men’s Chorus may not be able to perform, but it can still perform kind acts! It is helping two schools prepare their students for the return to school, be it virtually or not, with a supply drive! You can find out more at www.psgmc.com
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Coronavirus concerns and campus closures fuel surging interest in homeschooling
Heather Siani is a homeschooling Indio mother of three. She is also a charter school teacher at Mission Vista Academy. She says she is well aware of the anxiety that many parents are feeling right now as they make hard choices about the upcoming fall semester. “A lot of parents are concerned with the amount
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Charter schools forced to halt new enrollments because of “trailer bill” passed with new state budget
Windi Eklund is a mother of three and a California charter school policy advocate whose children have attended charter schools for the past five years. “I”m very worried about the future of charter schools in California,” said Eklund. While her children are set to begin their studies this fall in their charter schools, she empathizes
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PSUSD says Kindergarten enrollment is down 50% for upcoming school year, here’s how families can still enroll
Palm Springs Unified School District says enrollment numbers for kindergarten are significantly down this year due to COVID-10. And for PSUSD families, the school year is just around the corner, officially beginning next week on August 5th. “We’re down about 50% in our kindergarten enrollment. And in our transitional kindergarten we were down about 60%,”
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Local school districts plan online training for teachers ahead of upcoming school year
Training teachers for distance learning has been a focus for all three local school districts. Now that the upcoming school year has officially been moved to distance learning, local school districts are trying to make sure teachers are more prepared this time around. “I like to use the analogy, we were building the plane as
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Reopening: How one Coachella Valley school plans to bring students back on campus
Parents throughout the Coachella Valley have begun preparing for virtual distance learning as the first day of school approaches. Last week Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that schools could hold in-person instruction only if the counties they reside in have been off the state’s monitoring list for 14 consecutive days. Palm Valley School in Rancho Mirage
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