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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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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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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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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Governor Gavin Newsom ordered all school campuses to remain closed when the new school year begins in counties on the state’s monitoring list due to spiking coronavirus cases — including Riverside, Orange, San Diego, and Los Angeles counties. The order means districts in 32 counties will start the new school year with distance-learning programs. All
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The heated debate around valley children’s school year continued Thursday evening – as the Coachella Valley Unified School District board decided students will start the year using distance learning at home. The start of CVUSD’s school year is approaching on August 13. Coachella Valley Unified is the third and final district to decide not to
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At the Palm Desert campus of Cal State San Bernardino, banners feature photos of students of color. Now, the California Faculty Association wants more students of color on the campus, and the 22 other campuses in the Cal State System. “We need a radical change to address a systemic ill that is structured into our
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The race to finalize back to school plans. Desert Sands Unified School District officials have approved a motion to start the school year with distance learning. “I just think they need to think it through completely,” said Kathleen Boylan, a DSUSD parent. “The distance learning option like I said that we experienced wasn’t great. They
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The Palm Springs Unified School District is celebrating and showcasing the visual and performing arts in a special to air on KESQ News Channel 3 this Saturday the 27th at 7 p.m. Coordinating all the talent is David Green, Director of Musical Theater University, which calls PSUSD’s Rancho Mirage High School home. MTU trains students
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LINK: “Stronger Together — A Guidebook for the Safe Reopening of California’s Public Schools” State School Superintendent Tony Thurmond unveiled the detailed 55 page document Monday morning during an online press conference. The plan is called “Stronger Together — A Guidebook For The Safe Reopening of California’s Public Schools”. “We have worked to provide
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In a normal world, a day at school means a day of sharing your space. From bustling classrooms to lunchtime lineups to a simple shoulder-to-shoulder walk down the halls, students are in close contact all the time. It’s how it’s always been. As parents and students navigate murky educational waters during the coronavirus pandemic, educators
Continue Reading During an online educational summit Wednesday hosted on Zoom, superintendents from the valley school districts talked about their approaches to this year’s graduation ceremonies. “The big graduation ceremonies, the proms that our seniors were looking forward to those have been interrupted at this moment in time,” said CVUSD Superintendent Dr. Maria Gandera. Still in the
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Students walked between classes and others played outside Monday while their district leaders talked about coronavirus. Parents expressed their concerns, including a mother with two students in Palm Springs Unified School District. “As a parent I’m really concerned. As a parent of two kids it’s kind of very concerning,” said Alejandra Hernandez. PSUSD sent a
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Proposition 13, put on the ballot by the California Assembly, would authorize the state to borrow $15 billion to spend on the state’s public schools. According to the Voter Information Guide, the interest on the bond measure would total $11 billion, for a total taxpayer-funded spending package of $26 billion. The money raised would go
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Those who gathered for the annual “state of the college” luncheon Wednesday were the first to learn about plans for a lot just off East Palm Canyon Drive and Margot Murphy Way in Cathedral City. College of the Desert President Dr. Joel Kinnamon discussed the plans for building a training center and classroom space for
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The palm Springs Unified School District is reviewing its policy on school bus service for students living in Desert Highlands, Windy Point, and Snow Creek. The review follows a report by News Channel 3 in early October, in which we spoke with a parent expressing concerns about his children and other high school students relying
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A Salton City mother says the school bus has been late just about every day since the semester began, and says her son is missing critical time during his first period pre-algebra class. The student is a 7th grader at Cahuilla Desert Academy in Coachella where the mascot spreads its wings. Amari Kariotis says she
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