The Mountain View Los Altos school board on Monday allocated $1.2 million to offer more in-person support to students, a plan that will go into effect after Santa Clara County moves into the red tier of coronavirus case rates.
Local teachers address Capitol riot with students Written by Zoe Morgan
As pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol last week, eighth-grade history teacher Katie Mather started getting emails from students, checking to see if she was watching the news.
They wanted to make sure she knew that “the Capitol was being overtaken by an angry mob,” said Mather, who teaches at Blach Intermediate School. Mather set aside class time to talk through the day’s events. A history teacher who discusses current events with her classes regularly, Mather said she takes her cues from students.
“They were very eager to talk about this yesterday and sort of ‘unwrap’ what had happened,” Mather said in a Friday interview.
MVLA sees failing grades spike in distance learning
Courtesy of MVLA
Desks are spaced apart from each other, ready for the small groups of students the Mountain View Los Altos Union High School District has brought back to campus. The district has begun some small in-person groups, focusing on students failing multiple classes.
Before the pandemic, when students were struggling in class, a teacher could stop by their desk, tap them on the shoulder and provide some one-on-one support. On Zoom, that can’t happen.
The best bet is often to put students in breakout rooms, Los Altos High School teacher Arantxa Arriada said, so she can switch among them and check in with students. However, that makes it impossible to supervise what the rest of the class is doing.