“They were quite motivated,” said Bellegia. “That’s a long way to drive for classes.”
When COVID-19 hit. OLLI converted its entire curriculum of about 275 courses to Zoom, Bellegia said. The good news, she added, is that remote learning is here to stay. About half of the nearly 100 fall 2021 classes will be offered online.
“It s a great opportunity to learn, be engaged, and be part of a community,” she said.
Leslie Burkhart of Fort Jones said she has been taking OLLI classes on and off since she retired eight years ago.
“Zoom access from home this last year has been a COVID bonus for me,” Burkhart said. “Since I didn t have to consider the time and expense of the 100-plus mile round trip associated with each class, I went for it and took 10 classes, which opened up the world to her from the comfort of home.
Free books for kids: Siskiyou Office of Education is liquidating its collection
Those interested in adding to their kids book collection are in luck.
The Siskiyou County Office of Education is dispersing for free its large collection of books geared for children in pre-K up through high school, as well as some professional books for teachers, said volunteer Kathy Graves.
The books are coming from the COE s library media center, which is being shut down. Books have already been offered to local schools and the public library system, Graves said.
There are about 5,000 books up for grabs, including easy readers, picture books, big books, fiction, and nonfiction. Many of the books are winners of children’s book awards, and many are new, Graves said.