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After the caps are thrown and the ceremony’s over and done this June, Newport-Mesa seniors just a few credits shy of graduation will still be able to graduate as long as they make it up this summer.
The Newport-Mesa Unified School District Board of Trustees unanimously approved a temporary waiver this Tuesday that will allow seniors within 20 credits of completing their graduation requirements to graduate if they obtain those credits from adult education or summer remediation programs recognized by the district and present them for consideration before Sept. 30.
Those students won’t be able to walk at graduation, said Assistant Supt. Sara Jocham.
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Citing rising coronavirus infections and related absences among students, teachers and support staff and the burden that’s placing on the successful operation of the district Newport-Mesa Unified School District officials have decided to pull secondary students back to distance learning in January.
Supt. Russell Lee Sung said in a special meeting Thursday the district faces a workforce crisis as more employees test positive for the virus or self-quarantine and as Newport-Mesa’s health department staff become overwhelmed by contact tracing and reporting duties.
Anticipating a further surge following the upcoming winter break, officials recommended middle and high school students return to distance learning upon the Jan. 4 start of the new semester, continuing to Jan. 22.
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An agreement between the Newport-Mesa Unified School District and its teachers union which would have eliminated one half-day of in-person learning for elementary school students to allow for teacher prep time was rejected by board members, who called the move “unacceptable.”
Trustees were asked in a meeting Tuesday to approve a memo of understanding reached between district negotiators and representatives from the Newport Mesa Federation of Teachers regarding working conditions under a hybrid learning model.
That agreement contained language regarding parent teacher conferences, special day classroom teacher compensation and preparation time.
But controversy arose over a portion of the MOU pertaining to the hybrid schedule for elementary students, who currently attend in-person classes for half days in a morning or afternoon cohort four days a week, excluding Wednesdays, learning online the rest of the day.