Staff Questions Del Norte Unified s Move to Create Entry-Level Safety, IT and Communications Jobs
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Local education officials blamed the pandemic when taking job descriptions for entry level positions related to safety, technology and communications to the Del Norte Unified School District Board of Trustees on Thursday.
DNUSD Human Resources Director Coleen Parkers said the need for someone to man a help desk hotline for technology or help ensure a livestream is working properly are examples of the district making accelerated changes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
But, though she acknowledged that the technology and safety positions were necessary, Sarah Mitchell, vice president for CSEA Northern 178, which represents the district’s classified employees said special education, custodial and maintenance staff are stretched thin too.
Jessica Cejnar / Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020 @ 5:36 p.m. / Education
Del Norte High s Tiny House Class Will Get A Roof Over Its Head; DNUSD Board Approves $500,000 Bond Expenditure for HVAC Systems
Del Norte High School s tiny house program will have a roof over its head. Photo courtesy of DNUSD.
More than a year after Del Norte High School began its tiny house program, students will have a workshop to keep themselves and their project out of the elements.
The Del Norte Unified School District Board of Directors on Thursday authorized the use of $152,698 in voter-approved general obligation bond dollars to pay for part of the workshop’s construction.
K8 Students Will Be Back In Class Following Winter Break; Staff Concerned About Lack of Subs
Though many of their peers in Humboldt County are taking an extra two weeks to quarantine after the holidays, Del Norte’s K8 students will return to campus on Jan. 4.
The Del Norte Unified School District Board of Trustees reached this conclusion on Thursday after hearing from parents who said it felt like their children were being punished for other people’s worries about the novel coronavirus.
But staff were more worried about their coworkers and how their jobs would be covered if they needed to self isolate or quarantine after the holidays. Paige Thompson, lead negotiator for the Del Norte Teachers Association, said she was absent for two days before the Thanksgiving break and there was no one to sub for her.
Jessica Cejnar / Friday, Dec. 11, 2020 @ 12:29 p.m. / COVID-19, Education
More DNHS Students Received Ds and Fs In School Year s First Six Weeks Than Last Year; Board OKs Plan To Bring More Kids On Campus
Del Norte High School will see more students during the second semester.File photo: Andrew Goff
Before laying out potential plans for bringing more kids back to Del Norte High School, principal Alison Eckart shared a grim statistic with the Board of Trustees the number of students receiving Ds and Fs increased by more than 50 percent over last year.
During the first six-week grading period for the 2020-21 school year, 60 percent of DNHS students received Ds and Fs, according to Eckart. She didn’t yet have the statistics for the second grading period, pointing out that it had just ended, but Eckart said they were bleak too.