CARLSBAD, Calif. – Some Carlsbad Unified School District students are heading back to the classroom this week in an effort to assist those struggling most with distance learning.
On Tuesday, the district begins welcoming small, fixed groups of students on campus to continue their studies in a classroom setting. Up to seven students, including at middle and high schools, will report to assigned homerooms on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
Under the plan, the district will attempt to place students with teachers they know or with a teacher on their class schedule.
The district classifies the program as a “supervision model, not an instructional model,” meaning teachers will oversee students in their homeroom while continuing to teach other distance learning classes as scheduled, Superintendent Ben Churchill said in a Jan. 28 letter to families and staff.
“It has been suggested that some students will benefit from the structure of reporting to the classroom each day and engaging in Distance Learning from a safe space with consistent WiFi,” Churchill said, adding, “We’re sure this will not be of interest to all students or families.”
But some teachers say that with students in their classrooms, they will have to wear masks while online teaching, potentially making their lives more difficult.
“It’s silly, at this point, to risk so much when we’re so close to being fully vaccinated,” one teacher told FOX 5 on the condition of anonymity.
Andrew Myers a sophomore from Carlsbad High School, suggests the district consider other options, but acknowledged it’s “the best they can do at the moment.”
“I want to go back, but not under these circumstances,” Myers said.
District officials say they’re hoping the layout will be short-lived, as students are able to return to a more robust in-person learning plan sometime in the future.