I was pleased to see at the previous school board meeting the unanimous consent of board members to stay online through the end of the first trimester for secondary school (middle and high school) students. I continue to be grateful to Superintendent Viloria, the staff and teachers of LBUSD and the Board of Education for their thoughtful and measured approach to educating our students during a global pandemic and listening to all stakeholder’s voices. It was reported at a recent board meeting that 90% of secondary school teachers and staff felt staying online the entirety of the first trimester was in the best interest of students and teachers. There were many public comments from parents at the meeting also in support of the consistency of staying online. A survey of secondary students showed 50% were also in support of this, especially when they understood better that things will look very different if/when they are able to go back to in-person learning during this global pandemic.
It has been clear how much effort went into revamping how successfully online instruction can be obtained in contrast to the chaotic Spring when this emergency first began. Under these difficult circumstances, I was very happy to hear it reported that the teachers feel the majority of students are doing very well with the current online learning at the secondary level and will benefit from the consistency of staying online through the first trimester at a minimum.
I look forward to the district administration and board continuing to make the health and safety of teachers and students their number one priority. This virus is nothing to mess with and the schools that have rushed back have seen how detrimental rushing to in-person learning has been on the health, safety, mental well-being and learning of students and teachers. Thank you once again Dr. Viloria and everyone at LBUSD for such wonderful leadership in this time of crisis!
Christy Koster, Laguna Beach
