New Curriculum Greets Students Returning to School

GUSD students return this week to in-person, on-campus learning with virtual and real-life adventures waiting for them.

By Justin HAGER

Elementary, middle and high school students returned to school this week! While Glendale Unified School District (GUSD) students, parents, teachers and administrators will continue to face some uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic, current plans have students on campus five days a week for a full day of in-person instruction, with an independent study option available for students and families who need it.

The GUSD board of education and superintendent are focused on four key areas this year: academic acceleration; health and safety; social emotional wellness; and equitable access to resources. To foster these goals, new and improved support services include additional reading and math teachers to support elementary students, opportunities for one-on-one tutoring and personalized support, and exciting new digital content for all students including virtual field trips, real-life cultural experiences and more. GUSD is also offering more mental health services including a mental health therapist and mental health interns at all schools.

Masks will be required indoors for all students, employees and visitors. Current state and county health guidelines will allow students to return to more normal interactions with their peers at breakfast, lunch, during recess, extracurriculars, and athletics, as long as they fulfill daily health check requirements. Masks are optional for students, employees and visitors while outdoors. Unvaccinated employees will undergo weekly mandatory COVID-19 testing. Per the LA County Dept. of Public Health, only limited mask exemptions will be allowed and only with the approval of a medical professional.

GUSD Superintendent Dr. Vivian Ekchian said that she is “incredibly excited” about the upcoming school year.

“Our students have been patiently waiting to return on campus and we have taken every possible precaution to ensure that they are able to learn and still remain safe,” she said. “We have been working with a healthcare partner group, an advisory group composed of doctors of infectious diseases and other medical experts from USC Verdugo Hills, UCLA and others to ensure that we are going beyond the LA County Dept. of Public Health and address their concerns as well.”

However, some parents and teachers do not believe the district has gone far enough. Approximately 60 parents, teachers and representatives of the Glendale Teachers Association held a rally on Monday night outside of the board of education meeting demanding a memorandum of understanding that would extend the mask mandate to outdoor settings, limit or control large gatherings, move necessary gatherings, such as meals, outside and weekly mandatory testing for everyone on campus, regardless of vaccination status.

According to Sarah Morrison, the bargaining chairperson for the Glendale Teachers Association, “Learning happens best when everyone feels safe.”

“The district has been given the funding by the state to invest in further mitigation measures … I don’t see how it could hurt kids or their learning.”

Andrea Reuter is a third grade teacher at Edison Elementary.

“Every inch of every campus was masked in the spring, and that was without the Delta variant,” she said of the precautions taken throughout the district.

Keppel Elementary third grade teacher Debbie Bamberger was more pointed in her remarks regarding the need for the implementation of safety protocols.

“Try learning from a hospital bed or going back to full-time distancing because COVID comes back,” she said.

A written statement from Dr. Ekchian stated, “Glendale Unified has implemented multiple layers of mitigation on our campuses to protect students and employees while continuing to create a welcoming environment and foster a positive culture of learning for all students.”

When asked about the rally outside the district offices, she noted that GUSD is in line with all public health requirements, has arranged for numerous opportunities for vaccination and offered tents for outdoor learning, which goes beyond Dept. of Public Health recommendations. She underscored that “everyone is invited to participate” in testing and vaccination opportunities “whether they want to be tested once a week or five days a week.”

Beyond the COVID pandemic, a small but vocal group of parents and teachers have also recently expressed concern over the adoption of new curriculum standards at GUSD, including the “Learning for Justice” (formerly “Teaching Tolerance”) standards adopted by the GUSD in February.

Originally developed by the Southern Poverty Center, the standards use age-appropriate strategies, language and learning outcomes as a road map to help educators integrate anti-bias education into existing K–12 curriculum and make schools more affirming, supportive, just and equitable for all students. The program’s 20 “anchor standards” include items such as “students will express pride, confidence and healthy self-esteem without denying the value and dignity of other people” and “students will examine diversity in social, cultural, political and historical contexts rather than in ways that are superficial or oversimplified.”

Dr. Ekchian became a strong proponent of the standards after they were brought to her attention by the superintendent’s parent-advisory council in September of 2020. For the next four months the standards were reviewed and discussed by the GUSD board. Opportunities for public comment and feedback were available at their meetings on Jan. 19 and Feb. 2. Neither meeting saw any member of the public speak against adoption of the standards and on Feb. 2 the board unanimously voted to adopt the Social Justice Standards as part of GUSD’s curricular program as a tool with lessons and outcomes at each grade level to develop student competence in the areas of identity, diversity, justice, and action. The standards will be formally infused into the curriculum of the core subject areas where there is a natural and appropriate fit.

When asked about the standards, Dr. Ekchian said, “The teaching tolerance standards promote inclusivity and respect for one another and the opportunity to learn about different people’s history and different culture’s history. Our goal is 100% to promote inclusivity, respect and a safe atmosphere for all of our students. Students must feel comfortable in the setting in which they learn. That is neither complicated nor controversial.”

While some critics of the standards have offered unfounded and blatantly racist and homophobic critiques, more reasonable critics have noted that the standards may cause some students to feel “bad” or “guilty.” Critics have pointed to references in the materials that cite “dominant culture” and discuss examples of discrimination perpetrated by western white cultures against Black, indigenous, Latino, Asian and LGBTQ+ people.

When asked about these critiques, Dr. Ekchian explained, “I think there is a misunderstanding about whether we are focused on inclusion and respect. We are. And I look forward to the opportunity to educate our students and our community,” adding, “We are teaching our students critical thinking and they need to be able to examine information from multiple points of view.”

More information about the GUSD 2021-22 school year is available by visiting https://www.gusd.net/. For more information on the Learning for Justice standards, visit https://www.learningforjustice.org/.

To see more photos of the first day of school at some local campuses visit pages 10 and 11.

New Curriculum Greets Students Returning to School added by CV Weekly on August 19, 2021
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