AIM mentors help freshmen adjust to high school online
KING’S
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Illustrations by Julia Gonzalez/King’s Courier
THE
“Enola Holmes” empowers young women page 4
Volume 51, Issue 1
Schedule benefits students, but lacks engagement
Fall sports delayed until December
COURIER page 6
El Camino Real Charter High School
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October 28, 2020
FALL SEMESTER STARTS REMOTELY By CERASELA HANSETER
As summer break came to an end, the COVID-19 pandemic was still in full effect, and schools across the country made the decision to begin the fall semester online. A variety of changes were needed to ensure students could access instruction in real time (synchronously) from home through their school-issued laptops.
Rebecca Tam/King’s Courier
HOLDING UP PROTEST SIGNS to cars passing the front of the school Aug. 26, freshmen Ava Tibor and Emily Bowen show
support for Black Lives Matter (BLM) and the inclusion of an anti-racist curriculum in the classroom. The protest, led by alumnus Jared Esguerra, coincided with UTLA’s day of solidarity supporting an ECR educator who wore an “I can’t breathe” T-shirt during class.
Protest calls for anti-racist curriculum, supports educator who stands for BLM ECRA Board passes resolution recognizing that Black Lives Matter By NIDA YAR-KHAN In a show of support for anti-racist curriculum, students gathered in protest in front of the school Wednesday, Aug. 26. The students were spurred by an educator who received hate messages and death threats for wearing a T-shirt saying “I CAN’T BREATHE” in her video lessons on the first day of school, Aug. 10. She and some of her colleagues wore Black Lives Matter (BLM) shirts as part of a national movement of educators called BLM at Schools. These educators were choosing to go “Black to School” as part of their “Year of Purpose.” A parent took a screenshot of the educator teaching while wearing the shirt. It went viral on social media when a conservative media personality reposted the picture on Twitter Aug. 16, stating that a concerned parent had contacted him because he was worried his child was not being taught English in English class. Once viral, the post lead to the educator receiving a stream of threats over social media. The educator, whose name is removed from this story out of caution for her safety, chose to relocate with her daughter, according to a joint statement from Executive Director David Hussey and Chair of the Board Beatriz Chen emailed Aug. 31. Alumnus Jared Esguerra, class of 2020, planned the Aug. 26 protest in support of her and of anti-racist curriculum. He spread the word through an Instagram story stating the intent was “to help end racial injustices and silence within our school systems.” Senior Taylor Kupczyk, one of the approximately 100 students who attended the protest, said she hoped the administration would “send out an email supporting [the educator].”
“I’m here because, though this doesn’t affect me directly, . . . it is vital that we understand the inequality in this country,” Kupczyk said. “It is a vital part in making it right again and correcting our corrupt system.” Two days earlier, Aug. 24, Hussey sent out a statement to parents, students, faculty and staff via email stating that Black Lives Matter and that the school supports educators speaking up for black lives. The email’s subject read, “ECR believes that all people are equal and that all voices should be heard, valued and included.” In the statement, Hussey indicated that school leaders “recognize the need to end systemic racism that disproportionately harms, disciplines, and fails our Black students. Therefore, ECR is dedicated to racial justice within our education . . . This message is simply ECR’s stance in solidarity with our Black/African American students and staff who seek justice and change in our society because Black Lives Matter.” The statement also addressed the incident with the educator: “Many of you may be aware that recently a screenshot of one of our teachers wearing an ‘I Can’t Breathe’ T-shirt was posted online,” Hussey’s statement said. “The post has resulted in various community members strongly voicing their opinions on both sides of the BLM platform . . . Transparency and support for our teachers and staff is important to us. . . As a school, we support ECR teachers, staff, and students who speak up for those whose voices have been oppressed and pledge our commitment to moving beyond protest to action.” See DESPITE PANDEMIC, Page 2
BLOCK SCHEDULE In order to facilitate the transition to synchronous distance learning, a block schedule replaced the traditional bell schedule. All classes meet Mondays, but the following four days consist of 80-minute blocks of three periods each. Odd periods (first, third, fifth) meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays, while even periods (second, fourth, and sixth) meet on Wednesdays and Fridays. Zero period meets for 40 minutes Monday through Thursday. “[The schedule] is better than last year [when we were asynchronous], but meetings all day takes up too much time, and [it’s] very hard to get locked in and focused,” junior Justin Levy said. “I do prefer block scheduling, [as] it gives more time for homework ad allows us to have longer class periods to actually get stuff done.” ONLINE TEACHING APPS Online courses are held via computer applications such as Microsoft Teams for video conferencing and Canvas for learning management. Many teachers, like Spanish teacher Manuel Velarde, also use “real time” tools on Microsoft Teams and interactive assignments through platforms such as Pear Deck in order to deliver engaging instruction even when students have their cameras turned off. “Without facial expressions and body language, it is so much harder to discern whether students understand new material,” Velarde said. “It’s impossible to see how many students are bored or overworked.” Despite these challenges, Velarde notes some benefits unique to online learning. “A positive aspect [of distance learning] is that everything is streamlined, all activities and assessments are available for students and are submitted in a central location, Canvas,” Velarde said. “It’s [also] easier to talk privately to individual students without other students eavesdropping on a private conversation.” Before school began, teachers took a crash course on distance learning with the help of the technology committee, a group of teachers such as Spanish teacher Alison Yedor. See DISTANCE LEARNING, Page 2