Oceanside Schools

O’side schools adapt to remote learning

By Briana Bonfiglio

Students, faculty members and families in the Oceanside School District adapted quickly to a new normal when schools closed their doors in mid-March in response to the coronavirus. Administrators quickly rolled out an online learning plan. Teachers began establishing Google Classrooms for more regimented tasks and learning plans to adjust quickly to the new system. The school district’s “OSD Learning at Home” website added resources for online learning in all grades, as well as a “Talking to Kids About Coronavirus” section. In addition, the schools offered live, virtual online book readings for younger children and career talks with professionals for high schoolers on a daily basis. The district expanded its online offerings and remote-learning model in the months following the decision to close schools for the rest of the year, and are now strategizing how to reopen in the fall. In May, voters approved Oceanside’s $160 million budget for the 2020-21 school year. Several elementary school programs, including Project Extra, will be restructured in the 2020-21 school year because of teacher retirements and to meet state mandates for new curricula in computer science and coding. Project Extra is the district’s gifted and enrichment program for fourth through sixth grades, which traditionally saw children leave their home schools once a week to engage in activities of a specialized nature. The activities nurture children and provide them with opportunities to learn that are commensurate with their abilities, and will be depend on the status of schools opening this fall.

Eric Dunetz/Herald Top Photo: Oceanside High School seniors were honored by the community and staff with a parade on June 2.