Making up for lost time, local districts discuss curriculum plans for upcoming school year

Wednesday, August 4, 2021
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- School districts across the Valley are working to make sure students are back on track this year.

Action News spoke with districts that are rolling out 24/7 tutoring services, adding emotional support and extending their summer school. While every plan is a little different, it's all in effort to make sure students have the resources they need to succeed.
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"I feel like this year, we're hitting the ground running because we already know where our students are," said Kings Canyon Unified School District Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Monica Benner.

At Kings Canyon Unified, staff members are ready to greet students in just one week.

"We're using i-Ready," continued Benner. "We'll be giving a benchmark assessment at the beginning of the year, and i-Ready is a program that allow us to address the individual skill levels of our students."

Thirty minutes of each school day will be set aside to assist students where they need it.



"The 30 minutes is a time to work on accelerating learning for our students by addressing the individual skill levels," added Benner.

Every week, half an hour will be devoted to social and emotional learning and after school programs will be expanded.
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At Clovis Unified, the district is increasing intervention support to target areas where students need the most help.

"Students may receive intervention during the day, but it may also be a before or after school opportunity as well," said CUSD Associate Superintendent of Instructional Services Robyn Castillo.

But first, educators will work to assess those individual needs following an unprecedented year.

"Coming in, they'll take the time to diagnose their students, see where they are and where their learning gaps are," continued Castillo. "What will be nice is to have the additional instructional time and have the majority of students back on campus where we can make that connection."



Fresno Unified officials have also announced they'll be implementing extended learning for students during the fall semester by adding 30 minutes of instruction each day. That should add about a week of instruction for the semester. It's all part of what the district is calling its "Pandemic Recovery Plan."
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