Clovis Unified students must follow dress code during Zoom classes

CLOVIS, Calif. (KFSN) -- Students in several Valley school districts have already started the school year with remote learning.

Classes in Clovis Unified begin on Monday and the district wants to make sure kids know, even online, the dress code still applies.

Instead of decorating their classrooms to prepare for the first day of school, teachers in Clovis Unified, like many other districts, have been spending more time learning how to teach from a distance.

"About 1,000 teachers participated in training last week and they have participated in everything from training on Zoom management, breakout rooms, security features in Zoom," says district spokesperson Kelly Avants.

Avants says even though students will join in online, they'll still be subject to Clovis Unified dress code. No tank tops, halter tops, or mohawks. Just like on campus, teachers don't want any distractions in the virtual classroom.

"If a student is going to wear a T-shirt with a very antagonistic message on it or something that's going to cause class disruption, that's the type of thing the dress code is designed to minimize," she says.

Teachers will quickly scan their students' appearance during the Zoom call to deal with any distractions.

Even in a home setting, the district wants kids to feel like they are still "going to school."

"It's establishing a standard. It's establishing that classroom expectation so that our students can feel as much as possible, like, 'Okay, I'm away at school and I'm going to treat it with the same degree of seriousness that I'd treat a normal school day'."

Some kids have been able to briefly meet their teachers and make a personal connection as they came onto campus to pick up text books or technology.

The district has handed out 19,000 laptops and tablets and 4,000 hot spots.

Families who are having trouble connecting to the online classes can call Clovis Unified's technology help desk at (559) 327-9595.