When Learn4Life high schools transitioned to distance learning, distributing laptops and hotspots to all students was fairly easy. The challenge was the increase in requests to the Learn4Life information technology (IT) help desk. The staff had been serving about 2,800 employees with tech problems. Now, the IT help desk needed to respond to 23,000 students […]
Approximately 35 miles west of Fresno is the agricultural town of Mendota with a population of 11,000. There’s no bank, no pharmacy, and most of the rural students lack technology and internet access. Although it is ranked at the top of the 50 worst cities to live in the country, it’s home to one of […]
AUSTIN, Tex. (September 15, 2020) – Austin has thousands of residents who are considered Opportunity Youth, young people between the ages of 16 and 24 who are not in school or participating in the workforce. High school dropouts are more likely to live in poverty, burden public resources, be incarcerated or parent a child as […]
Among the challenges low-income families face, access to healthcare is just as much a concern as receiving a quality education. One high school in Fresno is working to improve healthcare access for its at-risk students through a new partnership that co-locates a clinic at its learning center. “We do everything we can to make wraparound […]
While legislation is being considered to aid public schools in dealing with the remote learning crisis, opponents of school choice have added clauses that reduce or eliminate funding to nonclassroom-based charters like Learn4Life. Instead of handicapping a successful method of teaching and engaging students in times of crisis, decision-makers should highlight and adapt traditional public […]
Educators and parents of all backgrounds are worried about learning loss from the pandemic-driven education upheaval, and school leaders are trying to figure out how teachers can effectively manage 120+ students a day in remote learning. In a recent Teaching from Home survey by Upbeat, 7,195 teachers estimated that only 60 percent of their students are engaged in remote learning on a regular basis, with wide gaps in perceived engagement along racial and socio-economic lines. Teachers working in high-poverty schools and those that […]
Once again Valerie Strauss and Carol Burris partner to publish unfounded claims and incorrect information about Learn4Life. And as they have always done when it comes to their pieces on Learn4Life, they ignored standards of journalistic integrity to provide article subjects a chance to respond or correct misinformation. Here is the truth about how the […]
First responders aren’t the only ones who feel compassion fatigue these days. Absorbing the fear and trauma of those they serve is a reality for front line workers. But now the pandemic has affected educators in this way, too. Distance learning has caused some teachers and counselors to experience their students’ difficulties more deeply than […]
Every teacher in every school has students who have experienced or are living with trauma in their lives – and that trauma may be escalating with distance learning. Learn4Life emphasizes the need to support students’ social-emotional health and help them cope in this uncertain time. Some students struggle to continue their studies in a less structured […]
As educators delve into the world of remote and online learning, they need to retain professional boundaries to maintain a high level of support for students. Here are guidelines to help teachers and others maintain professional balance in an online education world. 1. Be a professional. You provide academic support and guidance to students, […]