Category: Schools

Irvine students have returned to in-person learning. 

In preparation, the Irvine Unified School District (IUSD) launched a new webpage that offers up-to-date information on how many students and staff members have tested positive for COVID-19 in their schools.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, the recommended national standard should be one full-time school nurse per school. 

Here in Irvine, there are only 21 FTE (full-time equivalent) school nurses to cover 43 schools.  That’s a problem, especially in the middle of a global pandemic.

Summer’s here!  Usually this news would be greeted with jubilant shouts of celebration.  But with new cases of COVID-19 continuing to surge, parents and teachers are trying to figure out how students will spend the summer and have some fun. 

The traditional summer activities are not available this year. 

The Irvine Unified School District (IUSD), which was set to open their year-round schools on July 15th, has canceled those plans. 

All students will now be on the traditional school calendar, with schools currently slated to open on August 20th.

School nurses are specially trained and certified.  They understand and educate others about childhood development; they promote health and safety; intervene with actual and potential health problems; provide case-management services; and actively collaborate with physicians.

As students head back to the classroom, school nurses will be key in keeping our kids safe.

When this period of distance learning ends, there will be hundreds of studies released on how it impacted our children.  However, it’s important for us to recognize right now the effects of isolation and loneliness.

Social media can help! I’ve recently learned how a few local moms are using creative ways through social media channels to keep their kids connected to friends and classmates.

Irvine Community News & Views reached out to Irvine students and teachers to learn how they are coping with the new e-learning environment. As expected, our survey uncovered very different experiences. 

However, the majority of secondary teachers who responded to our survey stated that they do not believe that online lectures are particularly effective. 

Irvine Community News & Views is launching a new series of articles, discussing the current situation at IUSD and TUSD schools, now that students have shifted to an e-learning environment.

Students, teachers, and parents are having to adjust to the “new normal” of online classrooms.

Due to concerns around the coronavirus outbreak, all Irvine schools have closed. Classes have been moved online.

Irvine Community News & Views has compiled a list of Irvine schools with direct links to each school’s coronavirus resource page.

With America awash in guns and gun violence, the shocking fact is that school shootings have become the “new normal.”

In 2018 and 2019, the country suffered through a combined, record-breaking total of nearly 200 school shooting incidents.

Summer 2019 in America drew to an ugly, horrific end.  Mass shootings in August generated scores of new gun-violence casualties and a growing list of newly terrorized communities: Gilroy, California; Dayton, Ohio; and the El Paso, Odessa and Midland communities in Texas. ICNV asked three of our columnists to once again weigh-in on the gun violence issue.

When teachers and the community stand shoulder-to-shoulder, marching in support of school kids, good things usually happen.