Category: Student Spotlight

Last year, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Irvine Unified School District (IUSD) students had the option to choose their academic model for the year. The hybrid model allowed two days of in-person learning and two days of online learning on the video-chatting app, Zoom. The Irvine Virtual Academy (IVA) model was strictly online learning. Some students at the elementary school level had the option to return to a traditional in-person model.

For the 2021-2022 school year, IUSD is inching towards a return to ‘normalcy’ with its academic model selections. The IVA model is still available this year for families who choose to opt-out of the traditional in-person learning. With the new state mandates, IUSD still requires students and staff to wear masks at all times indoors, but masks are currently not required outdoors.

Woodbridge High School junior Jake Sanjongco has won the Orange County (OC) Film Festival for American singer-songwriter Jeremy Zucker’s song “End.”

Through his music video, Sanjongco hopes to tell the story about losing loved ones and being left with the guilt from all of the mistakes and memories made.

It’s now been several weeks since students returned to IUSD schools. I personally attend Woodbridge High, the school with the most students on campus on any given day with over 1,000 students and faculty back on campus.

These past weeks have given me a better understanding of hybrid learning. Here’s what I’ve learned.

Irvine Unified School District schools have transitioned to hybrid learning. For the first time in six months, students finally re-inhabited the halls of the various campuses across Irvine. To say the least, it was an experience.

My teachers sounded stressed. I was stressed. The first two days were not a particularly positive experience.

Under Governor Gavin’s rules for reopening schools this fall, any California county classified as a “red zone” must offer digital courses only, without any in-person classes, regardless of public or private school.

Since Orange County is currently classified as a “red zone,” all Irvine schools will begin the new school year online.

Schools in Irvine has transitioned to distance learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For high school students like me, this new form of learning has posed several challenges, with many students feeling isolated, frustrated, and unmotivated.

Nithin Parthasarathy is a student at Irvine’s Northwood High School whose passion for sustainability and food equity led him to establishing the Zero Waste Initiative.

While eating at Bruegger’s Bagels here in Irvine, Nithin noticed workers throwing away surplus bagels that they couldn’t sell at the end of the day.  Realizing that a lot of shops throw surplus food away, Nithin decided to take action.

Along with online learning at school, Advanced Placement (AP) testing has also made the switch to digital.

These tests occur once a year, evaluating a high school students’ year of learning. A strong score on the test can waive necessary college credit for graduation later.

Irvine Unified School District has announced a switch to a credit/no credit grading policy, temporarily shifting away from the standard letter grade system. 

For the last semester or trimester (depending on education level), everything will be pass or fail.

All IUSD schools have transitioned to distance learning.  This switch was meant to protect teachers and students alike from COVID-19 (coronavirus).

On Wednesday, March 18th, all classes at my high school, Woodbridge High, transitioned to online. This new way of learning is drastically different from traditional high schools. 

The reaction of students to Irvine’s school closures due to the coronavirus threat highlights the Irvine bubble we live in.

For families living paycheck-to-paycheck, these school closures will have a dramatic financial impact.

Northwood High School Senior, Heather Kim, has been named a “2020 National YoungArts Foundation Merit” winner for her work in Visual Arts, joining 686 of the nation’s most accomplished artists in the visual, literary and performing arts.