BAKERSFIELD, CA. — This week, the Bakersfield City School District and Kern High School District decided to move forward with distance learning for the first quarter of the Fall semester.
California State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tony Thurmond, held a press briefing on Wednesday in support of this decision as Covid-19 cases continue to rise across the state.
“I do think that if school had to open tomorrow most of our districts would open in distance learning. And that is a decision I think is a good decision if conditions don't change," said Thurmond.
The disputed decision comes only a month before classes are set to start in August concerning students, parents, and teachers.
“I appreciate the concerns raised by teachers who say, 'Let's make sure that we get this right. That we cannot guess. We have to follow facts and data that we know to be true and any place that where there's uncertainty we should proceed with caution.' In many cases that's going to mean opening in distance learning until we have more information," said Thurmond.
The state says they plan to provide additional training for teachers worried about the quality of education from a distance.
“Should our schools open in distance learning they will be aided by additional resources that the California Department of Education will provide that raise the standard around distance learning," said Thurmond.
