BAKERSFIELD, CA. — On the first day of distance learning classes, many schools experienced technology barriers.
Zoom, the app many districts planned to use to provide virtual learning, experienced a nationwide shutdown on the first day of classes.
For the Bakersfield City School district, the shutdown happened only 30 minutes before classes were scheduled to start.
"I got a little worried at first," said Lemuel Kwon, Principal at Casa Loma Elementary.
The school experienced 120 students of the 500 registered students absent for the first day of distance learning classes.
“Parents will call or message us on a tool or parent square and they will tell us their tech issues like wifi, chargers, and we can troubleshoot and switch out whatever they need as far as resources or technology," said Principal Kwon.
They plan to do home visits to homes when kids are missing from school. On the first day they were able to assess that 50 of the 120 students that were absent were due to technology issues.
“We have a team that was able to visit the families that were not logging in and if they had tech issues we support those families with a new hot spot or device and we can do that right on the spot," said Prinicpal Kwon.
