Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

PBS and NPR Mount Last-Ditch Fight to Save Federal Funding

15 hours ago

Netanyahu Under Mounting Political Pressure After Party Quits

16 hours ago

Wall Street Opens Higher After Inflation, Bank Results

16 hours ago

Sick of Loud Ads on Netflix? A Proposed California Law Turns Down the Volume

1 day ago

Record Numbers of Americans Say Immigration Is Good for Country: Gallup Poll

2 days ago

In California Strawberry Fields, Immigration Raids Sow Fear

2 days ago

Newsom’s Office Attacks Stephen Miller, Calling Him a ‘Fascist Cuck’

2 days ago

Trump’s Spending Bill Will Likely Boost Costs for Insurers, Shrink Medicaid Coverage

2 days ago
Fresno Unified Parents: Haven't Heard from Teachers? Here's What to Do.
NANCY WEBSITE HEADSHOT 1
By Nancy Price, Multimedia Journalist
Published 5 years ago on
April 16, 2020

Share

If your children are enrolled in Fresno Unified School District and you haven’t yet heard from their teachers since schools closed due to COVID-19, you might want to call or email your trustee.

Frustrated parents normally would contact their child’s school principal, but it was made clear at Wednesday night’s board meeting that trustees want teachers to seriously ramp up distance learning. And, they voiced their concerns to Superintendent Bob Nelson.

The trustees’ email addresses and the phone numbers of their assistants are at this link.

“I understand there’s an adjustment period, but after five weeks I think families expected to have some contact.” trustee Carol Mills

Trustees said that they’ve heard from parents who are still waiting for their first phone call — five weeks after schools closed in an effort to contain the highly contagious novel coronavirus.

What’s The Follow-up?

Trustee Carol Mills said she has heard from families at different schools that they’ve had no contact with teachers.

“We’ve set standards and expectations for our teachers to connect with their students each week,” she said. “I would like to know if our instructional staff are following up on that.

“I understand there’s an adjustment period, but after five weeks I think families expected to have some contact.”

Nelson’s response was short and succinct: “Agree and will follow up with that.”

Fresno Unified teachers are supposed to connect with their students and their colleagues at least once a week and provide learning opportunities for students “to the greatest extent possible.”

The district is working on a plan for teachers to have virtual office hours for students.

Is Language A Barrier?

Trustee Elizabeth Jonasson Rosas said she has heard similar complaints of no teacher phone calls or emails from “lots” of families, particularly parents of English language learners.

Trustee Elizabeth Jonasson Rosas said she has heard similar complaints of no teacher phone calls or emails from “lots” of families, particularly parents of English language learners.

She praised the hard work that many staffers are putting in as the district converts to a distance learning model of instruction, where students access their lessons online or with paper packets of instructional materials.

Even so, she said, the district needs to make sure that all students are being served by their teachers. If language is a barrier, teachers should have access to real-time language interpreting services, Jonasson Rosas said.

Sandra Toscano, assistant superintendent for English language services, said the district was working on a plan to increase accessibility for families to the site teams.

Trustee Veva Islas, who said she, too, has heard from parents about not being contacted yet by teachers, said parents should make sure that their phone and email is up-to-date in the district’s ATLAS information system.

Parents Need Support

Not every parent is fully literate, Islas said, and might benefit from directions that are more picture than word-oriented.

And for those who speak a language other than English — district students come from homes where 60 languages other than English are spoken — the district needs to make sure to communicate with them in their language, Islas said.

“Every parent deserves to be contacted and deserves to know how we will support them in the continuing education of their students.”trustee Veva Islas

“Every parent deserves to be contacted and deserves to know how we will support them in the continuing education of their students,” she said.

Islas said that as a first-generation student herself, she knows the difficulties that many parents now face when trying to help their children with school work. Her own parents were unable to help her with algebra and science, for example, because of their own limited educations.

Support for these parents is crucial, she said. “Their advocacy is as much an effort about making sure their children have better opportunities in their life, and it is also a tremendous stressor for them. The more we can do to help support and alleviate that, the better.”

Dailey School Charter Renewed

After a lengthy discussion over whether Dailey Elementary Charter School is sufficiently diverse and not creating barriers for specific students, the Fresno Unified board voted 5-0, with abstentions by trustees Mills and Terry Slatic, to renew the school’s charter for another five years.

There’s no question about how well the school is performing academically, trustees said. But several raised issues over whether the central Fresno K-5 school is doing enough to increase enrollments of students who are low-income, English language learners, or in need of special education programs, they said.

When it came time for a vote on a motion to renew the charter, some of the trustees appeared to be confused over whether they were voting to table the renewal application for the second time that night (the first was when they agreed to table the application and consider it at the end of the meeting instead of nearer the beginning).

The district’s attorney informed them that once a vote had already started, they had to complete it.

The yes votes included board president Keshia Thomas and board clerk Valerie Davis, who sit with Nelson on Dailey’s seven-member board.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

So Your Doctor Is a DO. Does That Matter?

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Found Dead After Hike Near Courtright Reservoir

DON'T MISS

Former US Army Soldier Pleads Guilty in Phone Company Hacking, Extortion Case

DON'T MISS

Fresno City Attorney Briefly Ineligible to Practice Law, Cites State Bar Error

DON'T MISS

Grass Fire East of Sanger Contained at 21 Acres, CalFire Says

DON'T MISS

Age Is Just a Number: 80-Year-Old Conquers Death Valley to Mt. Whitney Ultramarathon

DON'T MISS

What to Know About the Epstein Files, a Perfect Recipe for Conspiracy Theories

DON'T MISS

US Military to Remove 2,000 National Guard Troops From Los Angeles

DON'T MISS

Mexico Pledges Action Should US Talks Fail by August Tariff Deadline

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Arrest Armed Man Found Asleep in Car

UP NEXT

Is US Democracy Threatened? Majority of Californians, Including Republicans, Say Yes

UP NEXT

US Senator Seeks Safety Reforms After Fatal Collision Between Army Helicopter, Regional Jet

UP NEXT

PBS and NPR Mount Last-Ditch Fight to Save Federal Funding

UP NEXT

Fresno Unified Rewards Incompetence? Ex-Comms Chief Could Get Huge Severance

UP NEXT

Elmo’s X Account Gets Hacked, Posts Antisemitic and Racist Messages

UP NEXT

Fire at Boston-Area Senior Living Facility Kills at Least Nine

UP NEXT

Arizona Governor Wants Investigation of Federal Handling of Grand Canyon Fire

UP NEXT

Record Numbers of Americans Say Immigration Is Good for Country: Gallup Poll

UP NEXT

How Erratic Results, High Costs Doomed Fresno Unified’s Student Improvement Program

UP NEXT

Skydance in Early Talks to Acquire The Free Press, NYT Reports

Nancy Price,
Multimedia Journalist
Nancy Price is a multimedia journalist for GV Wire. A longtime reporter and editor who has worked for newspapers in California, Florida, Alaska, Illinois and Kansas, Nancy joined GV Wire in July 2019. She previously worked as an assistant metro editor for 13 years at The Fresno Bee. Nancy earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. Her hobbies include singing with the Fresno Master Chorale and volunteering with Fresno Filmworks. You can reach Nancy at 559-492-4087 or Send an Email

Fresno City Attorney Briefly Ineligible to Practice Law, Cites State Bar Error

7 hours ago

Grass Fire East of Sanger Contained at 21 Acres, CalFire Says

8 hours ago

Age Is Just a Number: 80-Year-Old Conquers Death Valley to Mt. Whitney Ultramarathon

8 hours ago

What to Know About the Epstein Files, a Perfect Recipe for Conspiracy Theories

8 hours ago

US Military to Remove 2,000 National Guard Troops From Los Angeles

8 hours ago

Mexico Pledges Action Should US Talks Fail by August Tariff Deadline

8 hours ago

Fresno Police Arrest Armed Man Found Asleep in Car

8 hours ago

Trump Says Democratic Rival Schiff Should Be ‘Brought to Justice’ for Alleged Fraud

9 hours ago

Madera County Authorities Seeks Help Finding Missing Bass Lake Man

10 hours ago

Crypto Bills Hit Procedural Snag in Congress

10 hours ago

So Your Doctor Is a DO. Does That Matter?

By most measures, osteopathic medicine is a profession in its prime. The number of doctors of osteopathic medicine, or DOs, has grown 70% in...

6 hours ago

The number of osteopathic doctors has increased dramatically. People still don’t know what they are. (Sonia Pulido/The New York Times)
6 hours ago

So Your Doctor Is a DO. Does That Matter?

7 hours ago

Fresno Man Found Dead After Hike Near Courtright Reservoir

A hooded man holds a laptop computer as cyber code is projected on him in this illustration picture taken on May 13, 2017. (Reuters File)
7 hours ago

Former US Army Soldier Pleads Guilty in Phone Company Hacking, Extortion Case

7 hours ago

Fresno City Attorney Briefly Ineligible to Practice Law, Cites State Bar Error

A grass fire east of Sanger burned 21 acres Tuesday, July 15, 2025, afternoon before being contained, CalFire said. (CalFire)
8 hours ago

Grass Fire East of Sanger Contained at 21 Acres, CalFire Says

8 hours ago

Age Is Just a Number: 80-Year-Old Conquers Death Valley to Mt. Whitney Ultramarathon

Jack Posobiec, a far-right political activist, carries a binder labeled “The Epstein Files: Phase 1” as he exits the White House in Washington, Feb. 27, 2025. Here’s what to know about the disturbing facts and unsubstantiated suspicions that make Jeffrey Epstein, a registered sex offender, a politically potent obsession. (Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times)
8 hours ago

What to Know About the Epstein Files, a Perfect Recipe for Conspiracy Theories

A demonstrator raises his hand holding flowers as members of the National Guard stand in formation outside a federal building during the No Kings protest against U.S. President Donald Trump's policies, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., June 14, 2025. (Reuters File)
8 hours ago

US Military to Remove 2,000 National Guard Troops From Los Angeles

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend