The number of students with multiple failing grades is on the rise in the Mount Diablo Unified School District.
The amount of students after the first quarter with multiple Ds and/or Fs is now a little over 30% for both middle and high school students.
Last year, it was just over 19% after the first quarter.
The MDUSD released a statement, saying “To be responsible educators, we must acknowledge that the learning loss students are experiencing across the nation and in our district is complex; effects like pandemic emotional stressors, change fatigue, the availability of technology, and family dynamics represent the immediate context within which our students are being taught. We see that our teachers are attempting to do the best job they can do with distance learning, and we are proud of how hard they have been working despite all of the present challenges. These challenges are why when our Board of Education heard recommendations from the superintendent to authorize January reopening dates, the strongly acknowledged area of focus was to mitigate learning loss for the students most in need, which means emphasizing social emotional, academic, and technological supports.”
To view the full report on learning loss data during the first quarter of the 2020/2021 school year, click here.
This is sad and unfortunately this is NO surprise to me. Is it to you???
Economic disparities may affect these children for life… sad
attempting to do their best job? HAhahaha, they list all the stressors of the pandemic, change, technology, family dynamics etc but what about lack of teaching or replying to questions, multiple teachers cant even take the time
out to reply to an email. I am not saying all, but when multiple teachers of important main subjects cant even reply to either the students emails or the parents, that is ridiculous and I mean zero replies with many emails sent, I am not expecting an answer within an unreasonable time frame, but days and weeks is not okay. This must change and it must change now.
Ready for the hate replies, Don’t care. I know I am not the only parent feeling this way.
Teachers are doing all they can. Parents need to step up. My, a Spec Ed teacher, has a number of cases where the parents think their child has been “going to class”, but attendance shows otherwise. And it’s the parents responsibility to make sure homework gets done. Do t just believe them when they tell you “I did it already”. Many kids are shady.
You are not alone
Naysay as we may… This isn’t just an MDUSD issue. Several news outlets have run stories over the past week or so, that many districts in the Bay Area have the same issue.
But that’s ok. Kids are resilient and will catch up. Right????????????
Well, we have to take care of their TRAUMA and EMOTIONS first, instead of academics. Most kids don’t give a crap about what is happening with this “pandemic.” They are only “traumatized” because their parents brainwashed them. My kids are fine! They just want to learn. Teaching the yoga is NOT helping.
You have to be a special kind of idiot to not get an A in an online class….
I will take the high road on you calling these kids idiots, and just leave it with
you must have no clue what some of these kids are going through, with regards to panic attacks, anxiety, stress, some kids are at a brand new school possibly not really knowing anyone or getting to meet anyone yet. so to call them “Idiots” wow, just wow.
Nice Bill, real nice… you have no idea what kids with learning disabilities are dealing with.
Ummm all of my kid’s were 4.0 students before and also now so your comment calling Children! Idiots is quite ignorant and rude
I feel terrible for the kid’s that are struggling
Wow! I would be more then happy to meet you at Peet’s Coffee in the Trader Joe’s shopping center for you to say that to my face. No it’s not a threat but more like you are sitting behind a computer like a punk ass b**ch and saying this about my three kids (and all other kids) but I doubt you would say that to my face type of meet. Very low of you Bill. Very low.
Bill is a teacher. At least he said he was in a previous thread. Nice guy huh. This is what you’re working with guys. The bay area schools are a joke.
I would wager that they are dealing with being idiots, Bill. That’s what “learning disability” means.
You have to be a special kind of idiot to call children names.
Point and match
Nice Bill your a real charmer and have no clue on what your taking about. Got a kid in school doing Zoom all day do ya? Incompetence looks good on you
And yet the union doesn’t want to allow in person learning. Some how day care and service workers can manage working with kids and the public, but not teachers….and this is the cost.
This is so sad, especially for what would be some college bound kids. And also is sad that requirements, standards and curriculum are staying the same. Our public school system state wide and district wide in MDUSD is unacceptable and has FAILED. Please someone send this to Dr. Clark. The fact that bureaucracy is what is holding these children back is unacceptable. Why is it that private school has been very successful at distance learning and can make going back Full time with a smooth transition, but our public sector has failed beyond Measure. The teachers must stand up against these unions and Board members and demand change. Even if distance learning sticks, the measure in which we “fail” children should be challenged. It is not the students fault nor the teachers that this is happening. The teachers are following what they are told to do and I feel awful for everyone involved. We pulled our children a few weeks ago and put them in a private. We are grateful we were able to and know it was the right choice. They have learned more in 2 weeks than they have in almost a Year of distance learning. The gap for children in education. Widens every single day.
You are right. Public education is like Army medIcine: The minimum good for the greatest number at the least cost. One size fits Nobody. And now they are imposing Indoctrination 101 … Sex Ed, American history, etc — a lot of subjects to track to be sure your child isn’t exposed to the madness. I’ve got an MS, and have been a teacher for over 25 years. The kids are always great, the job sucks more every year! Resist. Demand change. California is failing its children.
You can email him and the board your comment. Especially on Monday when they have a board meeting scheduled. Please do! Look up the school website for the emails.
Is anyone surprised by this? I’ve taken many online courses and they are more work intensive and less hands-on. Kids, especially the younger ones, need that hands-on experience.
Unfortunately no surprise.
Between my two older kids, there is a total of 12 teachers. Only four of those teachers are real good and really push and go above and beyond to help engage these students. I would totally call out the other 8 teachers and how much they suck but that would be very mean. Oh and the best part, my daughters academic success teacher emails me to schedule meetings but then ignores me when I let him know what day and time are best. Sorry but not all teachers are working “real” hard!!!
Who didn’t see this coming? At the start of this absurd shutdown and ridiculous social distancing, I predicted kids will be well into their 20’s when they graduate. I’m so glad my kid is a grown adult and I don’t have to deal with this mess.
But we are supposed to believe that distance learning is working ….
Without a push and motivation good grades are not a reality. My motivation since I really got little at home was to be better than my friends who were usually the ones who did good at school because they were pushed at home. If I hadn’t had that motivation with an eagerness to learn not sure what I would have done in school. My point is kids have to be motivated. It is absolutely necessary. I have often thought that the first thing a kid in first grade should be taught is how to get motivated. Maybe the first weeks of school for every grade needs to be taught by motivational speakers who convince them that learning can make a difference in their lives when school is done.
I agree with you Ricardoh. Motivation is the key. Now, just how to get them motivated is another issue!
lol it happened before covid ….wow
no child left behind right
kids get passed up …..no homework and failed tests
the schools label them with disorder
they are given pills for adhd
and pass them forward
assigning grades right now is irresponsible
and asinine
to expect kids to do this on a whim
with most not even sitting at a computer before
kindergarteners
even 4th graders
some parents dont allow it
no phones or ipads
yes i knowing some are like really but how do those parents get through the day with out distracting their kids with electronics lol
my point exactly
any electronic is considered a game
now your going to grade them lol
mdusd is the biggest joke since harris
its not the kids who are failing
it is the adults
this whole thing was a shoddy attempt to appease the masses
demanding a good education after being locked down
MDUSd is failing on multiple leves.
Don’t blame the kids, blame the school system.
MDUSD can only indoctrinate students, never actually teach them anything usefull.
So true! I also heard in Washington they are now gonna start teaching kindergarteners sex ed.
I know first hand many students that are historically A & B students that have D’s & F’s as new students starting in High School. There are some amazing teachers and then there are some other ones that do not factor in how incredibly difficult this has been for some of these teens even when they reach out for help.
Many teens are suffering from anxiety and depression from distance learning. They are attending all of their classes and completing work and are still struggling.
Distance learning is not anywhere close to what they would experience going to school 5 days a week. While I understand that is not a possibility with the pandemic, I find it unfair that they are being graded as if it is normal school. This can be a major hit to their transcripts for College applications and is unfair.
I feel that School counselors should be checking in with all students once a quarter to see how they are doing because many are not reaching out and suffering in silence. That would open the line of communication if it were something the Counselors were doing for every student during distance learning.
Kids are Zoomed out!
Boycott Zoom until they wake the heck up! Clearly kids are not learning so they’re not going to miss much! Grades will continue to drop off, considerably unless massaged!
Adam Clarke is swimming about 500ft out of his depth. MDUSD needs to be put into special measures, even before Covid!
ZOOMCOTT, ZOOMCOTT, ZOOMCOTT!
What did they expect. A rise is those grades, c’mon are they that naive? To be honest, if a parent can teach their child at home they both would be better off. There learning would not include a lot of teachers own personal beliefs and views on life both of which have no place in the classroom.
I forgot one more point I wanted to make in my previous comment. A teen I know said that it has been ” A lot harder to start the year with distance learning than it was to finish the year with it.” Because at least they had a chance to get to know their teachers before they were all thrown into “crisis learning” at the end of last year. I totally understand what they meant when they said that.
I really hope that MDUSD reads our comments here.
What surprise ! MDUSD is so bought and paid for. Their newest offer to parents is , if you want in person learning for your child: they have to wear a mask all day, they may not have the same teacher ( they could potentially have multiple teachers,) they may not stay at their assigned school! So, do you still want to do it? It is such BS ! Of course your child doesn’t want to have a different teacher, of course they want to stay at their school with their friends ! , Of course the kids are going to choose to stay in distance learning with those “options” ! REALLY MDUSD !!! Sacrificing our kids for your agendas!!! Everyone knows the teachers unions own Newsom, he will make the CA schools do whatever they want at his “direction”. And don’t forget his kids are back in private school with minimal restrictions( like maybe a mask or not) but no BS restrictions like the ones for public schools. There is a private school near my home and everyday I see them playing on the playground with no masks getting to be normal kids. Shame on th governor , MDUSD and the whole State of Education !!!
It’s ok because your Gov is sending his four kids to school, but you MUST stay home and fail on line. Remember, many of these kids in that area are low income, two working parents, and English is not widely spoken in the homes.
Common Core plus distance learning. They couldn’t have planned it any better. Isn’t great being guinea pigs?
ESEA; FAILED
NCLB; FAILED
ESSA; FAILED
CC; FAILING
__________ (Fill in the Blank)
Bussing; Failed
Teachers get huge benefits when they retire. They can’t be fired. Horrible teachers are there forever. How are they
expected to do on-line teaching?
Common core was designed to dumb down the smart kids and try to lift up the majority of mediocre kids, hence the name, “common” core”…
Moved my kids out state two months ago , they are in real full time school, the district and state is a joke!!!!!!! watching the ultimate destruction of the children is just horrifying, and nobody cares!!! Parents and teachers are just watching their kids be destroyed!! It’s going to be a whole year with no school!! Meanwhile everyone else is back in school, pathetic
Great teachers….. Here is the ending response from my childs teacher when I told them she didn’t understand what to do! No help! I had to figure this out with my child alone. Not to mention I just got home from a 10 hour shift! Teachers like this should not be teachers in my opinion.
All the instructions for all the work are typed in the slides for each week, so it is not necessary to me to re-explain verbally what to do. It is all laid out for students in the Speaker Notes of each slide.
I am sorry I wasn´t able to be of more help,
My son’s teacher did not tell parents or the my son that he kept on turning in blank assignments. My son did not understand he was attaching things wrong, so the teacher just gave him a zero for the assignment and moved on. It was me reaching out to the teacher and saying why is this a zero … o because he turned in a blank sheet. My response was along the lines of … ever thought you should contact him or me? How is he supposed to learn if you FAIL to provide feedback? The same teacher also will not accept a JPEG of the homework, it must only be a google doc. SERIOUSLY?
BTW, when he was ‘allowed’ to resubmit all the homework his grade went from a 5x% to a 94%.
Sorry, I kinda expect teacher to TEACH and to UNDERSTAND that 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th graders and more might not understand all of this ZOOM and GOOGLE stuff. If we could afford private school, our kids would be in private school.
I’m sure the kids in the San Ramon Valley, Acalanes and Walnut Creek School districts are doing just fine with their grades hmmm
Both of my daughters are doing fine. Both have straight A’s. One has a learning disability. But she knows how to ask for help and the teachers are their to support her. It is hard and long hours but if you complete the work it isn’t hard to pass. My only complaint with the teachers is that the work load is the same as if the kids were at school. I think the work load should be reduced because of the computer fatigue.