The San Francisco Unified School District’s board of education is mulling the idea of giving all middle and high school students As for the rest of the year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Most of the district’s board members expressed support for the idea at a meeting Tuesday night, though a final decision isn’t expected until later this month, KPIX reports.
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“It’s very stressful for educators and families. It’s not gonna be perfect. There are a lot of issues as we go forward. Our goal is to make sure every student is reached by educators every day and that the students are okay,” SFUSD Board President Mark Sanchez said.
The idea to reward students for the pandemic came from board member Alison Collins, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
“Why not just give students A’s,” Collins at the meeting. “Let’s just consider this a wash and just give all students A’s.”
“I’m happy to give everybody an A, as well,” board member Rachel Norton added. “I do want to be sure, however, that we are not putting our individual students in jeopardy by doing so.”
The proposal runs against advice from state and university officials, as parents and students complain about a variety of issues with SFUSD’s online learning platform. San Francisco schools shut down to combat the coronavirus on March 16, a move that forced 62,000 students online, KPIX reports.
In the weeks since, students have raised issues with WiFi access, problems with computer devices, and concerns about how schools will resolve grading.
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“The most concerning thing is the grading period ends Friday and a lot of students are left in the dust because they haven’t told us what they’ll do with that,” John O’Connell High School senior Olivia Clarke told the news site.
Clarke and her classmate Sophia Koehler started a petition on Instagram called “SFUSE_Revolution” with specific demands to Superintendent Vincent Matthews, including a pass/fail grading system, an alternative to live video classes and other changes.
“For a lot of us students we have been isolated and the district is not helping with that,” said Koehler.
The all As proposal would certainly offer a boost to many of the district’s struggling students. Last year, less than 60% students met or exceeded Common Core standards in English (56%) and math (51%), according to an October SFUSD news release.
District officials told CBS Bay Area they’re aware of students’ concerns and issues and are working on solutions, but some of the problems are “beyond their control.”
The district is working to implement “Screen Captify,” for example, to allow students to access live lessons on their own time, while other issues involve educating teachers on better ways to connect.
“A lot of educators are not up to speed yet. Some of them may never get there. But the goal is that they can provide some content. A lot of the time it’s going to be live. But not all the time,” said Sanchez.


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