HBUHSD recently decided that all school campuses will remain closed for the remainder of the school year. However, instruction at HBAS will continue through distance learning.
For the past few weeks, our staff has been busy reaching out to students, and meeting and training in Microsoft Teams. Many teachers are already meeting with their classes. Here's a glimpse of what's going on in virtual classrooms, straight from our amazing teachers:
Suzanne Hammoud - Math Refresher
In my Math Refresher class, I have 14 active students whom I keep in touch with through Google Voice numbers. They are working on their math curriculum using YouTube videos and jeopardylabs.com review games I have set up for them. I also send them a math joke each week related to our coursework. They respond with an answer and love the interaction!
One student in particular -- very concerned about her classmates and the adult student population in general -- has taken the time to gather community resources regarding food banks, financial aid, shelters, and legal advice. I was able to share this with other adult school students.
Nami Aoyogi - Career Readiness, Digital Media Arts, Microsoft Office
Many of my students are making masks and donating them. I get daily updates from over 50 students. They are more concerned about all of us than themselves. The best thing that has come out of this terrible virus is that people are finally learning to prioritize their family, faith and how important friendships are. My students really miss coming to class because a lot of them live on their own and they miss the human interaction.
Alan Bell - Medical Assistant
I have reached out to my students via Microsoft Teams. My students have praised HBAS in the matter for what we are doing to keep them plugged in to their education. They were so happy to see each other's faces on the screen.
I reached out to our publisher, McGraw, and asked what they could do to help. I was totally blown away when they offered free online education to my students. McGraw even offered to train me on how to put together a class and how to navigate on their platform. So far, the students love it. As a class, we've agreed to meet at a certain time every day. I will be giving and recording visual lectures. The students are all in a good spirits and are looking forward to the future.
Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to teach, learn and connect online.