Schools provide support for students facing stress at home

MONTEREY, Calif. (KION) Salinas mom, Grissel Oros, admitted transitioning her child to online learning has been all but easy. "We're not used to being so hands on with our kids. It's not the same as when we went to school," said Oros.

As a mom of third grader, Oros has a new found appreciation for teachers. She said she is suddenly feeling the pressure to help her son stay on track even while at home.

"It can get stressful for him at times too. He'll be like 'Mom, that's not how you do it,'" said Oros.

Schools are learning more about the struggles students and their families are now facing. "We know it is a challenge to support their children through distance learning. There are also the day-to-day challenges of having all their kids at home and the unknowns and uncertainties and what that might bring for families," said Donnie Everett, Assistant Superintendent for Systems of Support at Monterey Peninsula Unified School District.

MPUSD, and many other school districts, provided students with laptops and have found new ways to bring WiFi to every child.

While learning remains important, teachers encourage parents to do their best to keep stress at a minimum. "Our resources are there help them. It's not there to make things harder for them. It's not there to make things more challenging or difficult or make them feel that they have to engage at a certain point," said Everett.

Schools have started to track student engagement online. MPUSD has seen an increase in online participation since providing additional WiFi access to the community.

Greenfield Union School District reported that 70% of their students are able to access WiFi and 94% have picked up a laptop from their school.

MPUSD staff said collecting data on engagement will tell teachers which kids may need additional support. "It's really about knowing our students are okay. We want them to know that we care and are ready to support them," said Everett.