Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1259894
their high school diploma — they have no job, they get involved in things outside of the law. I had to think: Am I really going to fail students because they did not fit into my program?" Instead, Abernethy developed ways to make sure students dealing with such trauma were still getting an education and still passing all-important standardized tests. " I gav e t h e m p r o j e c t s t h e y c o u l d d o o n their own, that were comprehensive and rig- orous," she says. "I even kept the stuf f done by kids who went to jail. When they got out I told them, 'If you want to graduate, you need to do projects for the unit you missed to get a passing grade.' They did the work because it was doable." She refused to pass students without evi- dence that they could move on successfully, but she never failed a single graduating senior in 10 years teaching high school. is approach also worked for her high-performing students, who needed challenging assignments to push them and keep them engaged. She is working to develop many of these strate- gies for her students now dealing with the impact of COVID-19 and distance learning. "If you weren't having these conversations before COVID, it's super hard to do now," Abernethy says. "We are going to be in distance learning in the fall. You have to have something where a kid can walk in with issues, but they can put in significant time and work and still pass. It's unfair, with all they have to do to make it to school, not to give them the option to get their diploma." Making sure digital needs are met is essen- tial. At Denman, UESF members Mark Aquino and Bryan Yarrington helped ensure students' online access several years ago. (Aquino is now at a high school in San Francisco.) Denman is a Verizon Innovative Learning School, so each student is issued an iPad. Communication remains key. Abernethy says one tactic that helped keep her Oakland students on track, especially the "outliers" who were veering off track, was the "daily update," where she texted parents their child's highs and lows, both positives and negatives, every day, to encourage them to straighten up. She was ecstatic when one of her former students recently sent a note to tell her he had been admitted to Stanford Univer- sity this fall, thanking her "for the strong educational foundation you gave me in middle school." In the end, she says, parents and guardians' desire for a good education for their children transcends all other boundaries. "All the families I talk to want the same thing for their kids." Food distribution at Hudnall Elementary. Courtesy Inglewood Unified School District "We have to think as we, not me. We are the community." —Ramona Rocha, Inglewood Teachers Association 34 cta.org feature C O V I D - 1 9