R.-2 20-2277 Public Hearing by the Board of Education - "Sunshining" the District's Proposals to the Oakland Education Association, regarding the optional impacts and effects of the District's COVID-19 Plan and Program for the reopening of District schools to in-person instruction and learning, projected to begin in January 2021.
As a pediatrician at a community health center that serves low income families, as well as a parent of an OUSD child, I am fully in support of a plan to reopen schools safely. I daily talk to families who are struggling with distance learning, and that is to put it mildly. Caregivers who don't speak English, don't have tech knowledge, mothers who have had to quit their jobs to stay home with their kids putting the family in a tough financial spot, the incredible increase in depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation among kids who are isolated from their social networks and routines. When children of essential workers are not in school, those kids are often in patchwork childcare exposing more households, or put with grandparents, who are the most vulnerable. As I watch friends with kids in private schools go back, it is apparent that the equity gaps in Oakland are steadily increasing. With private schools back in session, it seems money truly does buy happiness for kids.
I support OUSD making a plan for reopening. This is a question of equity - urban public school students are being left behind, even abandoned, while private school students are learning in-person. We need to lead with science, and public health experts are overwhelming saying that elementary schools pose little risk to transmission of COVID, both for students and teachers. We can do this safely. OUSD also needs to consider that leaving kids in distance learning all year will undoubtedly result in parents abandoning the district en masse, because the situation is untenable for kids and parents. No one says it, but close to 900,000 women have left the workforce recently - many are moms being forced to sacrifice their career. All Western countries are prioritizing school openings over all else - our local and state leaders need to do the same. Close indoor dining, gyms, all leisure activities but reopen the schools for the health and wellbeing of students.
School is essential not only for academics, but also for children's social-emotional health, safety, nutrition, and so many other things children get through the school system. It's critical for us to find a way to support and get kids back to school. Kids are remarkably adaptable and have adapted to this pandemic by social distancing, wearing masks, and frequent hand-washing, so these habits already help lower the risk level at school. Private schools have opened. Why have public schools not opened?
All that I could discern from reading the OUSD reopening plan document is that it seems like there is no plan. It reads like a mission statement and not a concrete plan to reopen schools. Are administrators and teachers consulting with experts about the available data from countries that have kept their schools open? On 10/29/20 the New York Times reported that France, Germany, Ireland and other countries have kept schools open during lockdowns out of concern for the adverse impacts on children. The European CDC also released a study on the subject in late August. It seems like we could learn from them what the best practices are and accelerate the process so that all of our students can get back to school.
It is clear people have very strong feelings on all sides of this issue. I think we can all find common ground that a top priority is to ensure the safety of our teachers and children. However, in terms of reopening, we must start the negotiations between OEA & OUSD now so they can (together) set clear, objective benchmarks & safety standards that our community can start working towards. We are most likely going to be living with this virus for years (not months) and we need to start thinking long term and get plans in place. Just saying "we can't reopen" and walking away isn't a rational argument or strategy. Whatever achievement gaps exist today will only get wider the longer children remain 100% distance learning.
I support OUSD following the lead of other Bay Area and California school districts in putting together a dashboard monitoring progress towards a potential re-opening of schools.
We should not re-open at all costs, nor should we remain closed based on inertia.
Having open, honest dialogue will lead to the best decision for our community and provide much needed clarity about under what condition schools will re-open.
I trust our state and local health and political leaders who have indicated that Alameda County schools can re-open if they meet a number of conditions. I believe the district should publicly monitor their progress towards meeting those conditions and then make an informed decision in partnership with the community about whether to re-open.
If OUSD chooses to set a different standard such as no re-opening until a vaccine or no re-opening until no cases for two weeks then that should be made explicit so parents, teachers and students can plan accordingly.
Please get our kids back in school. Although I appreciate the school, the school district, and union doing all they can, I believe my children’s education is negatively impacted, greatly, by distance learning. This is not a solution we should continue to rely on, and it’s time to agree on options to bring them back to class. At least have serious discussion about it.
I support the science and the social-emotional and mental health of our kids.
Schools are essential.
Teachers are essential.
Hospitals are essential.
Fire departments are essential.
Grocery stores are essential.
Let's please utilize the experts whose job it is to evaluate the safety implications of reopening plans and not be beholden to the emotions that we are all feeling. Please listen to the the Dept Of Health guidelines!
I was surprised to learn that negotiations between OUSD and OEA had not begun, given the current MOU expires soon. Even if Covid rates continue trending poorly, that shouldn't stop us from progressing on the discussions around the criteria needed to reopen safely. If we begin these discussions now, we can identify where the gaps are (e.g. testing frequency), and leverage parent and broader community support to help bridge. Even if a return to school is not possible until the spring, there is no reason this discussion should not start now,
I believe parents (and teachers) cannot make decisions about reopening until we have data from OUSD. I am pleased to see the Dashboard published last week showing progress to country safety requirements and other information released from Superintendent Johnson-Trammell. OUSD should work towards a reopening plan (as they are doing) and an agreement with OEA on a safe reopening plan should we be able to reopen in January. If we move from Orange to Red/Purple, then of course reopening may need to be delayed, but that should not halt preparations and planing for a safe reopening. Other countries (eg. Germany) have shut down all non-essential businesses but kept schools open because they recognize students do much better by being in the classroom with peers. I am hopeful we can come around to some of that thinking as well. Many Bay Area districts have reopened or have concrete plans to do so, and OUSD students will be left further behind the longer we delay even coming up with a plan!
I don't think we should be discussing a date at which we should be opening and instead be discussing criteria to be met prior to opening schools for any students. How many deaths are acceptable to the board to open schools?
I am a teacher at Skyline High School. I share this comment on the same day that Alameda County announced a pause on further reopening and a prediction that the county will return to the red or purple tier if trends continue. This begs the question: how did we get here? How have we failed, at a local and state level, to control this pandemic so dramatically? The answer is simple. Politicians and district leaders have attempted to reopen to the furthest extent politically possible, prioritizing economic normalcy and profit over human lives. Every slight improvement in disease transmission triggers a reduction in the very restrictions that started the improvement. OUSD's reopening plan attempts to follow this failed strategy. Any reopening plan that does not prioritize disease eradication is doomed to repeat the same failures that continue to kill our community members, especially our Black and Brown families who you seem especially eager to expose to higher risk on campus.
As a pediatrician at a community health center that serves low income families, as well as a parent of an OUSD child, I am fully in support of a plan to reopen schools safely. I daily talk to families who are struggling with distance learning, and that is to put it mildly. Caregivers who don't speak English, don't have tech knowledge, mothers who have had to quit their jobs to stay home with their kids putting the family in a tough financial spot, the incredible increase in depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation among kids who are isolated from their social networks and routines. When children of essential workers are not in school, those kids are often in patchwork childcare exposing more households, or put with grandparents, who are the most vulnerable. As I watch friends with kids in private schools go back, it is apparent that the equity gaps in Oakland are steadily increasing. With private schools back in session, it seems money truly does buy happiness for kids.
I support OUSD making a plan for reopening. This is a question of equity - urban public school students are being left behind, even abandoned, while private school students are learning in-person. We need to lead with science, and public health experts are overwhelming saying that elementary schools pose little risk to transmission of COVID, both for students and teachers. We can do this safely. OUSD also needs to consider that leaving kids in distance learning all year will undoubtedly result in parents abandoning the district en masse, because the situation is untenable for kids and parents. No one says it, but close to 900,000 women have left the workforce recently - many are moms being forced to sacrifice their career. All Western countries are prioritizing school openings over all else - our local and state leaders need to do the same. Close indoor dining, gyms, all leisure activities but reopen the schools for the health and wellbeing of students.
Let’s get kids back to school in a way that is safe for both the students and the teachers. We owe both groups a plan.
School is essential not only for academics, but also for children's social-emotional health, safety, nutrition, and so many other things children get through the school system. It's critical for us to find a way to support and get kids back to school. Kids are remarkably adaptable and have adapted to this pandemic by social distancing, wearing masks, and frequent hand-washing, so these habits already help lower the risk level at school. Private schools have opened. Why have public schools not opened?
All that I could discern from reading the OUSD reopening plan document is that it seems like there is no plan. It reads like a mission statement and not a concrete plan to reopen schools. Are administrators and teachers consulting with experts about the available data from countries that have kept their schools open? On 10/29/20 the New York Times reported that France, Germany, Ireland and other countries have kept schools open during lockdowns out of concern for the adverse impacts on children. The European CDC also released a study on the subject in late August. It seems like we could learn from them what the best practices are and accelerate the process so that all of our students can get back to school.
OUSD and the Unions are completely self-serving, it’s disgusting, shameful, horrible, you people should be ashamed!!!
It is clear people have very strong feelings on all sides of this issue. I think we can all find common ground that a top priority is to ensure the safety of our teachers and children. However, in terms of reopening, we must start the negotiations between OEA & OUSD now so they can (together) set clear, objective benchmarks & safety standards that our community can start working towards. We are most likely going to be living with this virus for years (not months) and we need to start thinking long term and get plans in place. Just saying "we can't reopen" and walking away isn't a rational argument or strategy. Whatever achievement gaps exist today will only get wider the longer children remain 100% distance learning.
I support OUSD following the lead of other Bay Area and California school districts in putting together a dashboard monitoring progress towards a potential re-opening of schools.
We should not re-open at all costs, nor should we remain closed based on inertia.
Having open, honest dialogue will lead to the best decision for our community and provide much needed clarity about under what condition schools will re-open.
I trust our state and local health and political leaders who have indicated that Alameda County schools can re-open if they meet a number of conditions. I believe the district should publicly monitor their progress towards meeting those conditions and then make an informed decision in partnership with the community about whether to re-open.
If OUSD chooses to set a different standard such as no re-opening until a vaccine or no re-opening until no cases for two weeks then that should be made explicit so parents, teachers and students can plan accordingly.
Please get our kids back in school. Although I appreciate the school, the school district, and union doing all they can, I believe my children’s education is negatively impacted, greatly, by distance learning. This is not a solution we should continue to rely on, and it’s time to agree on options to bring them back to class. At least have serious discussion about it.
I support the science and the social-emotional and mental health of our kids.
Schools are essential.
Teachers are essential.
Hospitals are essential.
Fire departments are essential.
Grocery stores are essential.
Let's please utilize the experts whose job it is to evaluate the safety implications of reopening plans and not be beholden to the emotions that we are all feeling. Please listen to the the Dept Of Health guidelines!
I was surprised to learn that negotiations between OUSD and OEA had not begun, given the current MOU expires soon. Even if Covid rates continue trending poorly, that shouldn't stop us from progressing on the discussions around the criteria needed to reopen safely. If we begin these discussions now, we can identify where the gaps are (e.g. testing frequency), and leverage parent and broader community support to help bridge. Even if a return to school is not possible until the spring, there is no reason this discussion should not start now,
I believe parents (and teachers) cannot make decisions about reopening until we have data from OUSD. I am pleased to see the Dashboard published last week showing progress to country safety requirements and other information released from Superintendent Johnson-Trammell. OUSD should work towards a reopening plan (as they are doing) and an agreement with OEA on a safe reopening plan should we be able to reopen in January. If we move from Orange to Red/Purple, then of course reopening may need to be delayed, but that should not halt preparations and planing for a safe reopening. Other countries (eg. Germany) have shut down all non-essential businesses but kept schools open because they recognize students do much better by being in the classroom with peers. I am hopeful we can come around to some of that thinking as well. Many Bay Area districts have reopened or have concrete plans to do so, and OUSD students will be left further behind the longer we delay even coming up with a plan!
Planning for school reopening must happen NOW!!! This process will take a while and is long overdue in starting.
I don't think we should be discussing a date at which we should be opening and instead be discussing criteria to be met prior to opening schools for any students. How many deaths are acceptable to the board to open schools?
I am a teacher at Skyline High School. I share this comment on the same day that Alameda County announced a pause on further reopening and a prediction that the county will return to the red or purple tier if trends continue. This begs the question: how did we get here? How have we failed, at a local and state level, to control this pandemic so dramatically? The answer is simple. Politicians and district leaders have attempted to reopen to the furthest extent politically possible, prioritizing economic normalcy and profit over human lives. Every slight improvement in disease transmission triggers a reduction in the very restrictions that started the improvement. OUSD's reopening plan attempts to follow this failed strategy. Any reopening plan that does not prioritize disease eradication is doomed to repeat the same failures that continue to kill our community members, especially our Black and Brown families who you seem especially eager to expose to higher risk on campus.