D.-2 21-0804 Approval by the Board of Education of Tentative Agreement as Agreement Between the District and the Oakland Education Association Regarding Impacts and Effects of Reopening Schools in Spring of 2021.
You need to get schools open now on a full-time basis. There is no scientific basis for continued closures, or for the reduced capacity restrictions resulting in a paltry five hours a week at school. This is not about science or safety -- it is about the self-interested political agenda of OEA, and its elected enablers. History will not be kind to OUSD and OEA for their gross mishandling of the pandemic, and for the way they put politics before the well-being of the students they purportedly serve. We are tired of excuses. Essential workers in literally every other industry are on the job. Schools that are not subject to the menace of activist organized labor are functioning, full-time with no issues. OUSD is the outlier. Shameful.
Please make a regular fall schedule your priority! People are leaving the district in droves right now! I know dozens of families who have moved out of Oakland for neighboring districts or private schools. Everyone is so frustrated, especially as they see relatives and friends back in school all over the state and country without any significant outbreaks. The majority of children 12 and up should be vaccinated by the fall, and the teachers will all be vaccinated. The younger kids don't transmit as easily and rarely get ill from Covid. I know that fear has kept a lot of teachers from returning to school, but as an essential worker who had no choice whether to return, I had to go to work, using a mask and good handwashing. My co-workers and I all managed to stay Covid-free, despite being less than 6 feet apart every day and in rooms without ventilation. Teachers, it is time to come back. The vaccine should alleviate any fears, and PPE works!
We support the approval of Agreement and strongly encourage you to do the same in light of the positive new developments at the national and county level. There will never be ZERO risk again-- but we there are sufficient safe guards in place to enable a productive in-person teaching environment for our children, teachers and administrators. Our community needs this. Please support!!!
The science and CDC guidance overwhelmingly shows that schools can reopen full time in person, and the extra funding is sufficient to provide for the additional precautions necessary. Majority of schools in our country are now open full time in person, most of the local private schools are too. Our kids are desperate for great education and distance learning has proved to be insufficient. Please focus on the children’s needs and reopen in person fully. Our kids, community will be better off.
This 2.5 hours 2 days/week schedule is not enough. Provide consistency and support for our students by negotiating a 5 day a week in-person schedule instead.
We also need to hear loud and clear that the plan, unless other drastic things happen, is to go back, in-person, 5 days a week, full-time, in the fall.
We've heard anecdotally that teachers are going back to no soap in their classrooms and other issues. Are the walk-throughs failing to find these problems? How do we get OUSD to support our students, staff and custodial workers to make sure schools and classrooms are safe, across the district? What is the issue? This seems to have been a long-standing problem for OUSD schools and erodes trust in OUSD.
My plan is to pull my kid out of OUSD unless you immediately announce that fall will be full days in-person. given the 3 foot distancing guidance, evidence that vaccinated people do not transmit the virus. It is time for the OUSD board to talk openly and enthusiastically about school being the safest place for kids.
My kindergartener started in person instruction yesterday, which was a wonderful 2.17 hours, but it's not enough. He wanted to go back today, and I had to tell him it's not possible. There were six children in his classroom. There is plenty of space for more kids, given the 3 foot distancing guidance. Bring kids back to school 4 afternoons this spring. The kids need this. We now have evidence that vaccinated people do not transmit the virus. It is time for the OUSD board to talk openly and enthusiastically about school being the safest place for kids.
While it is too late to negotiate an agreement that will provide our children with adequate access to school this spring, I hope you learn from the mistakes made with this agreement so that they are not repeated in the fall. The district should be planning for full-time, in-person school for all students in the fall. We know it’s safe. No more excuses.
It was a terrible strategic error to make this K-2 March 30 restart a voluntary return. None of the teachers at our school have opted in and our previously tight-knit school community is imploding. Families and kids are devastated, frustrated and hurt. Teacher-parent relations have never been worse. There has been a communication failure and the kids are the ones suffering.
My only hope is that you have the will to get our children the classroom time they deserve this school year by opening for longer than 2 hours per day 2 days per week- add more hours, add more days, whatever you can. The distancing guidelines have shifted and we don’t need 6 feet anymore so let’s get the kids in for longer to get them some real classroom exposure. Our youngest children desperately need it. This is affecting 65% of the K-2 kids in our district. Please commit to following the science and getting our kids real time in the classroom for the remainder of this school year and in the fall.
Please make the commitment to open school five a days a week in the fall. I’m happy that my children will be able to go to school part this year. They have been waiting for this. I am lucky enough to live walking distance from my school and have support to make the schedule work. I know come fall, I will not be able to support my kids with distance learning or a partial schedule since I’ll be working in the field. I love my school, community, teachers and want to have a successful transition back to school that is manageable for all families.
We need a commitment to 5 days full days per week of in person instruction in August. All teachers will have had plenty of opportunity to be vaccinated, and with recent CDC recommendations and 3ft distancing, we need to be back in the classroom.
You all should be ashamed of yourselves and how you’ve thrown all kids under a bus this last year. Families are fighting for their kids lives and mental health right now. My own daughter is in hospital and ongoing school closures are absolutely one of the reasons. You have ignored science consistently and bowed down to political pressures from the union to keep schools closed. No surprise as the union owns the board. The union itself just cares about power and wielding that even when our children’s lives are at stake. Shame on all of you. You need to wake up to the crisis affecting teenagers right now. You need to commit to a full opening of school for fall and you need to apologise for the absolute mess you have made of returning to schools. You have made the kids pay the price so you can look good. So you all can wield your pathetic ounce of power. Shame on you all 100 x. We had a chance to protect our kid’s from the worst affects of covid instead you threw them in front of the bus
As an OUSD teacher and parent, I call for the School Board to do everything in its power to secure five in-person school days per week for all students who want it. OUSD should be working now to plan for those families who wish to remain in distance learning. Why not recruit the best and brightest distance learning teachers who also don’t want to go back to in-person to run a “Zoom school” for kids who don’t want to return? I would gladly help with the Kindergarten curriculum for them, as my students and families have been enjoying our weekly lesson plans and the hands-on materials we send home monthly. Bottom line: improve distance learning for those who want it, and endure a full return to in-person learning for everyone else. It can be done safely. Kids need less screen time and more joy. Every day more families share that they are moving out of Oakland or switching to private schools. This is killing our public schools.
PLEASE commit to reopening schools full time this fall. An afternoon schedule two days a week is hard for most families and the guidance now gives the district the ability to plan for longer and more days. Alameda County is in the orange tier now – which I believe was in the original negotiations between OUSD and OEA. We are moving to vaccinations for all 16+ and up, so let’s get the schools reopened for high schoolers. We need to be educating the wider Oakland school population of these changes immediately, i.e. another round of reopening sessions in various languages so that parents, teachers, staff can join them. Lastly on the 3ft guidance, this has now been updated across CDC, CA and Alameda County and the tentative agreements says to rely on this guidance so the district should be quickly pivoting to it, even in the spring. There is no need to wait! Do what’s best for the school community.
I fully support expanding the in-person learning from the ridiculous 2.5 hours/twice a week to 4-5 days a week (preferably full-time). The CDC just announced that vaccinated persons aren't carriers of the virus, and have also readjusted their distancing guidelines to 3 feet. This should eliminate any logistical challenges and any fears with teachers/staff/ and parents regarding safety. Oakland is now in the Orange tier, and no Oakland zip codes are in the purple. Community spread is declining and vaccinations are increasing. It's time to do right by our children and close the equity gap that distance learning is perpetuating.
Science and data from CDC shows that it is safe to re-open schools full-time 5 days a week.
- teachers are vaccinated and safe against COVID and variants and do not transmit the virus
- students with masks and 3' separation prevent spread
- rooms have been upgraded with air purifiers and extra PPE provided
OUSD has done a great job upgrading the schools to make a safe environment for kids and now needs to press for a full-time schedule.
Hybrid solutions are double work for teachers, short-changes students, and often impossible for working parents.
Piedmont is open full time. So is Berkeley. And Ashby. Oakland should strive to be known as a leader in education, not a laggard.
I support planning for a 5-day-per-week school schedule in the fall. Alameda County has entered the Orange Tier, with low test positivity rates even in the most impacted communities. Vaccine distribution is rolling out, 16 and up are eligible to receive it on April 15th (which is most juniors and seniors), likely middle school kids will be approved by summer and the CDC has deemed a 3 feet separation to be adequate for learning. Unless things change, everyone should be prepared to go back to the normal schedule by fall. Please, no more excuses. Follow the science, not the fear.
It is extremely important to commit to starting full in person school for the Fall of 2021. This is commitment will be in the best interest of the kids and community not to mention teachers and parents. Given additional results from studies and research to date regarding Covid-19 vaccines and CDC recommendations there is no reason to delay opening of schools. The poor communication and management of the various stakeholder groups has had a big toll on parent and teacher communities which ultimately impact the kids and this must stop.
While thrilled at the outcome of the OEA vote, it was bittersweet news once I saw the hybrid schedule. It is disheartening to see that this schedule was proposed and/or agreed upon by the school board. Essential workers now have to choose between going to work OR providing their children with the social-emotional connections with their peers and teacher that they crave. As an essential worker, it is hard not to feel resentment as OUSD/OEA continues to offer no support to our children. For one year, we have been left to figure out how to work outside of our home while managing the distance learning of our children in our home. Essential workers have made it possible for everyone else to shelter in place and work from home. As we move forward and negotiations continue, please do not forget about the essential workers and the children who need to be in school. It does not have to be this way.
You need to get schools open now on a full-time basis. There is no scientific basis for continued closures, or for the reduced capacity restrictions resulting in a paltry five hours a week at school. This is not about science or safety -- it is about the self-interested political agenda of OEA, and its elected enablers. History will not be kind to OUSD and OEA for their gross mishandling of the pandemic, and for the way they put politics before the well-being of the students they purportedly serve. We are tired of excuses. Essential workers in literally every other industry are on the job. Schools that are not subject to the menace of activist organized labor are functioning, full-time with no issues. OUSD is the outlier. Shameful.
Please make a regular fall schedule your priority! People are leaving the district in droves right now! I know dozens of families who have moved out of Oakland for neighboring districts or private schools. Everyone is so frustrated, especially as they see relatives and friends back in school all over the state and country without any significant outbreaks. The majority of children 12 and up should be vaccinated by the fall, and the teachers will all be vaccinated. The younger kids don't transmit as easily and rarely get ill from Covid. I know that fear has kept a lot of teachers from returning to school, but as an essential worker who had no choice whether to return, I had to go to work, using a mask and good handwashing. My co-workers and I all managed to stay Covid-free, despite being less than 6 feet apart every day and in rooms without ventilation. Teachers, it is time to come back. The vaccine should alleviate any fears, and PPE works!
We support the approval of Agreement and strongly encourage you to do the same in light of the positive new developments at the national and county level. There will never be ZERO risk again-- but we there are sufficient safe guards in place to enable a productive in-person teaching environment for our children, teachers and administrators. Our community needs this. Please support!!!
I support full time in person learning considering the recent news that Alameda county is in the orange tier and rules of 3ft apart.
The science and CDC guidance overwhelmingly shows that schools can reopen full time in person, and the extra funding is sufficient to provide for the additional precautions necessary. Majority of schools in our country are now open full time in person, most of the local private schools are too. Our kids are desperate for great education and distance learning has proved to be insufficient. Please focus on the children’s needs and reopen in person fully. Our kids, community will be better off.
This 2.5 hours 2 days/week schedule is not enough. Provide consistency and support for our students by negotiating a 5 day a week in-person schedule instead.
We also need to hear loud and clear that the plan, unless other drastic things happen, is to go back, in-person, 5 days a week, full-time, in the fall.
We've heard anecdotally that teachers are going back to no soap in their classrooms and other issues. Are the walk-throughs failing to find these problems? How do we get OUSD to support our students, staff and custodial workers to make sure schools and classrooms are safe, across the district? What is the issue? This seems to have been a long-standing problem for OUSD schools and erodes trust in OUSD.
My plan is to pull my kid out of OUSD unless you immediately announce that fall will be full days in-person. given the 3 foot distancing guidance, evidence that vaccinated people do not transmit the virus. It is time for the OUSD board to talk openly and enthusiastically about school being the safest place for kids.
My kindergartener started in person instruction yesterday, which was a wonderful 2.17 hours, but it's not enough. He wanted to go back today, and I had to tell him it's not possible. There were six children in his classroom. There is plenty of space for more kids, given the 3 foot distancing guidance. Bring kids back to school 4 afternoons this spring. The kids need this. We now have evidence that vaccinated people do not transmit the virus. It is time for the OUSD board to talk openly and enthusiastically about school being the safest place for kids.
While it is too late to negotiate an agreement that will provide our children with adequate access to school this spring, I hope you learn from the mistakes made with this agreement so that they are not repeated in the fall. The district should be planning for full-time, in-person school for all students in the fall. We know it’s safe. No more excuses.
It was a terrible strategic error to make this K-2 March 30 restart a voluntary return. None of the teachers at our school have opted in and our previously tight-knit school community is imploding. Families and kids are devastated, frustrated and hurt. Teacher-parent relations have never been worse. There has been a communication failure and the kids are the ones suffering.
My only hope is that you have the will to get our children the classroom time they deserve this school year by opening for longer than 2 hours per day 2 days per week- add more hours, add more days, whatever you can. The distancing guidelines have shifted and we don’t need 6 feet anymore so let’s get the kids in for longer to get them some real classroom exposure. Our youngest children desperately need it. This is affecting 65% of the K-2 kids in our district. Please commit to following the science and getting our kids real time in the classroom for the remainder of this school year and in the fall.
Please make the commitment to open school five a days a week in the fall. I’m happy that my children will be able to go to school part this year. They have been waiting for this. I am lucky enough to live walking distance from my school and have support to make the schedule work. I know come fall, I will not be able to support my kids with distance learning or a partial schedule since I’ll be working in the field. I love my school, community, teachers and want to have a successful transition back to school that is manageable for all families.
We need a commitment to 5 days full days per week of in person instruction in August. All teachers will have had plenty of opportunity to be vaccinated, and with recent CDC recommendations and 3ft distancing, we need to be back in the classroom.
You all should be ashamed of yourselves and how you’ve thrown all kids under a bus this last year. Families are fighting for their kids lives and mental health right now. My own daughter is in hospital and ongoing school closures are absolutely one of the reasons. You have ignored science consistently and bowed down to political pressures from the union to keep schools closed. No surprise as the union owns the board. The union itself just cares about power and wielding that even when our children’s lives are at stake. Shame on all of you. You need to wake up to the crisis affecting teenagers right now. You need to commit to a full opening of school for fall and you need to apologise for the absolute mess you have made of returning to schools. You have made the kids pay the price so you can look good. So you all can wield your pathetic ounce of power. Shame on you all 100 x. We had a chance to protect our kid’s from the worst affects of covid instead you threw them in front of the bus
As an OUSD teacher and parent, I call for the School Board to do everything in its power to secure five in-person school days per week for all students who want it. OUSD should be working now to plan for those families who wish to remain in distance learning. Why not recruit the best and brightest distance learning teachers who also don’t want to go back to in-person to run a “Zoom school” for kids who don’t want to return? I would gladly help with the Kindergarten curriculum for them, as my students and families have been enjoying our weekly lesson plans and the hands-on materials we send home monthly. Bottom line: improve distance learning for those who want it, and endure a full return to in-person learning for everyone else. It can be done safely. Kids need less screen time and more joy. Every day more families share that they are moving out of Oakland or switching to private schools. This is killing our public schools.
PLEASE commit to reopening schools full time this fall. An afternoon schedule two days a week is hard for most families and the guidance now gives the district the ability to plan for longer and more days. Alameda County is in the orange tier now – which I believe was in the original negotiations between OUSD and OEA. We are moving to vaccinations for all 16+ and up, so let’s get the schools reopened for high schoolers. We need to be educating the wider Oakland school population of these changes immediately, i.e. another round of reopening sessions in various languages so that parents, teachers, staff can join them. Lastly on the 3ft guidance, this has now been updated across CDC, CA and Alameda County and the tentative agreements says to rely on this guidance so the district should be quickly pivoting to it, even in the spring. There is no need to wait! Do what’s best for the school community.
I fully support expanding the in-person learning from the ridiculous 2.5 hours/twice a week to 4-5 days a week (preferably full-time). The CDC just announced that vaccinated persons aren't carriers of the virus, and have also readjusted their distancing guidelines to 3 feet. This should eliminate any logistical challenges and any fears with teachers/staff/ and parents regarding safety. Oakland is now in the Orange tier, and no Oakland zip codes are in the purple. Community spread is declining and vaccinations are increasing. It's time to do right by our children and close the equity gap that distance learning is perpetuating.
Science and data from CDC shows that it is safe to re-open schools full-time 5 days a week.
- teachers are vaccinated and safe against COVID and variants and do not transmit the virus
- students with masks and 3' separation prevent spread
- rooms have been upgraded with air purifiers and extra PPE provided
OUSD has done a great job upgrading the schools to make a safe environment for kids and now needs to press for a full-time schedule.
Hybrid solutions are double work for teachers, short-changes students, and often impossible for working parents.
Piedmont is open full time. So is Berkeley. And Ashby. Oakland should strive to be known as a leader in education, not a laggard.
I support planning for a 5-day-per-week school schedule in the fall. Alameda County has entered the Orange Tier, with low test positivity rates even in the most impacted communities. Vaccine distribution is rolling out, 16 and up are eligible to receive it on April 15th (which is most juniors and seniors), likely middle school kids will be approved by summer and the CDC has deemed a 3 feet separation to be adequate for learning. Unless things change, everyone should be prepared to go back to the normal schedule by fall. Please, no more excuses. Follow the science, not the fear.
It is extremely important to commit to starting full in person school for the Fall of 2021. This is commitment will be in the best interest of the kids and community not to mention teachers and parents. Given additional results from studies and research to date regarding Covid-19 vaccines and CDC recommendations there is no reason to delay opening of schools. The poor communication and management of the various stakeholder groups has had a big toll on parent and teacher communities which ultimately impact the kids and this must stop.
While thrilled at the outcome of the OEA vote, it was bittersweet news once I saw the hybrid schedule. It is disheartening to see that this schedule was proposed and/or agreed upon by the school board. Essential workers now have to choose between going to work OR providing their children with the social-emotional connections with their peers and teacher that they crave. As an essential worker, it is hard not to feel resentment as OUSD/OEA continues to offer no support to our children. For one year, we have been left to figure out how to work outside of our home while managing the distance learning of our children in our home. Essential workers have made it possible for everyone else to shelter in place and work from home. As we move forward and negotiations continue, please do not forget about the essential workers and the children who need to be in school. It does not have to be this way.