As a registered nurse I strongly oppose mandatory vaccinations in children. The data is incomplete and too soon for this course of action. When there's a risk there must be a parental choice.
Classroom consolidation is a ham fisted and lazy maneuver that seeks to callously tear at the delicate social fabric of our children’s newly established classrooms. Our young children deserve greater consideration while enduring a global pandemic that threatens their health and well-being more than ever. This motion could even run counter to its cause and further exacerbate a teacher shortage. Consolidated teachers might leave OUSD service and OUSD parents might decide to move their children to schools that are managed with greater compassion. The school board should have sufficient reason to doubt the positive effect of this policy, and no reason to doubt the damage consolidation will cause. The school board should strike enacting classroom consolidation and explore alternative solutions to the teacher shortage.
Please, please, please do not consolidate classrooms. This year of all years, when our kids need extra support, extra attention, and return to routine, please do not disrupt the year with these consolidations that will:
- put our children in greater danger of Covid exposure
- be detrimental to their education
- erode morale at schools that have already gone through so much
- increase teacher workload at an already stressful time
- push more families out of public education into private schools
There is funding available. There are resources available. Please prioritize the needs of the students and the teachers in this extraordinary time.
I strongly opposed consolidating classrooms, especially this year. We are still dealing with COVID and the idea of increasing class sizes right now makes absolutely no sense. This will ultimately drive more teachers and students out of OUSD which will lead to even lower enrollment. Not to mention, this year is supposed to be a "restorative start". How does disrupting classes by moving teachers and students around after they've just started to get into their routine, establish relationships, etc support a restorative start? The timing seems especially cruel and I hope you will reconsider doing this.
As the Director of College and Career Success at Lighthouse Community Public Schools, I encourage you to revise district policies to ensure that more students in OUSD complete the A-G requirements. This is a critical equity issue in our community.
For more than a decade, Lighthouse has maintained an A-G completion rate of 80-90% per year with rates consistent among almost all of our subgroups.
From my experience, I think the four keys to success in this area:
1. Aligning graduation requirements to A-G, so that every high school graduate is college eligible
2. Dumping the "D", a grade that gives students and families a false sense of accomplishment
3. Keeping students and families informed of progress towards A-G completion/grad requirements
4. Ensuring school structures - scheduling, counseling, intervention, credit recovery - meet student needs
I recognize that this is a challenging time to enact change, but urge you to do so anyway.
As a registered nurse I strongly oppose mandatory vaccinations in children. The data is incomplete and too soon for this course of action. When there's a risk there must be a parental choice.
Classroom consolidation is a ham fisted and lazy maneuver that seeks to callously tear at the delicate social fabric of our children’s newly established classrooms. Our young children deserve greater consideration while enduring a global pandemic that threatens their health and well-being more than ever. This motion could even run counter to its cause and further exacerbate a teacher shortage. Consolidated teachers might leave OUSD service and OUSD parents might decide to move their children to schools that are managed with greater compassion. The school board should have sufficient reason to doubt the positive effect of this policy, and no reason to doubt the damage consolidation will cause. The school board should strike enacting classroom consolidation and explore alternative solutions to the teacher shortage.
Please, please, please do not consolidate classrooms. This year of all years, when our kids need extra support, extra attention, and return to routine, please do not disrupt the year with these consolidations that will:
- put our children in greater danger of Covid exposure
- be detrimental to their education
- erode morale at schools that have already gone through so much
- increase teacher workload at an already stressful time
- push more families out of public education into private schools
There is funding available. There are resources available. Please prioritize the needs of the students and the teachers in this extraordinary time.
I strongly opposed consolidating classrooms, especially this year. We are still dealing with COVID and the idea of increasing class sizes right now makes absolutely no sense. This will ultimately drive more teachers and students out of OUSD which will lead to even lower enrollment. Not to mention, this year is supposed to be a "restorative start". How does disrupting classes by moving teachers and students around after they've just started to get into their routine, establish relationships, etc support a restorative start? The timing seems especially cruel and I hope you will reconsider doing this.
As the Director of College and Career Success at Lighthouse Community Public Schools, I encourage you to revise district policies to ensure that more students in OUSD complete the A-G requirements. This is a critical equity issue in our community.
For more than a decade, Lighthouse has maintained an A-G completion rate of 80-90% per year with rates consistent among almost all of our subgroups.
From my experience, I think the four keys to success in this area:
1. Aligning graduation requirements to A-G, so that every high school graduate is college eligible
2. Dumping the "D", a grade that gives students and families a false sense of accomplishment
3. Keeping students and families informed of progress towards A-G completion/grad requirements
4. Ensuring school structures - scheduling, counseling, intervention, credit recovery - meet student needs
I recognize that this is a challenging time to enact change, but urge you to do so anyway.
In community,
Joshua Weintraub