This article was posted on my local Nextdoor:
I hope it’s bogus reporting and not true.
@gratefulmama thanks for the link. Looks like turmoil continues longer than I envision.
@casinoofny - I am trying to verify if the article is true. Disgraceful if it is.
Confirmed on UTLA’s website, report “Same Storm…”
@gratefulmama Yes, it’s all too true. So many demands that have nothing to do with classroom safety. I learned of it from a member of the union. They also want to get rid of Prop 13.
The governor is going to announce something about school openings at noon. I’m sure it will be a shutdown of school for the fall.
There was an article I saw this morning that I cannot locate now, stating that some parents are going to the extreme point of moving out of state so their kids can attend school.
If that happens, it means more likely that affluent people who contribute to taxes will move away. They have more income and that is why they can afford to move, not good for California in overall scheme of things.
We are in California. We are in a position to move out of state and have just this morning decided to do so. Twenty years in California and we are headed back east. We are not moving just so that our son can attend school, as I believe remote learning is the best option to begin the year with in the current situation with Covid. However, the fact that the teachers union has made these demands seems to be the final in many red flags we have seen recently in this state.
I am definitely not interested in debating California’s policies. I am simply confirming that some of us who are able are taking our tax dollars elsewhere.
@TatinG - My kids went to private and both have graduated, so thankfully I am not directly impacted. But as a tax payer that feels strongly abt the importance of education, I am disgusted.
I’m not surprised people are thinking of moving. I have seen posts on my local Nextdoor where families are hiring tutors, forming small groups of friends to have mini classes, etc… All I can think abt are the kids that families that do not have the means to do such things. Holding kids hostage under a false “safety claim” to achieve political agendas will especially hurt lower income families and our entire community.
I believe they are opening themselves up to a lawsuit.
Middle income families will be hurt too. Maybe there aren’t many of those left with LAUSD.
Today, the Governor provided legal cover (and support for the CTA?), as he is directing most CA counties to go with online schooling until the Co meets strict criteria.
Our family is directly impacted by this.
Last March, as school was rendered off-limits, marks were frozen. Meaning that whatever you had by mid-month was kept for the rest of the year, no other work needed (for two-and-a-half months). If you wanted to increase your mark, you could. My kid completed all assignments (mostly textbook-based work) until the end of the year.
Not a single lecture in English, Foreign Language, Science (some videos). One math class used last year’s lectures. Another had links to a few videos. There were three virtual social science classes that students could attend for extra credit. So, less than four hours of live virtual class time in that two-and-a-half months across all subjects.
It’s incredibly hard to determine what the next move is.
@thealternative - I am truly sorry. What grade is your kid in? I’ve seen posts abt families turning to true homeschooling. I don’t know if that is an option for you. One way or another, you will probably need to supplement what they are getting through school. There are sites like khan academy that may help if you can get your kid to be disciplined to work on their own each day.
Here’s the punchline, @gratefulmama: my URM kid was a Bradley scholarship finalist, but not a recipient. We truly had no idea of how much support other kids have had through gifted associations and prep schools - or even decent publics. It’s impossible to state how much of an impact this one result has had on the kid’s immediate and distant future. That’s life, though.
@thealternative - No doubt that the kids (URM) that UTLA claims to be protecting will be the hardest hit by this decision. I’m not familiar with the Bradley scholarship but have you looked into Questbridge? Here’s a link:
https://www.questbridge.org/high-school-students/national-college-match/how-to-apply
Questbridge kids get accepted into all the top universities. It’s a fantastic program if your kid qualifies and is accepted.
Thank you, @gratefulmama, for putting this out there. We don’t qualify for Questbridge. Seems to be a wonderful program.
@thealternative - Hang in there. I’m sure cc will have lots of suggestions in the coming months of ways to support students through this difficult time.
Use outside help if you can to teach your own kids. This is not going to be smooth year for education in high school across USA.
I think gap year undergrads that are good at this could consider volunteer tutoring HS kids. Some of the gap year kids will not have jobs, and are probably upper middle classed. A few smart kids could create some kind of non profit organisation to offer such services in their communities (online of course). Start with title one schools, match with a kid or two or run tutoring small groups for specific subjects. This could have a parent organisation that helps the small groups organize.
MA teacher’s union has weighed in.
They want a 4 phase reopening starting with a month of no instruction so they have teiime to set up classrooms, learn about new health and safety protocols, prepare for students’ return and have professional development. The unions states that, “educators need time before students com in to learn new strategies of how to address trauma.”
Then phase 2 would all educators to meet the students an their families where they can explain the new health protocols, and engage in social emotional wellness checks, basic needs assessments, evaluation of technology needs and reconnecting with families and school communities.
Phase 3 begins instruction about a month after school begins which would be either remotely or in-person or a combination of the two.
Phase 4 is an assessment of public health.
It’s safe to say the Massachusetts teacher’s union has spoken. Does anyone really think K-12 school is opening up in states like MA, NY and other similar states?
Nope, I think the entire year is lost for public school K12 students. Combined with the failure last Spring, that is 1.5 years without meaningful education for most students.
I assume those able to do so are rushing for private or charter alternatives. What a mess.