Some educators are afraid and angry at the prospect of returning to schools with unanswered questions. The 310,000-member California Teachers Association urged state leaders this month to require districts to start the year “under strong distance learning protocols” and even described a hybrid model as “high risk.”
On Friday, the president of the California Federation of Teachers, which represents 120,000 school employees, said the new state guidelines did not go far enough to protect them. He opposed the state’s willingness to allow exemptions for some schools in the counties on the watchlist, as well as the lack of mandatory social distancing and testing for all students.
“This updated guideline still allows an ‘acceptable amount of harm’ to reach our students, their families and our education professionals,” said President Jeff Freitas in a statement, demanding that California schools continue to provide remote learning. to “The governor can guarantee adequate security measures throughout the state.”
Erin Springer, who teaches fifth grade at a charter school in Inglewood, said starting the new year with remote learning has felt inevitable since the beginning of summer. She said she wished the call had been made earlier, so that she and her colleagues could have prepared.
“Almost every teacher I know felt we were wasting time,” said Springer.
Mr. Newsom emphasized that education officials across the state will work hard to ensure that all students have access to “rigorous distance learning,” including device access and connectivity and daily live interactions with teachers. and other students.
He added that leaders would pay specific attention to students who are homeless, in the foster care system or who are learning English. The state, he said, has put $ 5.3 billion in additional money for those efforts.
“We want to create a certain sense of equivalence,” Newsom said.
In Marin County, a Bay Area suburb on the state’s watch list, Brooke Palizi, mother of two elementary students, said the district recently announced that parents will be able to choose between letting their children attend to socially distant in-person classes, remote learning and a virtual academy similar to home schooling.
