“The virus will not disappear, we know it will not disappear. We have to impose some kind of normality,” said Gwinnett’s mother, Joanne Bayouk. “And although our normalcy is going to change, our children need to return.”
Parents turned to a closed Facebook group to express opposition to the decision. The first day the group stood at 255 people. By day two there were about 1,400 people in the group, said group organizer Kelly Willyard.
The group meets outside the Gwinnett County Public Schools Educational Support Center on Friday morning to protest the decision to keep students out of school buildings.
“As for an ideal outcome now, it’s going back to both solutions, giving us the option of open, digital schools,” said another mother, Sheri Mitchell.
Willyard said it is only the beginning of the protests. His group hopes to continue the state and national protests.
A change of plans
The district planned to provide both forms of instruction, Sloan Roach, executive director of communication for the Gwinnett Public Schools, told CNN.
Willyard said the district “gave in to political pressure” when parents began organizing protests for online instruction only.
On Monday, before protests were scheduled after the vote, he said, the district announced that the county would not offer in-person learning at the beginning of the school year. She said she had been in contact with the school board for weeks before the decision, and found them supportive of the reopening of the schools.
Roach said the decision to continue virtual learning was “due to the current situation with Covid-19 in our county and the increasing number of cases in Gwinnett County.”
Willyard said the Gwinnett County Public Schools is aware of and cooperates with the protest. Roach said the district shares many of the protesters’ concerns.
“Like those protesting, we hoped and wanted to start the school year in person. We had planned to serve students that way, as well as digitally,” said Roach. “However, due to the concern of our students, families, and employees, we had to make the difficult decision to start completely digitally. We will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation in Gwinnett County, using that information to determine when we can pivot to instruction in person. “
It’s not about denying the virus, it’s about knowing what’s best for your own family
Since the virtualization decision came out, Willyard said he has been trying to contact everyone from the school board, the senators, the governor, and even President Donald Trump.
His determination is not a denial of the virus and fears that people may have, he said.
“Personally, I support and understand those who want to learn digitally. They have their own circumstances, they may have people with underlying conditions at home,” said Willyard. “There are also people who are afraid and that is understandable.”
But just as they should be able to decide what is safest for their children, she said parents like her should also be able to.
With the school taking steps like spending thousands of dollars on personal protective equipment and bringing in hundreds of gallons of hand sanitizer, Willyard said, she feels empowered to weigh the health risks with the mental and educational risks.
“Covid is really serious, we understand that it is something real, but we have also weighed the emotional burden it has had on families,” he said. “Our group was formed out of love for our children and wanting them to get what they deserve and what we know is the right thing for our children.”
And since the coronavirus is as serious as it is, Willyard said the group acknowledges that the numbers can always get to a point where in-person education is not the best answer. But, Willyard said, while things could always get worse, parents have the best intentions for their children’s health.
Virtual education is not equitable education, parents say
Willyard, and other parents in the group protesting the opening of Gwinnett schools for in-person teaching, said that while the issue of educational choice is an individual right, it is also a matter of equality.
Virtual education will benefit the wealthy, who can afford childcare and guardianship, and “everyone else will have to fend for ourselves,” Willyard said.
For parents who can’t afford childcare, some may be forced to decide whether they have to leave young children home alone or quit their job, Willyard said, adding that the burden may fall disproportionately on women.
“You can have a child or you can have a job, but you can’t have both with Covid,” he said.
Learning at home could also mean that some children may feel disproportionate disadvantages.
Some only have school as a safe place to be. Some simply cannot focus on one screen for hours at a time.
For children with learning differences, virtual learning could hinder their individual educational plans and the services they need to learn, said Bayouk, a parent of the group.
“We really haven’t heard or seen how that is going to happen online, and that’s worrying,” he said.
“There are positives and negatives in sending kids to school and there are positives and negatives in keeping kids at home, and we should be able to make that decision,” said Mitchell, another parent.
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