A rally to re-open public schools will be held this afternoon from 4:30 – 6:30 at the Contra Costa County Office of Education at 77 Santa Barbara Rd., off Oak Park Blvd. in Pleasant Hill.
The local rally is part of a larger statewide rally to re-open public schools.
Organizers say they want this to be a positive, non-partisan rally to give people who support in-person learning a voice.
They ask everyone to promote positivity and try not to engage in arguments.
This rally is about being given the choice to let children go back to school, organizers said.
To learn more, click HERE.
I support the rally, but with the smoke and high temperatures, they should postpone.
That is exactly what I thought
Obviously don’t care about their health or their children’s and just want their free time back..Parents should really want to home school with all the problems out there right now, Trade off with neighbors or friends if you have to work and your kids will be better off.
@Aunt Barbara clearly you do not have kids. As a mother to three kids in three different schools, it is not about getting my free time back. I can have my free time any day during the week as long as it’s after 2pm. So please don’t speak for all of us. Oh and not all of us parents can home school kids and that is ok. You can however, safely open schools, put plexiglass around the desks and students can wear masks. I support the rally and I HOPE it goes very well!!!
That is unfair Aunt Barbara. Of course parents care about their kids’ health. But mentally our children are SUFFERING from not being socialized in school. It would be one thing if COVID were deadly to many children, which wasn’t clear at the beginning, but the data show that the vast majority of children will not be at risk for serious consequences by having COVID. The extreme minority of parents who have children with major risk factors should probably continue homeschooling or distance-learning those children until there is a vaccine or more effective treatments; but it is truly for the well being for the vast majority of children to be in school in person. Other countries are doing this–why can’t we?
Aunt Barbara
Speak about which you know. You do not speak for me or my children. I care about the health and well being of my children.
Your suggestion to trade off … so you want me to send my kids to another house where they and everyone else in that house should then wear a mask all day? Really …
It is hard to know the right answer to this with so many unknowns to this virus that has ruined life as we have once know it. Seeing first-hand how this has affected my teen I am incredibly worried for the mental health of our kids continuing to shelter in place. This virus is here to stay so at this point in time we need to figure out how to work around these challenges and safely get them back to school. Let me be clear that I respect all standpoints and concerns on here. We just have to ask how will we ever return to normalcy at this rate?
I also think it is unfair to be giving regular A-F grades during the distance learning especially for High School students. With the block scheduling students are only getting live instruction twice a week per class and 1 class on Wed that rotates. Many times the zoom meetings are ending earlier than the block of time yet the expectation of classwork and homework is that of a 5 day week school schedule.
Students are anxiety ridden and depressed. Many good students are finding themselves with low grades despite trying their best and it feels hopeless to them. To make matters worse these grades will be on their transcripts when they apply to schools and are not an accurate reflection for some had they been in-person at school. Zoom is just not a substitution for class IMO.
At any rate, what a mess.
If the casinos are open than the schools can to be open.
Get those kids out of the casinos and into the classrooms!
I had not realized a casino was an essential business. Open up the schools they are essential too. Open up the parks, playgrounds, and let us police ourselves about wearing mask and social distancing.
Another conservative smokescreen. Even emphasizing choice. This is another attempt to get people to do something radically unsafe just to benefit businesses. If you wonder why it benefits businesses it’s because the sooner the state babysitter starts again the sooner they can make people go back to offices where productivity is higher.
People have the right to peaceably assemble, even if you don’t agree with their cause. If they want to have a peaceful protest about the earth being round, then they should.
As long as they don’t interfere with the rights of any people nearby, which includes noise and interfering with free movement, also talking to anybody who don’t want to be talked to. Common courtesy..
I wouldn’t support in-person learning at this point, there are just too many health and safety risks and the benefits of homeschooling are much more conducive for the kids overall well-being.
I understand that’s easier said than done for many but not impossible today.. it’s temporary but reopening too soon will only result in closures again and at the price of the health of how many children?
If my grandkids have to wear a mask their entire day in hopes of their safety, they’re safer at home.
And where do you get your information that homeschooling is better? Or did you mean homeschooling when they could actually go out and get an education and socialization?
You can keep your grandkids at home, but my mother (a grandmother) supports sending her grandkids to school.
Parent do you work outside the home during school hours ? Does grandma babysit?
The people who regularly caterwaul about how much they hate protests and how protesters should all be arrested don’t seem to be too upset about this one. Hmmmmmm.
@chuq:
I haven’t seen anyone here call for the arrest of peaceful protestors. Rioters, looters, and others violating the law in “protest”? Absolutely. And that goes for those participating in this protest. Got any other stupid theories to share?
Not trying to take a side here, but in the current usage of the word “essential”, education is not “essential”. Essential does not have a Spring Break, a Christmas Break, or a couple months off every summer. Grocery stores and businesses that get food to people can’t take the summer off. We’d starve. I’ve never heard of a police or fire station saying, instead of doing our job today, we’re just going to pop in that “Ice Age” DVD again. Those are essential businesses. Education is obviously extremely important as a long term investment in our future, but the wheels are not going to fall off of our industrial civilization if kids don’t go to classrooms.
We need Systemic education!
Don’t we already have Systematic Education? It is used for those with learning disabilities / difficulties???
@Rolaids
Have to disagree, respectfully of course. Education is most definitely essential; however, teachers are not.
This is ridiculous! There are so many active cases of covid in Contra Costa County alone. Also, have any of the people who support this read about the spikes in cases in schools that have opened? They are being shut down all over again. Think of the teachers too, they should not have to be forced to possibly being infected and possibly infect their families. I want my kids back in school too, but not until it is actually safe.
Couldn’t have set it better my self. Most, if not all schools from k-12 to college who have tried to open have had to close within a week or two. I’m a high school teacher and I honestly can say it’s not as bad(distance learning) as some believe. The classes are small, quiet and once teachers and students get the process down it works pretty well. The main downside is the social interaction young people need. Until there is a vaccine, and it’s mandated that all school age children get to be vaccine for then schools should open.
The fact that someone with your mindset could be “teaching” my child is depressing.
I just heard that they had to close 2 schools in Norfolk Virginia because teachers tested positive for Covid-19.
Good for them.
So young adult going off to college can’t follow the rules and are spreading Covid like crazy. We expect K-12th grade to not be spreaders, especially to at risk grandparents…
Yay! Lets let children decide if they want to be together in exchange for giving their grandparents covid.
And lets all get together in one place and rally, giving each other covid in encouragement.
@ Vandy are we all idiots? of course if our kid’s are back in school we will be cautious around “grandma”
people these days can’t think for themselves … we need the gov’t to tell us what to do
If you are high risk stay home let the rest of us live
wash your hands and don’t touch your face… do you need a gov’t mandate for common sense?? LOL
Great, more protests to spread the plague.
Not my kid’s school district but thank you to all that are attending! Kid’s want to be back in school!!!
A gathering of the spoiled, selfish, and uninformed.
I fully support the local, national and global results. Some countries have never stopped kids from going to school with no major issue. If you or a family member has 2 or more high risk conditions you or they must be under quarantine without question.
We have approximately 9500 deaths out of 330mil people from folks with no high risk conditions. Also look up suicides of young people from John Muir. These rules do not support current or potincial risk that merit the lockdowns of healthy people. Lockdown the high risk folks.
The verified risk scientific results local, national and worldwide supports back to school, quarantine the high risk(.) and low risk back to living.
According to the CDC, “high risk conditions” include: high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes. So we are talking about half the population already.
I fully support the local, national and global results. Some countries have never stopped kids from going to school with no major issue. If you or a family member has 2 or more high risk conditions you or they must be under quarantine without question.
We have approximately 9500 deaths out of 330mil people from folks with no high risk conditions. Also look up suicides of young people from John Muir. These rules do not support current or potincial risk that merit the lockdowns of healthy people. Lockdown the high risk folks.
The verified risk scientific results local, national and worldwide supports back to school, quarantine the high risk(.) and low risk back to living.
so…for all of you out there wanting schools to open so badly…are you being responsible (masks and social distancing…no parties?) just a thought. if you want schools open then do all YOU can to keep other kids and teachers safe.
As a MDUSD teacher and union member, I can tell you for certain that we consider ourselves non-essential workers and will do anything we can to avoid going back to work full time.
We also don’t agree with the Academy of Pediatrics https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/06/29/884638999/u-s-pediatricians-call-for-in-person-school-this-fall
MDEA we?
Please do not claim to be something you are not, and please do not lump all MDUSD teachers with you. Many members of the MDUSD staff (myself included) would be disgusted to read your comment. The vast majority of the teachers I know have dedicated our lives to help other people’s children. Look at the examples of US schools that have attempted to return in person. In one month’s time, before all of the schools had even reopened, Florida saw a spike of 137% growth of
positive cases of Covid In school aged children. Universities are opening and then almost immediately closing because of outbreaks. Schools are opening and then having to immediately quarantine vast numbers of students and staff. It’s not appropriate to return in person, especially since there is no guarantee that any public district can meet or exceed the recommendations for social distancing and sanitization.
Teachers are working incredibly hard to provide your children with education that is meaningful, engaging, and valuable. Do not misrepresent us, please.
It’s incredible how gullible people are. Your FEAR is the real plague. You’ll go to the grocery store with people, go to Walmart with people, shop, dine outside with no masks, go get a secret haircut, sneak in a gym via a hush hush by the owners, get your vain nails done, travel, go to the mechanic, you’ll order take out, touch everything everywhere you go, wear masks that are proven not effective, not cover your shoes, weaken your immune system with chemicals, eat food coloring, preserves, sugar, pesticides, gmo’s & cancer causing junk you can’t even pronounce. You take synthetic vitamins that your body doesn’t even absorb to make you feel better. You’ll hoard toilet paper even if it means the elderly or poor go without. You’re getting blasted with emf’s 24/7 & soon 5G to really make getting sick fun. You trust the Uber driver & the restaurant’s to properly prep your food then have it delivered to your doorstep or have a shopper get your groceries for you. All in the hands & trust of strangers. Pre CCP virus, you went to work coughing & sneezing on everything, contaminating every surface so everyone at work got sick. You sent your kids to school sick so you could be lazy or god forbid actually go to work & earn a living. When that was legal to even do. You never thought twice about going to a concert, sports game or Disney on Ice, with thousands of people. You didn’t worry about a toilet seat cover or actually wash your hands correctly. You trusted food trucks, sneezed in your hands & touched everything. You licked your fingers to open a grocery bag, turn pages or cooking a recipe for a potluck. You took your kids to parks to play on the same lawn everyones dogs pissed & popped on. You flew on airplanes with recycled air, used the tiny toilet in it while touching everything. Apparently, nothing anywhere was properly cleaned. Humans had to be retaught how to wash their hands. You had bbq’s in the heat where food sat out for hours & ate it. We had chickenpox, measles, drank out of hoses, didn’t wear seatbelts or helmets, ate real butter, raw milk, cookie dough with raw eggs & kept the skin on our chicken. And you’re worried about the indoctrination you’ve willingly subscribed & submit to? The CDC recently came out with WAY different numbers than previously inflated. Why don’t they do this with ALL illnesses? Why didn’t anyone blink an eye during the SARS1 Pandemic during the last administration? He declared it a pandemic and crickets. Why even mention that dead people, those not tested, animals & a fruit all came up positive? Looks like people are turning on their TV’s & putting trust in that. WHO, CDC & NIH say one thing, but when you dig deep on their sites, it contradicts “guidelines”. Contra Costa Health Dept even said their numbers are not accurate & things got all screwed up. Why does CDC day only 3 feet apart, yet we are told to stay 6 feet apart? Why the extreme censorship on all social media platforms for the first time? Look beyond the surface. It’s like iceberg. You only see the tip above water. Dive down under it & you’ll see the true size.
Best post yet!
Must be nice to be a teacher. They get to tell their employer they won’t return to work cause they are scared. Yet they want full pay. Also the teachers have never once described what it will take for them to resume their job in person. Rather it’s a quasi work strike supported by their unions. And in place of in person teaching their wisdom decided to only work 4 days a week versus the used to be 5 days. And then they’ll cut their work time in half. What planet are these folks from?
We don’t need Teachers like you. Quit your job because this online teaching thing sucks and you’re the reason why. These teachers can’t even figure out how to use zoom or google meet. Really? 2020 and you can’t figure out zoom? Hey teachers please remind all the service folks that help you at the grocery store, mail delivery, bank, Costco, target, Home Depot that you are better than them as you expect service but will not reciprocate.
First, the poster above is very likely not a teacher but a troll. Secondly, I don’t know where you are getting your information. Yes, I’m earning my full salary but I’m on campus, working, from 7:30 to 2:45 and another several hours most night. I spent 2 of 3 days this weekend grading, recording, tracking, answering student and parent questions, and keeping parents posted as to what their kids are doing. When to return to class is currently in the hands of the state and the many clueless people who refuse to do the right thing to reduce infection rates. Who’s working 4 days a week? Not me, that’s for sure. You must not know any teachers personally.
My wife is a teacher and is working harder than ever trying to teach her students online by converting lessons. She spends 6 hours a day on zoom and endless hours on her computer preparing lessons and grading. Not to mention nearly her entire summer was sacrificed preparing for in person and online learning without knowing which they’d be doing. Full pay, teachers don’t make much to being with. Now you want them to expose themselves to a classroom full of children because they will have safety protocols that adults can’t even adhere to. Everyone knows children would do better in normal conditions, news flash, these aren’t normal conditions, we are all suffering and making adjustments. Most teachers are working harder than ever and would much prefer to be back in the classroom, but not at the risk of their students or their families.
As many others have pointed out, schools provide important functions other than education.
Many kids are provided with free meals and other social services. Many are homeless or live in abusive homes. For these kids, school and maybe a favorite teacher or two is the only stability in their lives.
It’s time to open up. The collateral damage has already proved worse than the virus. Let’s not sacrifice the younger generation for the Left’s favorite fear fetish.
MDUSD does not have the resources to open during this pandemic. Teachers spend their own money to buy tissue for runny noses. The kids go through it so fast. Who will fund what is needed for COVID? WHY would you open a space with insufficient ways to circulate clean air, clean the space, and ensure that none of the people who enter have been exposed to COVID-19?
Universities have been sending everyone home two weeks after trying the ‘back-to-normal’ because of fresh covid spikes. Those students are now infecting their families, neighbors, and friends.
We have enough data to know who the vulnerable and high risk groups are.
What ever happened to “adulting” and letting people protect themselves if need be. Most people are recover just fine from covid.
Anyone see the latest from the CDC? The liberal agenda has been strong with the covid all in hopes of making Trump look bad….
Too bad it’s not working. Hidin Biden is tanking recently.
I support this rally and I hope it goes well and truly hope our kids can get back to school soon!
I love and support this effort. And I have no hope whatsoever that the teacher unions will allow it. It’s as if the inmates are running the asylum, and doing an even worse job.
Laura’s paragraph is the reason kids need to go back to school…….
I have 3 boys 2 in high-school one in elementary, i sit with my youngest, and check in on my older boys, everyone is in the living and dinning room spaced out. It is hard for teacher to teach when other parents do not help keep there children on task. They are bouncing all over goofing off, talk rude and disrespectful (not saying they all do)and i see the parents are home mostly! High school classes…. when the teachers do break out meetings to let the kids talk amongst each other about something the MOUTHS on them 😡 n- word this B and f word that, threatening kids . Heard one say let this kid keep rolling with his way and see what happens when we get back to school!!!!! Kids talking back and cussing at the teacher.. ohhhh I want to say something and back up the teacher so bad but that puts my kid at risk. Parents are really showing there true colors!!! Or lack there of!!!!! This is a time to step up and show your kids you are really there to help them and they are falling real short and blaming teachers, now there is evidence to support that teachers are doing there best and parents are not!!!!!!!
Not a good idea at all – gathering in heat and smoke. Is it possible that we might hear from Superintendent Lynn Mackey as in actually come out to the public and respond to anything regarding our school children?
She has been frightfully quiet on all matters with regard to our local schools. Isn’t this her duty ? We should expect more from our elected officials and if they fail us as she has, vote them out.
In case anyone was wondering, I’m an MDUSD teacher who has been working 8-12 hours every day since before the school year started. I have been doing everything in my power to create meaningful, important, and engaging curriculum for my students. I am working far more now than I did before the pandemic, and I am happy to do it for a myriad of reasons. The 25% of school staff who are high risk is plenty for me to decide it’s safer at home, since I’m not comfortable losing 25% of my colleagues. Another excellent reason is the family members of my students. If my students or a member of their household is high risk, I’m glad to protect them. Next is the district’s inability to provide a safe and clean place to teach every day. We do not have the resources to clean and disinfect classrooms multiple times a day.
When I find myself still planning or grading at 9pm, while a little shocked, I am more than okay with it. To those of you saying teachers are lazy and that we now get an extra day off, remember how much we care about your kids. Remember, that “day off” is spent working to make your child’s education the best we can possibly make it We didn’t get into this profession for the accolades, money, or gratitude. We got into it to help kids. If the best option for your children is to put his or her teacher’s lives at stake, maybe it’s time to re-evaluate. There’s more to schools than the children who study there.
Dear Fed Up. Thank you so much for what you do. I did not attend public schools 1-12, tho my kids did. My eyes were opened as my jaw dropped when I started as a sub in MDUSD in 2004. I can picture YOU, the REAL teacher, working your tail off to engage the varied population attending MDUSD schools. Know that I support you wholeheartedly and tell everyone who questions your decisions that YOU are the expert. Again, thank you
Children are getting 0-25% of the education they and we as a society are entitled to…unless their parents have the financial resources to hire tutor(s). I support reducing teacher’s pay 75%-100% and providing it to parents to pay for tutors. Win-Win.
I am a teacher who is working anywhere from 50-70 hours per week trying to provide curriculum for students from afar. The hours I am “live” teaching have been reduced. The amount of time I spend working has increased. I’m basically available to kids from 7:30am-10pm (sometimes a text or email comes in even later than that, but I almost ALWAYS respond to messages within the timeframe of 7:30-10, and most often respond to ones later than that). I’m designing curriculum that works in this new structure, I’m painstakingly researching and adapting, creating and testing, planning and grading.
What I’m getting at, in case you missed it, is that what I and many other teachers are doing right now is MORE, not less. Time on screen with kids does not equal education provided, nor does it equal working hours. If anything, I’m working at 125-150% of what I was previously. Don’t worry, I don’t intend to request a pay raise like you suggested a decrease. My priority is the kids. Perhaps your kids. Wouldn’t that be funny? I’m over here, busting my butt to provide an education for your children while you’re over there, railing to have my pay cut! Perhaps I can use this example to teach irony to my students!! How fun to have real life examples!! I guess I should thank you.
If the parents would sit with there kids so the teacher doesn’t have to stop every 5 sec maybe they could get through more zoom classes, how about you reduce your pay to help those who need tutors. Cause that’s what you are saying the teachers should do! They don’t make enough!
Fed- then perhaps you should bring up this with your in and support getting back into the classroom.
Oh please, oh please. None of what I said was a complaint, nor is it justification to return to school. As one of the (at least) 25% of staff members with co-morbidity risks, I would be unable to return. I am working as hard as I am because I value education, and because I know how blessed I am to still have a job. I think if you asked my students if they felt like they were getting an engaging, valuable, and challenging education from me, the majority would say yes. I’m not being arrogant or hyperbolizing, I am basing this on how much effort I’m putting in to my job, and how much progress my students are already making, just 4 weeks in. As a high school teacher, I have almost zero behavior issues online, so my lessons take less time, which means that I have more time to spend working with my students one on one. I can see that they are benefiting from this, and I am pleased with my performance, as well as the performance of my students. Furthermore, my principal has parents calling and emailing daily to express their gratitude for all of the teachers on our staff who are truly going above and beyond, despite being disregarded by the district, union, community members like yourself, and many of our educational “leaders.” What’s most important to most teachers? Kids. We are doing this for them, while also protecting ourselves, our colleagues, our students, their families, and the community. The irony is that we are four weeks in, and people like you want to discount us, to tell us we aren’t trying hard enough, to complain so we can get back in the classroom. I cannot return to the classroom, nor can 25% of our staff. Which would you prefer, digital learning for a short time (in the grand scheme of things), or sending kids back with 25% less adults to care for them and educate them? No one is breaking down the doors applying to be a teacher right now, and replacing a quarter of the staff is not feasible. I guess I think teaching/learning from home is superior to classes with 45-50 kids. Just me? Ok.
“If the parents would sit with there [sic] kids so the teacher doesn’t have to stop every 5 sec…”
Teachers don’t want that. It infringes on their ability to indoctrinate instead of teach.
@Fedup
Thank you for one of the few sane replies.
I tend to agree. Healthy kids & teachers should be in the classroom. Take all precautions. Spend the day teaching, then send the kids home & teachers go back to your families. Kids aren’t super-spreaders, teachers with comorbidities should stay home. To now, the statistics do not dictate the results.
Seriously, Barbara? Then why not open the schools if everyone is going to everyone’s house anyways! Kids are certainly going to care etners. so same thing. This is merely a control issue now. It has nothing to do with a virus. And I never had free time anyways, so them going back to school doesn’t really affect that for me. It DOES make it better for them though. There is a profession called “teaching” for a reason…
Why is everyone blaming teachers?! they don’t call the shots the district does like the superintendant the VPSI, director special ed, ect, and so on the big guys in the district run the show and should be for blame, and I’m so for schools opening and getting my child the services and academics he needs and wants so bad, and his teachers have been great and patient w him and me online w lots of support! And schools opening doesn’t really mean hey they have to go back to school there are ways around that but schools opening does mean are children can get wat they need at least us with kids w special needs!
I’ve been permanently unemployed from my private sector job since June.
I’ve got a masters degree and would enter a classroom tomorrow if someone offered me a job. Maybe it’s time for some new blood in the teaching system?
Unemployed? HUMmmmm…. Why not go get yourself a teaching credential. Even with this online class stuff, I hear many school districts hire anyway… Seems even with the layoff threats year to year, schools still end up hiring teachers….
What else have you got to do?
Not being sarcastic; go for it.
I have the utmost respect for teachers principles lunch staff. What you have done in the past few months from the time this all started. You had to end theschool year abruptly and have summer school then turn around and figure out how to go about starting and new school year. With not much guidance and things changing not day to day but minute to minute.. so thank you for all you do for our students. Oh and my kids are all grown. I have grandkids that are distancing learning and they seem to be ok.
What is so sad about this becoming such a contentious issue, is that most everyone wants what is best for students and safe for the community. The problem is defining what is best? And safe? With the confusing and contradictory information disseminated from the upper echelons of government it is difficult to discern a solution. It is apparent that many schools have done little to create safe classroom environments. And, our government’s response to the difficulties faced by parents who have suddenly been thrust into the role of in-home class aides, has been woefully inadequate. Pray for a miracle because that is what it is going to take to resolve this…with an effective vaccine, science-based government actions, and diligence among all of us in adhering to mask and social distancing guidelines. The current divisions in our country and community make reaching these solutions this year unlikely.