Fresno Ed Lab: Do teachers agree that parents should decide when to reopen schools?

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Hello Education readers,

Parents took to the streets this week, demanding school campuses open as the coronavirus pandemic enters its sixth month in Fresno. About 100 parents protested the ongoing school closures, saying it was their right to decide when their kids go back to class.

Parents who spoke to the Ed Lab’s Monica Velez said they were “disappointed” that Superintendent Bob Nelson didn’t attend the protest and said, “it proves our suspicion that he is not fighting for our kids.”

Fresno Teacher Association President Manuel Bonilla noted though the schools’ continued closing isn’t about taking rights away from parents, it’s about community safety.

“I’ve heard a lot of, ‘well I should have a choice and teachers should have a choice if they don’t want to,’ and somehow everything would be fine and dandy, but there is a level of planning that goes into that,” Bonilla said. “We have to look at physical distancing. We have to take a look at the procedures of testing. We need to really focus in on the community and figure how we are going to do this and not just oversimplify.”

Bonilla noted that reopening schools also affects thousands of workers, from teachers and principals to cafeteria workers, bus drivers and janitors.

“Schools are not just students alone,” Bonilla said. “Having discussed this with health officials at the county level, it’s not like kids can’t get COVID-19. Kids do get it, and they transmit it, and it’s dangerous to them, and it’s dangerous to those susceptible to it.”

Fresno Bee data journalist Tim Sheehan shared some sobering numbers this week — COVID-19 was the No. 1 killer in Fresno County during August. According to the data in his subscriber-exclusive story, coronavirus killed more people than heart disease or diabetes.

So what do we do about learning?

A recent study by the American Institute for Research at the University of Chicago compared in-person learning and online learning. Online learning is difficult. Teachers have to find unique ways of engaging with students in ways that mimic in-class learning. Economics also plays a role when it comes to the success of distance learning.

“A substantial research base developed by Karl Alexander at Johns Hopkins University and many others show that students, especially students with fewer resources at home, learn less when they are not in school.”

However, as the article noted, although online courses are generally not as effective as in-person classes, they are certainly better than no classes.

Some kids return to schools

Private schools in Kings County successfully requested waivers and can re-open campuses, the Ed Lab’s Ashleigh Panoo reported.

The school submitted a re-opening plan that included typed notices that would go out to parents if there is an illness, maps, charts to show how school pick-ups and drop-offs work, and more.

Will public schools open soon?

It’s looking like public schools will continue to follow Newsom’s order and won’t re-open till our coronavirus numbers lower.

There is hope, according to an article by the science magazine Nature, coronavirus may be affecting us for years to come, but studies have shown efforts put in by community members to wear masks, social distance, and hand washing are proven to be effective in keeping the virus at bay.

ASK THE ED LAB

And do you have an education question you’d like us to answer? Let us know! Contact the Ed Lab edlab@fresnobee.com.

The Education Lab is a local journalism initiative that highlights education issues critical to the advancement of the San Joaquin Valley. It is funded by donors. Learn more about The Bee’s Education Lab here.