Most Fresno-area schools haven’t fully reopened. Some blame the Fresno teachers union

Students in Fresno County’s largest school district have been returning to campuses part-time, the FUSD school board held its first in-person meeting since March 2020, and the superintendent has announced plans to return to school five days a week in the fall.

But a group of Fresno parents, whose voices have grown louder in recent weeks, says they want their children back in classrooms full time — right now. They say Fresno Unified Superintendent Bob Nelson’s recent announcement that students will return to campuses full time in the fall is too little, too late.

Students should have the option to return to school five days a week right now, Steve Spencer told The Bee’s Education Lab. He also said he doesn’t trust FUSD to follow through with those fall plans.

“They don’t have a great track record of making plans ahead of time and changing plans,” he said.

Nelson’s announcement also matches the goal announced Friday by Gov. Gavin Newsom to fully reopen public schools in the fall.

Critics have pointed to rising student mental-health challenges, falling attendance, and slumping grades as evidence that distance learning doesn’t work and say students urgently need to return to traditional classrooms.

FUSD’s reopening plans have faced criticism from city councilmembers, students, teachers, and a group of parents whose collective voice has grown louder in recent weeks.

The group, Parents for Reopening Fresno Unified, recently took its frustrations public with a large paid billboard advertisement at northeast Shaw and Blackstone avenues. In the ad, the parents slam the Fresno Teachers Association and demand schools fully reopen immediately.

One side of the billboard says: “It’s time to go back to school” and has a list of reasons why: “vaccines provided,” “enhanced safety protocols in place,” “CARES Act funding secured,” and “bonuses for teachers approved.” FUSD teachers received one paid day to set up their classrooms, and $8 million was added to the district health plan for all its employees.

“Stop the learning loss — say ‘no’ to the Fresno Teachers Association,” the other side of the billboard says.

Mariah Walton, one of the Fresno parents behind the ad, said the billboard would stay up until children return to a traditional school schedule.

“I think I was just thinking if we put public pressure on civil servants or public figures, maybe that would motivate them to take more action and motivate them to communicate with parents and students and answer our emails,” Walton said in an interview with The Bee’s Ed Lab.

Fresno parents clash with FUSD teachers union over school reopening

Manuel Bonilla, president of the Fresno Teachers Association, said the criticism directed at the teachers union is inaccurate and, at least in some cases, disingenuous.

“They are seeking to politicize this global pandemic … by preying on everybody’s desires for normalcy,” Bonilla said. “We understand not everybody agrees and, in reality, we’re never going to get 100% unanimous agreement. I feel we listened to the needs of teachers and the needs of parents and students, and we worked to hear the needs the district had expressed as well. In reality, it was not one unilateral decision figuring out the best path forward.”

And while many teachers’ unions — including the FTA — remain influential in getting students back to classrooms, California has largely left reopening decisions in the hands of local school districts. Other large districts in the state like San Diego Unified and Long Beach Unified are also only offering hybrid models of learning — a mixture of in-person and distance learning.

Clovis Unified, which doesn’t have a teachers union — at least not yet — has been more aggressive in reopening campuses but also has not reopened schools full time.

But after a chaotic year of learning at home, frustrated parents are eager to turn the page.

Walton said she believes Fresno classrooms should have been fully reopened months ago, and the teachers union and FUSD leadership are standing in the way.

“I do want to emphasize we’re not blaming teachers,” Walton said. “Our problem is with the district and the union. Most teachers are working harder than they ever had before, and I support them as individuals. I can’t stand behind the union.”

Paul Idsvoog, the district’s chief of human resources and human relations, acknowledged parents’ frustrations but said the decision to reopen full time is a safety question.

“We are still holding on to values of safety and stability and education,” Idsvoog told The Ed Lab.” We are still in a health crisis and trying to do it (reopen) in the most responsible way. As big as we are, if we do it (reopen) poorly, we can turn the corner for the whole county the other way.”

The district’s size also makes it more challenging to meet social distancing requirements in crowded classrooms. Some smaller districts like Merced Union High School District have been able to reopen five days a week for about 60% of its students. The other 40% of students have chosen to remain at home, according to Merced Union Superintendent Alan Peterson.

But social distancing in a district of 11,000 students might not translate successfully in a much larger district, officials have said. FUSD is California’s third-largest school district with more than 10,500 employees and about 74,000 students.

However, Los Angeles Unified, the state’s largest school district, is offering five days of in-person learning for elementary students, including after-school childcare, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday. Students could be on campuses from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Not all Fresno parents want their children back in classrooms just yet.

About 82% of FUSD families responded to a recent district survey, and nearly 40% of respondents said they planned to keep their children at home this semester.

Fresno parents fear students are ‘not learning’ during pandemic

But regardless of who - if anyone - gets the blame, the problems that come with remote learning are real, teachers and parents say.

FUSD has “children from diverse backgrounds, immigrants, not native English speakers, economically disadvantaged, and to not be able to advocate for them and give them a voice because parents are afraid to speak up or don’t know how, it’s my duty and ethical code,” Walton said.

Liz Potter has twins in kindergarten, a third-grader, a fifth-grader, and a sixth-grader.

“Whatever is happening at school is not learning,” Potter said. “They just jump through hoops getting assignments in but haven’t had an ‘ah ha’ moment where they’re learning something new. The solution to do hybrid learning is just another problem.”

Students should be going back to in-person learning five days a week full time, Potter said.

“I’m not trying to bag the district in any way,” she said. “I know they have an enormous thing to do. I just think they are behind.”

Spencer said he had to transfer his junior high schooler to a private school, Fresno Christian. His older son transferred to J.E Young, an alternative high school, and graduated in January because distance learning “was a waste of time,” Spencer said.

“For an 18-year-old online school is not conducive to learning,” he said. “They’re not old enough and don’t know how to manage. I don’t know how it’s going for younger kids, some kids are doing great, but … both of my boys’ motivation has fallen week by week, and their interest in general education counties to decline. It’s been a real problem.”

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. Read more from The Bee’s Education Lab on our website.

This story was originally published April 15, 2021 at 5:00 AM.