For once I don't have a dog in this fight, but from what I am hearing and reading on the School post here, there are strong feelings on both sides of the issue of when to reopen in-person learning at the Burlingame Elementary Schools. One can only imagine the concern over months and months of video classes for young kids and the absence of school sports, band, plays, speech and language help, etc. The goodly number of kids at my nearby park (Pershing) daily after school hours is not nearly as many as there are kids in the neighborhood.
Here are excerpts from the latest message from the BSD Board of Trustees:
The recent and sudden changes made by the state which forced our school district to remain in distance learning have been frustrating for all of us. We know that it has been challenging for parents to explain to our youngest learners why, once again, they will not be going to school...San Mateo County is made up of 24 school districts, of which only 3 are open for some in-person learning, with the remaining districts at various stages of reopening plans and waivers. Burlingame School District is next in line for live instruction, with an approved reopening safety plan and approved waiver already in place....If it is safe for one district to conduct in-person education with an approved plan, then it should be safe for all districts with an approved plan.
The state hasn't been exactly helpful in this regard although a comment from Guido (apparently a teacher) on the post linked above does note:
Time to pause and not do anything stupid, I guess they think we are lazy and that's why we should be back in class. I would be teaching with a mask on and the kids in front of screens under the current conditions and probably the "Red" tier. Can't share materials, etc. By the way, the State didn't change the the rules, they clarified them for stupid administrators who can't read and are trying to force the issue for some reason.
Data might help here--or not; but the San Mateo County website provides some here. As of yesterday, kids age 9 and below have accounted for 2,167 cases out of almost 34,000 (about 6.5%) so it's small but not insignificant. The 34,000 total is about 4.4% of the county population. The question is really "What are the trade-offs?" Are the risks (well known and real) of not reopening worse than the risk of doing so? Answering that question is what school board elections are all about, but we have to agree this was completely unexpected and not discussed as there were no debates the last time around. I'm guessing that might change next time.
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