The date for the
Kid March to go to School
has changed to
Saturday, July 25th, 2020
(More details <[link removed]>
[link removed])

We got quite a bit of feedback from parents and teachers, asking why we
would be asking for schools to be open without any restrictions. This is
not our position and not what we wrote in the previous email! Opening
schools with NO care for safety would be reckless, but there is a balance
that needs to be had between public health measures, mental and emotional
health measures and economic measures.

So to clarify A Voice for Choice Advocacy's position on reopening schools.
* AVFCA wrote "Children need to be back in school physically and
without onerous, unattainable restrictions." Schools and preschools have
guidelines from the CDC, California Department of Education (CDE),
California Department of Public Health (CDPH), California Department of
Social Services (CDSS), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
and individual county Public Health Departments that they are being asked to
follow (
<[link removed]>
[link removed]).
While these overlap some, they also have their own nuances and are
overwhelming. If a school follows all these guidelines, there is no way
they will not be able to open fully in the fall and it would be much easier
just to continue distance learning.
* The question becomes what is the cumulative impact of each of the
safety guidelines.The research on the effectiveness of handwashing for 20+
seconds to control infection is extensive (
<[link removed]>
[link removed]). Other guidelines
include, but are not limited to, health checks (including temperature
checks), sanitizing schools multiple times a day, limiting pod sizes to 12,
6 ft social distancing and cloth mask wearing. The question is if children
have daily health checks and are washing their hands multiple times a day,
and schools are being deep cleaned regularly, how much more benefit do
smaller class sizes, social distancing and wearing cloth masks bring (none
of which have solid scientific data on their efficacy against COVID-19 and
all of which will be extremely hard to implement), vs the mental health and
economic risks that come from 100% distance learning or hybrid distance/in
person learning?
* The AAP and CDC both agree that safety measures have to be put in
place to go back to school, but as the AAP stated this week: "We recognize
that children learn best when physically present in the classroom, but
children get much more than academics at school. They also learn social and
emotional skills at school, get healthy meals and exercise, mental health
support and other services that cannot be easily replicated online. Schools
also play a critical role in addressing racial and social inequity." (
<[link removed]-
educators-and-superintendents-urge-a-safe-return-to-school-this-fall/>
[link removed]
ducators-and-superintendents-urge-a-safe-return-to-school-this-fall/)
* Schools are much more than education facilities.
o While schools are a place for academic learning, so much of what
children learn in school is also social emotional development. It is a safe
and supportive place for students whose home lives are not such. Domestic
violence cases, suicide rates and depression (
<[link removed]>
[link removed];
<[link removed]
vid-deaths.html>
[link removed]
id-deaths.html) have increased significantly since the lockdown. Children,
especially teens, are feeling isolated.
o Prior to COVID-19, about 20% of California's children (or 2 million
children) lived in poverty and about 40% (4 million children) lived at or
below the poverty line (
<[link removed]>
[link removed]).
While we don't know the exact numbers, given the economic shutdown, we know
these numbers are higher. Many public schools continued to provide one meal
a day to their under privileged students. While some provided computers and
wifi hotspots, this did not allow for universal distance learning. The
inequity of education became even greater for these children.
o About one in eight California students (~12%) receives Special Education
Services ( <[link removed]>
[link removed]). During this shutdown of
schools these services have been severely impacted with most children not
getting any services, causing many children to regress.
* Teachers and school administrators are concerned about getting COVID
at reopened schools and so would prefer to continue with distance learning
and not come in contact with children. However, COVID-19 is not like the
flu and other disease which circulate through schools annually. COVID-19 is
unlikely among children (
<[link removed]>
[link removed]). Less than 2% of all
cases have been among children, with only 3 deaths in the US among pediatric
patients. And while the research is still being conducted to determine if
children can transmit the disease, initial results imply that they do not (
<[link removed]
ags-and-grownups-are/>
[link removed]
gs-and-grownups-are/

As with everything that A Voice for Choice Advocacy advocates for, we want
people to be fully xxxxxxrmed and make the choice that is right for them and
their family. If you have done the research and feel the risks or the
benefits of sending your child to school or going back to teach, are greater
than the social emotional or economic risks or benefits of doing the same,
then we want you to have that choice, but if schools are closed because of
onerous restrictions, then that choice does not exist.

There are many reason why parents and teachers want schools to open fully
without onerous restrictions in the fall, including special needs issues,
health and mental health issues, equality issues, access to technology
issues, poverty issues, etc. This kids-focused march to demand California
schools open fully, without onerous restrictions, this fall is a grassroots
event supported by many different groups and organizations who advocate on a
variety of these issues. We hope to see you there!

Children March to go to School Details
When: Saturday July 25th at 10AM at the Sacramento Capitol
What: The march will start at the Sacramento Capitol grounds and march to
both the California Department of Education and California Department of
Public Health (about 7 blocks). There will be speakers at noon.
Sign up: Please sign up <[link removed]>
[link removed] if you are going, so
attendance size can be estimated.
What to bring: Kid's should bring homemade signs. Also be sure to bring
water and snacks, as it will be warm out.
What else you can do: We encourage kids, parents, organizations to write
letters to both the California Department of Education and the California
Department of Public Health and emphasize how your children and you want to
return to school fully without onerous restrictions. Bring a copy, as these
will be delivered on the day.
Please share: Forward this email to anyone you think may be interested, and
share the Facebook event (
<[link removed]>
[link removed]) on your FB page and invite
friends and retweet on Twitter (
<[link removed]>
[link removed]).

Hope to see you there!
C

If you appreciate the work A Voice for Choice Advocacy is doing, please
support us by making a donation today.
<[link removed]>
Christina Hildebrand
President/Founder
A Voice for Choice Advocacy, Inc.
<[link removed]> www.avoiceforchoiceadvocacy.org
408 835 9353

<[link removed]> WWW.AVOICEFORCHOICEADVOCACY.ORG

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