The date for the
Kid March to go to School
has changed to
Saturday, July 25^th, 2020

(More details https://www.facebook.com/events/761553604654356/)

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 (https://edsource.org/2020/seeking-guidance-for-reopening-schools/633593).  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 (https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/why-handwashing.html).  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.” (https://services.aap.org/en/news-room/news-releases/aap/2020/pediatricians-educators-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 (https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2764584; https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-06-unemployment-isolation-depression-covid-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 (https://www.kidsdata.org/table/2/california/234/childpoverty-race250).  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 (https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/se/sr/cefspeced.asp).  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 (https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6914e4.htm).  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 (https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/07/10/coronavirus-why-kids-arent-the-germbags-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 25^th 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 https://www.facebook.com/events/761553604654356/ 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 (https://www.facebook.com/events/761553604654356/) on your FB page and invite friends and retweet on Twitter (https://twitter.com/KidsMarch/status/1281815907543576576).

Hope to see you there!

C

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