Our children are our future, and we need to start acting like it.
Dear Friend,
This week millions of students headed back to school from the holiday break. Instead of learning in person, many public school districts across the nation frustrated parents by returning to virtual learning. They claim it’s to control the spread of the Omicron variant.
My own county in Maryland abruptly shifted to virtual learning just before Christmas through Martin Luther King Jr. Day with little advance notice to us parents.
Parents want stability not more chaos.
I’m a mom of three and the last thing I want is for my family to be thrown back into virtual learning. Like so many working parents, we had to scramble to arrange our schedules.
The time has passed for shutting down our schools. It’s not March 2020 before we had information, vaccines, and therapeutics.
Data demonstrates that disrupting school routines has a questionable impact on slowing the spread of coronavirus. But they are devastating for kids.
Learning loss is real.
School closures and remote learning have led to sharp declines in reading and math scores. Black, Hispanic, and poor kids have fared especially badly.
Add to that spikes in behavioral and mental health problems, and tragically, suicides among teens. Even the New York Times writes that the response to the pandemic has created a “crisis for American children.”
These closures are not about safety but caving to teachers unions demands.
Put Kids First ([link removed])
Parents need leverage to ensure that their children will not be left behind.
Stand up for students and for parents like me who deserve the choice of where to send our children to learn. Share your story about school closures and the return to virtual learning where you live. ([link removed])
Yours in the fight,
Patrice Onwuka
Director of IWF’s Center for Economic Opportunity
[link removed]
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