How to push back against people who want to close schools AGAIN

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Plus a million. Closing schools was and is distratous for poor and underprivileged children particularly (it is for everyone, but at least wealthy people can mitigate somewhat).

I want schools to be open 5 days per week as well. But please stop with the faux concern for the poor and underprivileged bc it’s trendy. I bet you’re one of those with the Black Lives Matter sign in your yard.

I prefer faux concern to actual lack of concern.

In so many ways, faux concern can be even more dangerous because you end up advocating for things that YOU think are better for "poor and underprivileged children," instead of what the community actually wants and needs. Unless that is the point and you definitely know better - that's always a good look /s

All the families with FARMS kids I know (which is many, our school is 90% FARMS) want schools open 5 days a week and as normal a school year as their kids can get.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Last year our child's Title 1 DCPS elementary did not open at all thanks to a small group of parents and teachers who claimed they were worried about kids. We have homeless kids at the school, kids in foster care and kids across the spectrum who would have been better off in school. But parents who wanted school to be in person had no voice in the matter. The most vocal parents keeping schools closed are high-income and have the means to pay for learning pods or stay at home with their kids. I am beyond outraged that they are attempting this coup for another year. Delta should raise everyone's vigilance, but with vaccines or weekly testing now mandated for all DC govt. staff, including all those who work at schools, there should not be any more roadblocks to safe in-person school for every child.

Here's an article by respected journalist and advocate Judd Legum that you can share in your communities to push back:

https://popular.info/p/how-to-keep-kids-in-school

I could be wrong, but I thought the DCPS survey actually showed the opposite. That it was actually trending towards lower income parents wanting schools closed last year and higher income parents wanting schools open.

The DCPS survey didn't show anything because they didn't survey these questions. They barely surveyed at all. Did you take the surveys they sent out last year? The questions were convoluted at best and designed to avoid clear conclusions.

My recollection from my own school is that poor and minority families expressed greater skepticism about the school's ability to meet safety standards for in person school. Which is different than saying they "didn't want" in person school. It means that they, rationally, distrust schools that have historically not helped their communities or treated their kids well. That this was used by (white, UMC) activists to discourage DCPS and charters from reopening even with strong safety policies and procedures in place is pretty gross to me.

A cool thing to do is actually talk to some of these families, many of whom obviously and vocally want quality IPL with CDC-recommended safety precautions (like masks, testing, vaccinated adults, social distancing, and quarantine procedures).