Some teachers delay return to in-person learning, impacting Oakland school reopening – CBS San Francisco
OAKLAND (KPIX) – As the youngest students in the Oakland Unified School District return to class for the first time this year next week, teachers disengaging from in-person learning have had an impact on plans for reopening.
Some Kindergarten to Grade 2 students in Oakland are expected to return to school on March 30, but since teachers are not required to return to class until April 19 under the agreement with the Oakland Educators Association, many schools do not have sufficient enrollment.
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These locations will have to delay reopening, possibly until April 19.
Outside Hillcrest Elementary School in Oakland, parents and children painted a sign of appreciation for students and staff on Friday. But what was supposed to be an early return to campus for the youngest preschool and elementary children next week will be limited.
Even with an $ 800 incentive for these teachers to start classroom teaching early, not everyone comes back.
“So many children are being left behind,” said Megan Bacigalupi, parent of OUSD.
There will be no students in class next week at Cleveland Elementary, and only 60% of the staff will not be returning to Garfield Elementary.
Bacigalpi’s two children – a kindergarten and a second grader – will go to class at Crocker Highlands Elementary on Tuesday, but it will be far from full-time.
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She had to quit her job to supervise the Zoom School.
“It’s really late. We were one of the last neighborhoods to come back and it’s for really minimal hours, ”Bacigalupi explained. “My children will have roughly 40 hours of lessons for this entire school year. Right now we’re getting 5 hours a week, the kids in Berkeley are getting five hours a day, five days a week for the rest of the year. There is a lot of inequity. “
Timothy Douglas is a fifth grade teacher at Fruitvale who was also on the negotiating team with OUSD. He said teachers are grappling with similar issues as they attempt to return to class.
“Child care is a very big issue for about 40% of our members; understand what’s going to happen with their own children when they return, ”said Douglas. This is one of the reasons. Some of our members have not yet been able to get an appointment for the vaccines. “
Despite the ongoing struggle to get students back to classrooms, the Oakland Unified School District is planning a fuller reopening in the fall.
“We hope that by the fall conditions will allow us to be fully open and at full capacity in all of our classrooms,” OUSD spokesperson John Sasaki said.
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The OUSD website has detailed information on the current reopening plans.