Medford Schools consider resolution lobbying state for COVID-19 metrics changes

The Medford School District wants the state to further loosen Oregon's school metrics to get more students back into classrooms.

The most difficult time in the public health history of this nation.

Elizabeth schulze, abc news, new york."

In mid-october the metro school board began discussing options for a safe return to in-person learning.

Tomorrow night, the board is scheduled to vote on a resolution that would ask the state to consider changing metrics to safely increase in-person instruction.

Joining us now to explain more about that resolution and why the board is pushing for more in-person learning so that the right with the metro school board to actually be with us.

Thanks.

Thank you.

Pleasure to be here.

So the point of the resolution is to do what.

One of the resolution is to get our elected officials to look at the science behind safely opening schools for children.

When we believe that the science shows that it is a better environment for kids to be in.

For a whole lot of reasons.

And so we were hoping that by getting this resolution to our elected officials, that they will put pressure on our governor to look at the science and make a decision on it based on what's best for kids and what's best for our community is that decision based on the fact that schools are not, at least as we know now, a big spreader of the virus.

And obviously there are social interaction benefits for students as well.

But what about teachers and the teachers union getting on board with something like that.

I'm not the one that has talked to the teacher's union.

We've been communicating with them all along.

Um, but that was the superintendent that did that.

And i think that our teachers want what's best for our students.

And when, as they've looked at the negative impact on, on the comprehensive distance learning.

I'm sure that they're saying that this is not what's best for kids as i've listened to individual parents share with me the experiences that they're having and the struggles that their children are having.

I'm sure the teachers are seeing that too.

And they know that this has really been hard on our kids and the gaps that we're going to be seeing.

The, um, there's a lot of problems happening with, with kids, with a lot of kids, a large percentage of the kids in our district that, that need the added support and being in having in-person learning.

I'm assuming you mean problems in and above what educational problems that may have interaction problems, family, support, problems, safety issues, that sort of thing.

Is that what you mean?

Well, i'll give you an example.

I talked to one parent whose husband is a truck driver.

She has to work all day.

She has two daughters in high school and one that's nine years old.

He's a fourth grader.

So she sets him up on the computer before she leaves for work and hopes that he'll be engaged.

But he's not engaged on the computer.

And so she goes to work all day and comes back to f to find that he hasn't been staying on top of it.

Her daughters are staying focused on their, on their online program, but they can't do that.

And take care of the younger brother.

Food issues are a problem.

He's depressed, he's gained weight and he's far up falling farther and farther behind every day in his academic experience.

And then i had other parents that tell me that even if they are stay at home parent, that is able to be with their kids.

They have three to four kids at home, and they're trying to manage all the different schedules that their kids have.

And one neighbor of mine ran out of the house and said, i can't do this anymore.

I can't manage all of this by myself.

It's too