{"id":1736,"date":"2020-11-12T05:03:59","date_gmt":"2020-11-12T05:03:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/studentsfirstcoalition.org\/?page_id=1736"},"modified":"2021-02-05T16:46:01","modified_gmt":"2021-02-05T16:46:01","slug":"letter-la-county-supervisors-reopen-schools","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/studentsfirstcoalition.org\/letter-la-county-supervisors-reopen-schools\/","title":{"rendered":"Letter to L.A. County Supervisors to Reopen Schools"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Letter to L.A. County Supervisors to Reopen Schools<\/h3>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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November 11, 2020<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors<\/strong><\/p>

Supervisor Hilda Solis, District One
Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, District Two
Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, District Three
Supervisor Janice Hahn, District Four
Supervisor Kathryn Barger, District Five<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

Dear Honorable Supervisors,<\/p>

I write to you as a parent in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD). I also presently serve on the school site council (SSC) for my daughter\u2019s school, Webster Elementary in Malibu, where she has now spent the last third of her first grade education and the first third of her second grade education in distance learning. My wife and I have seen the impacts of distance learning not only on our child but on those of friends and family throughout the county. Parents talk amongst themselves and we are in nearly unanimous agreement that distance learning is a catastrophically misguided and long-term disaster for which our children are suffering. This is not just our isolated experience \u2014 it has been confirmed by reams of international data, as has the safety of reopening schools. There remains no legitimate debate about either of these facts. Notwithstanding the extraordinary efforts of administrators and educators to make the best of a terrible situation, there can be no disputing at this stage that distance learning is scientifically-unjustifiable and socially, psychologically, and physically deleterious. It must stop now. In a county with little more than 7,000 deaths from COVID-19 (and a death curve that continues to drop<\/a>\u00a0despite increasing cases), more than three million children and teenagers are being denied the one thing that has proven to be the single most significant equalizer of opportunity in American history: an education.<\/p>

By allowing this situation to drag on, you run the risk of undoing more than two decades of hard work by millions of Californians to bring the benefits of early childhood education to our children in all communities. Beginning with Prop 10 in 1998 and the creation of First 5 California, this state has made enormous strides in making sure that school-age children \u2014 especially those in Kindergarten through third grade \u2014 are given the tools and attention that researchers have consistently found essential to productive, happy, and prosperous lives. All of those gains could be erased in just a few short months if we do not get children back in school as soon as possible. The worst of it will fall disproportionately on those from disadvantaged communities for whom the in-class learning experience is most essential to developing the skills and knowledge with which to elevate themselves, their families, and their communities. Countless parents have already pulled their children from failing public schools expressly because of \u201cdistance learning.\u201d Many more will surely follow, risking the complete collapse of public education in many areas across the county and the state.<\/p>

Thankfully, many schools in the county have sought and received waivers, enabling them to begin the process of re-opening \u2014 our school and district are presently discussing re-opening plans, which are not expected to be implemented before January \u2014 but there remain far too many variables beyond the control of administrators, local officials, and parents. At this point in time, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is the only body positioned and empowered to act on our behalf and put a halt to this catastrophe before its long-term impacts become irreversible. It is imperative that you follow the science and act immediately and without further delay to facilitate the re-opening of all<\/strong>\u00a0schools and districts which are prepared and ready to do so.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

Consider the following:<\/p>