I’m a 16 year old rising 11th grader concerned about education this fall. Governor Newson has mandated Santa Barbara County schools begin the school year fully remote. But even before Governor Newson ordered this mandate, local school teachers were expressing concern for their own safety if in-person schooling started this fall. Furthermore, the California Teachers Association is advocating a comprehensive list of requirements that must be met before in-person school returns. I am concerned that if schools wait until all these requirements are met, we won’t be back to in-person school for months or even years.
Students and parents want schooling to be held in person. Surveys of Santa Barbara families show 77 percent of parents want their students to go back to school this fall; 80 percent of high school students surveyed said they also wanted in-person learning.If one thing is clear, it is that most students and parents wanted school in-person this fall.
My concern is that when Santa Barbara County schools are allowed to reopen, they won’t because of the teachers. During the public comment portion of the Santa Barbara School Board Meeting on July 15, most of the concern about in-person school came from teachers and not the students or the parents. In fact, one of the few students who did get to speak was a rising senior who wanted to be in school for her final year to have a physical experience rather than a virtual one.