MPUSD parents rally at Window on the Bay for full-time instruction
MONTEREY, Calif. (KION) MPUSD parents rally at Window on the Bay for full-time instruction for their children.
Recently, the district announced they will open 4 days a week for 5-hours a day for elementary schools. This decision comes after the CDC relaxed guidelines from 6 feet of distance to just 3, allowing for more students to be in one classroom.
However, parents say this change is not enough. They want middle and high schools to have more time in the classroom as well.
"We got the elementary schools back in but we did not get our middle and our high schools back in. They are offering a 2-hour enrichment period as opposed to actual learning. It's not good enough," says Aria Colby, a mom of 2 kids in MPUSD.
MPUSD elementary, middle, and high school students are slated to come back in phases for part-time, in-person learning starting April 12th.
For now, they are still doing distance learning but in a few weeks, middle and high school students will have the option to come to class for a 2-hour enrichment, support, or advancement period. MPUSD Superintendent P.K. Diffenbaugh says it's for a good reason.
"In order to bring middle and high school students back in the safest way possible, we did not want to have them have a traditional day where they're mixing and going to first period her, second period there, and third period there and increasing the number of contacts they have," says the superintendent.
The California Department of Public Health recommends that K-12 students stay within "stable groups," or a group that doesn't mix with other students. The superintendent says this is easier for elementary school kids who typically stay with the same teacher and class for the entire day. For this reason, he says they will be opening incrementally but parents still feel otherwise.
“The CDC says it's safe, other schools have said it's safe," says Colby
According to CDPH, data for elementary schools shows a low risk of transmission amongst young children, but the department says there is more potential spread in older children, citing two studies conducted in France.
The superintendent says the district plans on opening full-time in the Fall if cases continue to trend down.
