Written by Ainsley Jackman
Following Gov. Newsom’s order that schools in counties on the state monitoring list, including San Diego County, should not start in-person learning without a waiver, many parents were panicked that their children wouldn’t receive the quality education they were used to.
San Diego City Councilman Chris Cate recently released an official proposal on the issue, and noted that these concerns were completely valid, considering reports that 50% of students from low-income families didn’t log on once for distance learning last year, and offered a series of possible solutions.
Thank you, @EricNews8 & @StellaNews8! I joined #Upwith8 @CBS8 this morning to discuss my proposal. In response to the concerns being voiced by parents and teachers, I have proposed a host of solutions for both in person and distance-learning: https://t.co/vyfeOuC7HT pic.twitter.com/M7ILzUsbId
— Chris Cate (@chrisjcate) July 30, 2020
He began by addressing ways that students could return to in-person school in the fall, suggesting that San Diego Unified School District apply for a waiver that would allow elementary schools to have in-person schooling once San Diego is off the monitoring list for two weeks. Several schools throughout San Diego have already applied, and robust safety measures for students, teachers, and faculty are already in the works for all schools.
Cate also proposed some measures that could be taken to make the process safer and more streamlined. Some examples include outdoor classrooms to follow San Diego guidelines for businesses and churches, staggered start times to prevent crowding during pick-up and drop-off times, and an “In-Class Assistance” program that provides recently graduated college students with much-needed employment as substitute teachers to allow older teachers and faculty to remain safe at home.
He also offered some possibilities for making distance-learning more effective in the event that a waiver is not obtained. These included offering the standard homeschool stipend of around $3,000 annually to families transitioning to at-home learning to use for school and technology supplies, creating a plan to reopen public libraries, removing roadblocks for affordable and accessible childcare, and more.
Councilman Cate is making it clear that the issue of reopening schools is a priority for him, and that for the sake of students, teachers, faculty, and parents, he is willing to put in the work to make a difference immediately. As he puts it, “We need to rethink education and get creative in the ways we can serve our students now.”
