The Oceanside Unified School Board has collectively decided that only partial in-person learning will be permitted, and only for some elementary school students. This means the middle and high school students will remain virtual for the time being.
Students that require special education will be able to return on March 8 for “split day learning,” and elementary students enrolled in general education will be able to return on March 15. This decision has parents in Oceanside confused, stating that there is more than enough money for the schools in the district to reopen safely.
Other parents feel that the school is doing what is best for the school itself and not considering parents or the students. “There’s statistics and science that shows… it’s not the kids spreading it within schools right now,” said one frustrated oceanside parent. Dozens of parents gathered outside of the Oceanside School District headquarters demanding that more be done to return students back to school.
And parents aren’t the only ones who want to get students back in school. Grace Liggan, an Oceanside senior, says that the pandemic has really effected her.
“As you can imagine, COVID and online school has halted my life and turned it upside down completely,” Liggan said. “Me and all my other peers have suffered from mental health issues, it’s just not healthy, physically or mentally.”
The lack of activities and extracurriculars that she and her friends used to take part in is making things hard.
She continued, “It’s like a piece of me is taken away because all of these things is what makes me who I am and without these things I don’t feel like myself.”
Grace and many others firmly believe that students can efficiently return to school safely while still following safety protocols.
Photo via Oceanside School District
