Submitted by Mark Powell, first posted by KUSI
A third group of 225 unaccompanied migrant children has arrived at the Convention Center for temporary emergency shelter bringing the total staying there to 948, according to U.S. Health and Human Services.
It comes as a COVID-19 outbreak continues to spread with 10 additional girls testing positive, bringing the total to 92. In-person education has also begun for migrant children with curriculum including English language development, social-emotional learning, arts and geography.
It is raising concerns among some who say the San Diego County Board of Education is not being transparent about the programs in place at the Convention Center.
“You need to come out and tell the world what you’re doing, how you’re teaching. Are you assessing every student for if they have special education needs?” said former SDCOE Board Member Mark Powell. “My phone was blowing up today with parents saying, ‘Why is my child doing hybrid learning two days a week and these kids are having five days a week of instruction when the COVID rate is so much higher?’”
He cited a high infection rate and no hospitalizations as the reason why all children, including those at San Diego Unified should return to full, in-person learning.
“We need to look at what do our kids need? Our kids also need social-emotional learning. Our kids also need those things that they have had taken away from them for the last year,” Powell said.
Photo via the Associated Press
