In light of the Clarke County school board’s recent decision not only to postpone the school year a month, but also to incorporate virtual online-only classrooms for the foreseeable (and undetermined) future, we felt we needed to make our voices heard during a time when those voices seem routinely ignored. We, the parents—especially the working moms: the executives, entrepreneurs, doctors, bankers, teachers, nurses, cashiers, restaurant workers, the backbone of the economy that drives this community—have watched as decisions that disproportionately affect us and our children are made without any solicitation of our input. We have felt left out of this process from the beginning, and, as is often the case, the burdens and ramifications of these decisions have fallen on the working mothers who are all too accustomed to making sacrifices that others are unwilling to make. That needs to change.
We understand the complicated decisions that must be made during this unprecedented time, and we have no interest in compromising the safety and health of our children, our teachers and our community. But rather than clear, resolute leadership and widely understood goals and benchmarks, it seems as if decisions are being postponed, a mere kicking of the can down the road toward some hazy, indeterminate time in the future. This indecision is throwing families’ lives into chaos.
Interim superintendent Xernona Thomas has said, “We recognize the best place for students to learn is in class, and the district is working to resume in-person instruction as soon as possible.” We are encouraged by this sentiment but concerned with its vagueness.
Every day our children are not in school is a day that they fall farther behind, and we are forced either to pay for extra child care or miss work entirely, not only suffering severe financial consequences during an already difficult time, but often derailing careers women have been working decades to establish. Working mothers who cannot work from home—the cashiers, bus drivers, restaurant workers, janitors, nurses and other service workers—are forced to choose between two impossible alternatives: abandoning their children or losing their livelihood. There have been many well-documented studies from the CDC, the American Academy of Pediatrics and other medical and education organizations that have made clear that the social, economic and even medical costs of keeping schools virtual indefinitely are too much to bear. We love the schools of this community, have committed to the promise and opportunity of public school in Athens, and have seen the benefits they have provided for our children. But the longer they are out of in-person school, the more we worry that parents, backed into a corner by what can seem like a lack of a commitment to in-person learning as soon as possible, will be forced to make choices outside of the system. This is the last thing anyone involved should want.
We are not asking for a reckless rush to in-person learning. We are asking for the Board of Education to be more explicit, open and accountable about its commitment to returning to in-person education as soon as possible. And we are asking to be part of the process.
We believe there are simple measures the Board of Education to adopt can adopt to ease the anxiety of Athens families. They are:
• Weekly updates on how the process of moving toward in-person education is progressing. We do not want vague generalizations and long-winded bureaucratic rhetoric on YouTube channels. We want concrete, regular updates.
• Specific benchmarks that, when met, will lead to ramping up preparation for in-person schooling. These can involve the rate of infection in the county and the university, as well as scientific results from other communities that have opened up in-person schooling.
• Regular monitoring of surrounding counties that have opened, like Oconee County and Oglethorpe County, to see what can be learned from their experiences, their successes and their setbacks.
• Clear assurances that there will be no more kick-the-can-down-the-road, cross-your-fingers-and-hope postponements, which only prolong uncertainty and lead to concerns that there is, in fact, no concrete plan at all.
• A voice in the process. We have watched helplessly as people we do not know and are not involved in the lives of our families and our children have made decisions—or not made decisions—on our behalf, that affect our lives dramatically, without any solicitation of any thoughts we might have on the process. All CCSD stakeholders deserve a transparent process in which they have a voice.
We love this city, this county, this school system, all of it: Teachers, parents, administrators, coaches, cafeteria workers, bus drivers, janitors… in many ways, our public schools are the drivers of this whole community, the place we have chosen to spend our lives, to raise our families, to build our businesses. We only want the best for it. We feel that a clear, explicit, transparent plan for getting our children back to school safely is of the utmost importance. And we ask that we, the parents of Athens, not be forgotten: We ask that we be given a voice.
Alexa Stevenson
Hailey Campbell
Genevieve Knox
Will Leitch
Bertis Downs
Josh Brooks
Lillie Brooks
Hope Cook
Chase Cook
Kari E. Abernathy
Lucy Atkinson
Allison Hodge
Jason Hodge
Rosemary Hunter
Katy Brodrick
Todd Stichtenoth
Casey Stichtenoth
Breckyn Alexander
Ginny Graham
Amanda Eldridge
Amanda Hardee White
Whitney Knowlton
David Knowlton
Caroline Griggs
Hilari Reagin
Katherine Little Odom
Georgia Anne Moore
Anne Coppedge
Maggie Talley
Robin Roberts
Susan Reynols
J McElhannon
Allison Nealy
Jenny McCallen
Kyle Marshall
Scott Talley
Marie Garau
Aphrodite Douris
Emmy Scruggs
Courteny Lawrence
Stephen Simmons
Ally Simmons
Patrick Cates
Candice Treadway
Caroline Copeland
Jeb Bradberry
Cameron McElreath
Jean Sample Campbell
Mary Jill Springer
Stacy Brown
Susan Banister
Carol White
Jan Finney
Cameron Mulford
Greg DeMent
Catherine Hardman
Leigh Hubbard
Laura Hogan
Sarah Pittard
Elizabeth Chastain
Amy Chisolm
Andrea Welter
Traci Hudson
Lauren Harrell
Ron Menzies
Cristi De Martino Moore
Laura Fagrall
Ragan Garrett
Heather Cates
Jennifer Barnhart
Leah Sibley
Gigi Lastinger
Cecilia Reynolds
Particia Hopaluk-Gay
Brian Campbell
Barndon Hicks
Gretchen Pearson
Betty Schroeder
Jessica Burns
Hally DeMent
Dan DaLamater
Sherry Mugovero
Kris Rapp
Carolyn Dilon
Stacy Campbell
Jim Gillis
Linda Jerkins
Deirdre Sugiuchi
Sophia Estrada
Sis Bettress
Richard Whitworth
Carla York
Micah Allen
Jadon Allen
Maria Mueller
Elijah Allen
Mickey Dillard
Joyce Allen
Katie Smith
Rosie Alexander
Alice McMaster
Libby Carson
Ginger Redwine
Andrea Lafera-Bianco
Adam Kaluba
Eric Sewell
George Schroeder
Charme Bradberry
Steve Greer
Susan Ferguson
Ross Reynolds
Emma Hunt
Braden DeLamater
Elizabeth Milner
Elizabeth Earl
Michael Earl
Usha Rodriques
Missy Hutto
Diego Labrador
Aakriti Bhatta
Gianna Valdez
Zoe Wu
Steve Middlebrooks
John Bellamy
Donna Weekley
Chris Gilmer
Lauren Cook
Susan McCullough
Jeffrey Trapnell
Christine Howell
Ben Coppadge
Anamaria Nelson
Lindsay Van Note
Lori Drake
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