Calls for Kenai Peninsula students to return to in-person learning for all grades on a daily basis is making its rounds in a petition on social media.
Parents vented their frustration during the public comment period at the most recent Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education meeting over the lack of in-person learning for most students, saying they wanted their children to return to the classroom.
The petition is called: Return All Kenai Peninsula Students to In-Person Learning for ALL Grades ~ Every Day.
The one leading this call is James Baisden, who started the petition, “We have a lot of parents that are concerned with getting their kids back to school. They organize on social media with a group called Done With Distance, We Need Your Assistance. After the last board meeting, the parents want to get their children back to in-classroom learning as soon as possible. The district has a smart start plan that basically is going to start January 19, 2021. The superintendent has the ability based on the recommendation or the authority from their board to start earlier. The parents feel that, for the last nine months, their children have been punished and they’re not learning anything. They want to get the administration’s attention and get kids back in school. Our children are suffering severely right now from not being in school and learning that they’re getting over the internet is not working.”
Baisden said he hopes the petition will change the district’s mind, “Some of the board members say, ‘They always come up with those comments, I get these emails from other people who don’t want to be back in school.’ I wanted to basically put out a petition with this group to show that there are a lot of concerned parents out there and I’ll push that out. That will show you just how concerned parents are about getting their kids back in school. We can do it safely. Teachers are essential. Our children are essential. With the mitigation issues that are out there, we can get kids back in school safely. We need to stop this.”
In a step toward resolving this crisis, Baisden asks the Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor and Assembly Members to support a resolution stating that, “The Kenai Peninsula is under an Educational Emergency we support allowing all students in ALL GRADES to return to in person classroom instruction immediately.”
Facebook Group: Done With Distance, We Need Your Assistance.
View the petition here.