Cancelled start brings protest

 

The decision Tuesday night by the Garden Grove Unified School District Board of Education to delay a start to in-person instruction brought not only a storm of comments on social media, but also a protest in front of the district administration building.

Citing a need to have more time to complete planning for the process, the district backed off on its earlier starting dates of Oct. 5 for students in grades pre-kindergarten through sixth grade and Oct. 12 for grades seven through 12 (intermediate and high schools). No new dates have been determined.

As the number of new coronavirus cases in Orange County has eased, some area school systems have reopened or announced plans to do so. District officials say they are still trying to balance parental preference, health and safety concerns and other issues before returning to what will be a hybrid system of in-class teaching and computer-based “distance learning.”

Some parents, for their part, are complaining that plans were made based on the original dates, and that pupils needed more in-person instruction, rather than the distance learning model now being used.

A group of about 25 protesters, including parents and some pupils, rallied in from of the GGUSD headquarters building on Stanford Avenue today at 5:30 p.m. to register their displeasure.

Standing on the sidewalk, they waved signs reading “Children Need Real Teaching” and “Stop Being Fools and Open the Schools.” They got supportive honks from some of the motorists riding down the street. The event organizer, Katie Faith, outlined what the group wanted.

“Open the classrooms for the students. Let students go back to in-person learning,” she said.  “On the original schedule, the October Fifth date.”