Schools are about to reopen in a Placer district. Many teachers, parents want to stay home

Just days before thousands of students in the Placer County community of Rocklin are scheduled to return to public school campuses, the district’s teachers union has filed a grievance that raises concerns about whether enough safety precautions are in place to keep students and teachers safe from COVID-19.

The Rocklin Teachers Professional Association announced Wednesday it was filing the grievance against the Rocklin Unified School District after the district announced plans to reopen its hybrid model next Monday.

Travis Mougeotte, president of the Rocklin Teachers Professional Association, said the district failed to address some safety issues before reopening, including proactive testing for COVID-19 and installing HVAC equipment that includes proper filtering.

“As educators, we want to be back in the classroom with our students, but there is too much at risk to ignore science, facts, and safety,” Mougeotte said in a statement.

In addition to the grievance, more than 2,000 people have signed a petition that called for the district serving 13,500 students to delay reopening campuses and continue providing a distance learning program.

District officials said they have taken precautions and that it is safe to begin classroom instruction. The district also said it does not agree with all the issues the union has raised, telling The Sacramento Bee there is contact tracing and testing in place for staff and students, and that there are filters in place and more have been purchased for school gyms.

“Because there are updated, timely testing capabilities for schools in our country, it has been determined by state and county public health experts that there is low enough spread in Placer County for us to safely return to in-person instruction, using safety protocols,” read a letter from the district. “From the beginning of this pandemic we have been driven by a philosophy that while we must prioritize safety, having students receive in-person instruction was preferable for both academic and social-emotional reasons.”

Under the district’s plan, students in grades TK to first will return five days a week in morning or afternoon classes.

Grades two through six will return two or three days a week in “A” or “B” groups. On days that they are not on campus, students will engage in independent work.

Grades seven through 12 will also return two to three days a week, with groups “A” and “B” alternating days on campus. During at-home days, students will complete independent work.

But some in the community who signed the online petition raised concerns that it is not yet safe to return to campus with COVID-19 still spreading and that returning to a hybrid model places staff and students in a vulnerable position. The petition calls for Rocklin Unified to delay reopening until January and allow families to decide whether or not they want to return back to campus.

Mougeotte, who is also a parent in the district and a history teacher at Whitney High School, said the community is largely divided on this issue.

“We wan to return to campus, but only under a safe and right way to do it,” Mougeotte said.

About 68 percent of teachers said they felt they were not ready to go back to school next week, Mougeotte said.

“There’s a harsh reality that we will have to push a pace that is unfamiliar to students, or we have to potentially eliminate curriculum, or activities have to be modified since we will see (students) every other day,” he said.

Mougeotte also said teachers are concerned that schools will reopen only to be closed again days later due to students or staff testing positive for COVID-19.

Among other concerns:

• Students and staff will have to readjust again to working with the hybrid model.

• Class time is cut in half for both hybrid groups, which jeopardizes student learning. Class periods will also be shorter, as they follow an adjusted schedule as opposed to full-time schedules daily during distance learning.

• Teachers will have to adjust their courses and possibly accelerate them in order to accommodate for both groups

When surveyed in July, 60 percent of families said they wanted to return five days a week, while 30 percent said they wanted to return in a hybrid model. About 10 percent of families said they will continue using the online option, according to a district survey.

.Jackie Goodling will be sending her fifth grade daughter back to school on Monday. Her daughter’s teacher has spent some time this week online preparing students on how to wear their masks and wash their hands.

“I’ve certainly enjoyed having her home, but I’m happy to have her go back,” she said. “So many kids need that place to go to learn. My daughter has done fine for the most part, but I hear the Zoom classes and kids are not paying attention. They need to be in school.”

Some students with special needs have already returned to campuses in Rocklin Unified so they could have face-to-face instruction.

The district has said it hopes all students will return to campus for a full week eventually, with restrictions, but the district does not know when it will implement that schedule.

This story was originally published September 16, 2020 at 3:23 PM.