Dr. William Hite, Superintendent of the School District of Philadelphia, the largest school district in Pennsylvania, announced details of the third phase of the blended learning model on the district’s website on April 12. Phase III will be implemented beginning May 10 for students in grades six through nine who have not yet returned to school or for students in grades 10 through 12 who have special requirements. The blended instruction model means two days a week of school and three days of distance learning.
In a recent official video, Dr. Hite noted that the School District of Philadelphia will receive up to $1.2 billion in federal funding to help schools recover from the pandemic.
He said, “The three most important areas of investment are: for the social, emotional and spiritual well-being of our students and staff; to address the decline in student academic standards and how to improve learning due to the disruptions that have occurred since last March; and to ensure that our buildings are a safe place to teach and learn.”
Dr. Hite also noted that almost all of the guidelines that are now in place indicate that it is safe for students to return to class this fall.
Delaware Governor’s Candidate: Parents Say CCP Virus Killed My Child, But They Didn’t Catch It
Attorney JuJulianne Murray, 2020 Delaware Gubernatorial Candidate (video screenshot)
Attorney Julianne Murray is running for Governor of Delaware in 2020, and Ms. Murray strongly opposes the idea that schools should be closed. She believes that children need to go back to school. She is sorry to hear that some school districts are still saying they are not prepared to allow students to return to school this fall semester.
She said, “The current governor of Delaware was saying last year that he was leaving it up to school districts to decide whether or not to open schools, but I think that was a decision that was not made. If you’re going to open, you have to comply with the CDC regulations, which at that time were primarily for school buses, and only 20 percent of students were able to ride the bus, and he was essentially saying that if you can meet all of those requirements, you can open, but there are all kinds of difficulties, procedures and policy constraints that in fact keep you from opening.”
“The Cape Henlopen School District in Sussex County, Delaware, can open up, but other counties can’t yet because they can’t keep up financially. “The result is that students who are at a financial disadvantage will also be at a financial disadvantage in terms of educational conditions. That’s exactly the opposite of what’s happening.”
Attorney Murray further said, “The fact is that in Delaware there have been no deaths from the CCA virus under the age of 18. You have to weigh the pros and cons, and you have to look at which is more harmful. Is the probability of contracting the virus greater, or is the continued growth of depression and anxiety and social problems more harmful to health? I’ve talked to hundreds of students who just want to go back to school and be with their friends, and they want to participate in sports. And these students have fallen behind academically because distance learning is no match for face-to-face instruction.”
“One of my colleagues knows of five children who committed suicide because they couldn’t return to school. Their parents say the CCP virus killed my children, but they didn’t have the virus at all.”
Attorney Murray says the dangers posed to students by long-term online teaching are outrageous, “That’s exactly the problem, and the cure is worse for distance learning than the disease itself.”
Pennsylvania Political Action Committee Organization: Distance Learning Causes 333% Increase in Student Self-Harm Cases
Ms. Clarice Schillinger is the founder and president of Keeping Kids in School, a Pennsylvania political action committee group.
“After a year of school closures, we decided to take some political action.” Ms. Schillinger said, “Our primary target right now is the candidates for the school district board. The school district board has more power than is commonly believed.”
They are actively reaching out to board candidates, especially those who support an all-day open option for schools. And this is an election year for Pennsylvania school districts.
Ms. Clarice Schillinger is the founder and chair of Keeping Kids in School, an organization of Pennsylvania political action committees (video Screenshot)
Ms. Misty Law Flurry, Treasurer of Keeping Kids in School Pennsylvania (video screenshot)
Misty Law Flurry, the organization’s treasurer, noted that there are nearly 2 million students enrolled in school in Pennsylvania, and 33 percent of the children are single parents, meaning that a very large number of parents have to quit their jobs to care for their homeschooled children.
“In Pennsylvania, 28 percent of working women have had to quit the workplace. So this is not just a discussion about getting kids back in school, but also about getting more mothers back into the workplace. This could help restore our economy.”
Ms. Flurry further noted that back-to-school kids learn more, and they need human interaction. They can learn with their peers and interact better with their teachers. And (distance learning makes) the suicide rate for kids has shot through the roof, with a 333 percent increase in cases of student self-harm.
Regarding the safety of students when they return to school, Ms. Flurry said, “The data shows that school is not a place where kids are spreading the virus; if anything, it’s being passed from teachers or other adults to kids. Now this biggest barrier [to school opening] has been removed. I’m glad to see the science proving that. The other thing is that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) approved the 3-foot social distance, which allows more kids to go back to school.”
Ms. Schillinger added that reference should be made to private schools that have been open since the beginning of the school year. “As far as I know, they are running well and the kids are happy and learning in an environment where they are supposed to be.”
Regarding the resistance to reopening the schools, Ms. Schillinger further said, “Those teachers who chose to vaccinate have now done so, which gives people hope. But the question is, why are so many more schools still closed? And what will be the next target for them to change? At first they said they were going to vaccinate, and now we’re hearing about the requirement for schools to be well ventilated. But many schools, including my daughter’s school, and many suburban schools don’t have air conditioning systems that meet better ventilation requirements.”
Founding Principal of Delaware Charter School: We must return our children to the status quo ante
Ron Russo, founding principal of Wilmington Charter School in Delaware (video screenshot)
Mr. Ron Russo is the founding principal of Wilmington Charter School in Delaware and has nearly 50 years of experience in secondary education. While he has heard that some students do well academically in distance learning, he has seen statistics that show a lack of social interaction, an increase in student suicides and a rise in drug use during the pandemic.
We have to get kids back to where they were before,” he said. Scientific data shows that 80 percent of (Communist Party of China) virus deaths occur in people over the age of 65. And our children are not that infected. It’s important to get the kids back to school.”
Also, Mr. Ron Russo noted that parents should be given multiple options. If parents prefer distance learning, then continue; or adopt a hybrid model. But the scientific data now indicates that children should be able to return to school. Schools need to provide the necessary preparation for openness and offer it as an option to parents.
Mr. Russo said, “That plan to add a summer face-to-face program is the right thing at the right time.”
Delaware Republican Party Chairwoman Jane Brady and Mr. Ron Russo co-sponsored the plan to get Delaware students “back on track” on March 15 of this year. The plan proposes eight weeks of face-to-face classes in reading, writing and math this summer and next to catch up with students who have fallen further behind in their academic performance due to home schooling.
According to the National Education Assessment, Delaware’s 8th grade public school students are failing in reading and math, and 60 percent of high school students are not reading at a proficient level. Mr. Russo cited the example that “53 percent of incoming freshmen at the University of Delaware need remedial coursework.”
The School District of Philadelphia also recently announced that it will begin its face-to-face summer program on June 28 of this year. Any Philadelphia School District student from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade can participate. The program is designed to enrich students’ knowledge and skills to make up for lost schoolwork from the past year and to prepare them to return to school this fall.
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