The governor's new guidance now has several schools in the East Bay scrambling to shift to distance learning after initially planning to reopen their classrooms in a few short weeks, leaving a lot of people in Contra Costa County disappointed.
“I hope students can get back to school because that’s where the best learning is for everyone,” said parent Tara Sundy.
Sundy said she’s been hoping to send her daughter back to school in a few weeks since Concord’s two catholic high schools had been looking at a partial reopening. But the governor’s new mandate means those plans are likely to change.
“This is formative time they need to be in school in class with peers with teachers...face to face learning,” said Robert Seid, De La Salle High School parent. “I don’t think anything should be shut down. They don’t shut down everything for the flu.”
The Liberty Union High School District also planned to reopen its high schools using a hybrid model. Now the district has just three weeks to gear up to go all virtual.
“I think the best way to describe how I’m feeling is sad,” said Eric Volta, Liberty Union District Superintendent. “Sad as an educator, sad as a superintendent, sad as a parent.
Volta said the district has everything in place to reopen. He’s hoping the distance learning mandate won’t apply to Contra Costa County for long.
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“My hope, my dream is we see students back on our campus as soon as possible,” he said.
Most parents and students NBC Bay Area talked to Thursday say they understand the governor’s difficult decision but they wish things were different.
"I know he’s trying to look out for the best interest of everybody, teachers, students, families,” said parent Rachel Arellano.
“It would be great to sit in a classroom and get the full experience,” said Allie Arone of Antioch, a senior at Cal State East Bay. She said the only one happy about the distance learning mandate is her dog Duke.
“Dukes very happy, Duke’s getting lots of attention and lots of walks,” she said.
