Chip Chick
Due to the nationwide spike in Covid cases, school districts are turning to creative solutions to keep students in the classroom.
The Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) recently released a statement video calling for parents to engage more in their children’s education.
How? By volunteering for essential jobs in the school system.
Superintendent Don Austin spoke in the five-minute video on the district’s website, describing parents’ and educators’ shared anxieties. “We’re all tired of uncertainty and nervous about school districts closing,” he said.
He confirmed that their schools would remain open for learning despite this fear. That is, “Unless we’re compelled by an outside agency with authority.”
He continued, sharing how he came to this decision with the help of other board members and district leaders.
“Considering how the rules and conditions have shifted, a phone call from my deputy superintendent … a long jog, and reflecting … have provided me with enough to say definitively that we will be open for your kids.”
But this decision does not come without its consequences; with current Covid rates, PAUSD’s schools will regularly be low-staffed, and there are no clear solutions besides community involvement, which still risks increasing the spread of infection.
“Our biggest challenge is staffing right now.” He said. “We need our community to volunteer like never before.”
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