A group of Richmond parents whose children are in Grades 8 and 9 are anxiously waiting to hear back from the Richmond School District after submitting a petition with 116 signatures demanding more online learning options for their kids.
The petition sent to the district’s superintendent over the weekend asks for more remote learning alternatives for Grade 8 and 9 students who are not comfortable returning to the classroom full-time next week.
The school district is currently offering three options for secondary students: back to school in-person, home-schooling or distributed learning through Richmond Virtual School (RVS). However, unlike students in Grades 10 and higher, students in Grades 8 and 9 who enrol in the virtual school cannot also be enrolled in in-class courses to complete their courses through a hybrid model.
Richmondite Wing Wang, who has a teen going into Grade 9, said she and a hundred other parents decided to sign and send out the petition to voice their concerns. But they feel “helpless and stressed” after not having heard back from the school district as of Wednesday.
“I believe all parents want to see their children receiving education and doing amazing things for our society. However, we don’t want to put our children’s health at risk,” said Wang, adding that parents also don’t want to be dropped like “hot potatoes.”
Richmondite Yvonne Pan views the current situation from the perspective of an early childhood educator as well as a mother of three, and she feels teachers should receive more understanding and support from school authorities.
“Teachers have to go to work every day to promote the greater good of the child, despite insecurities and health concerns over COVID-19. But there is a lack of community understanding and support for how the pandemic makes their job even more difficult. They need more time to transition the learning environment into a blend of both online and in-person,” said Pan.
Pan also noted that teenagers are more inclined to follow others. Given that the school district is not mandating masks in the classroom, it would be tough to ask them to wear masks all the time and always keep social-distancing rules in mind.
“If one student doesn’t wear any face covering, others might consider wearing a mask isn’t a cool thing to do. Then they would take off their masks as well.”
Another Richmond parent Jennifer Gong stressed that the distributed learning option provided in the school survey is a poor alternative because it cuts the student off from their class and could undermine their sense of belonging.
“Students need to stay apart but connected during these difficult times. The distributed learning option might cut off students’ connection with their classmates, close friends and even the outside world.
“As parents, we don’t want to see our children being separated from their social circles. We are happy to collaborate with teachers and schools to ensure that the online learning program could go smoothly,” said Gong.
But while many parents expressed concern regarding the safety of returning to school, some were also hopeful that school policy will adapt to parent concerns prior to the start of the school year.
“I read from the news that our Richmond mayor is crediting residents for their efforts to keep COVID-19 cases down,” said parent Michael Zheng. “I am hoping our suggestions could be heard again this time.”
