샌디에고 한인학부모회는 카멜밸리 지역의 두 학군인 DMUSD와 SBSD에 아래와 같은 내용의 서신을 보냈습니다.(영문내용 참조) 샌디에고 대부분의 지역이 뉴섬 주지사의 가이드라인에 따라 watchlist 에서 벗어나는 조건이 만족될 때까지 가을학기 학교 수업의 방향에 대한 결정을 미루거나 온라인 수업으로 열기로 하였지만 현재 이 두 학군은 학부모들에게 7/30(SBSD) 혹은 8/3(DMUSD)까지 자녀들의 향후 1년간 수업 방식을 on site/online(SBSD) 혹은 in-person/launch(DMUSD) 사이에서 선택하도록 하였으며 DMUSD에서는 7월 31일 학부모들에게 이메일을 보내 뉴섬 주지사의 가이드라인을 따르지 않는 예외조항으로 지역 의료인들에게 waiver를 받아 예정대로 학교를 열 것을 추진하고 있다고 공지하기도 하였습니다.
따라서 샌디에고 한인학부모회는 이 두 학군의 보드멤버들에게 서신을 보내어 학교를 안전하게 시작할수 있다고 여겨질 때까지 서두르지 않고 기다려줄것, on site 혹은 in person school의 경우 부모들이 안심하고 아이들을 보낼 수 있도록 더욱 안전한 조건으로 진행해 줄 것, online school의 커리큘럼에 대한 충분한 준비와 계획의 필요성, 두가지 옵션 모두 좀더 충분히 준비된 상태에서 학부모들이 신중하게 결정할수 있도록 정보를 투명하게 공개할 수 있는 시점까지 결정 기한의 연장해 줄 것, 이 모든 결정들을 위해 학부모들의 의견을 충분히 듣고 반영해 줄 것 등의 내용을 요구하였습니다. Sage Canyon School 과 Ocean Air 를 비롯한 학교들의 PTA에서도 비슷한 내용으로 학부모들의 요구에 힘을 싣고 있습니다.
8월1일 현재, DMUSD에서는 답변이 없으며, SBSD에서는 저희의 의견을 존중하며 저희가 제시한 우려와 제안을 면밀히 검토하여 빠른 시일내에 답을 주겠다는 답변을 받았습니다.
샌디에고 한인학부모회는 한인 학생들과 가족들의 건강과 안전을 최 우선으로 생각하며 어느 지역에서든 학부모회의 도움이 필요하다고 여겨지실때 말씀해주시면 최선을 다해 앞장설 것을 약속드립니다.
July 30, 2020
San Diego Korean Parents Association (SDKPA) is a non-profit organization established in 2012 by volunteer Korean parents in San Diego County, in order to support our children with Korean heritage. For the school year 2019-2020, more than 200 students of our parent members attend one of the elementary schools that belong to either DMUSD or SBSD. On behalf of the voices from our parent members, we would like to note how deeply our parent members are concerned about the decision that they must make for our children with respect to the upcoming school year. We greatly appreciate all the efforts in the past few weeks that both districts made to prepare the upcoming reopening; however, the majority of our parent population feels that they have neither sufficient information nor clarity of rationales that may lead to such a critical decision between in-school/launch or onsite/online models.
Board members effectively shared the proposed plan for the upcoming school year with the parents through presentations and webinars. However, we believe that more elaborate efforts for mutual communication should be preceded before they bring the plan into action. We hear that many questions that our parent members raised and posted individually have not been answered. Parents are so embarrassed by lack of confidence in safety and uncertainty of ongoing pandemic progress that they hesitate to make an uninformed decision, because all parents well know how important this decision is and how seriously it will impact our children for the upcoming year and more. Given the daily-changing COVID-19 situation and imperfect knowledge about safety risk, the deadline (Aug 3rd for DMUSD, July 30th SBSC) is too close and it pressures the parents into making a biased decision without understanding the real consequences.
We have below listed our key concerns and suggestions to date that we respectfully ask the board to consider.
1.We request that DMUSD and SBSD communicate the rationale used for deciding on the in-school/Launch or onsite/online model against the extended remote school model or a hybrid model that most districts in the San Diego county and the middle/high schools have adopted. Statistics do not explicitly say DMUSD and SBSD students are safer than other district students, and it is hard to believe DMUSD and SBSD have more urgent need to expedite school in-person reopening than other district.
2.We are afraid that both districts are strongly pushing the parents’ decision towards the in-school or onsite option. Although we understand in-school or onsite school may need more detailed safety plans, parents who are interested in Launch or the online model complain about the lack of clear pictures. We believe the previous survey results were based on parents’ most optimistic views where we may have overcome this pandemic soon; whether the survey results favored either in-school or online model, the school district is responsible for providing a comparable amount of information for two available options to parents. Furthermore, urging the decision in a rush, and opting in in-school or onsite by default for those who may not be responsive by the deadline, is clearly biased, making a fully informed and responsible decision almost impossible.
3.We ask the Board of Trustees of both districts to extend the commitment deadline at least one or two weeks. In the meanwhile, we want the Board to provide more detailed plans for both models equally. In addition, DMUSD should give its parents to revisit their decision at least one more time, most reasonably at the half-year mark, as SBSD is considering. Not accepting Launch/online students into in-school or onsite for a full year, even when the pandemic is over, can be unnecessary segregation that might affect online students emotionally and socially.
4.We ask the Board of Trustees to set a higher standard of safety when a confirmed case occurs within school members. Many parents who favor the in-school option still refuse to send their children to school if any one single confirmed case becomes a reality. They are afraid that they cannot entirely rely on the new cohort system that has not been proven among young children. Moreover, our parent members think it is the safest that schools fully commit to State’s guideline of school reopening without petitioning a waiver or maintaining school open during additional outbreaks.
We all hope that things will get better soon, with greatest trust on our schools and community. It would be much appreciated that you carefully consider our concerns and suggestions.
Thank you.
San Diego Korean Parents Association (SDKPA)
