Martin Luther King Middle School Waiver Request
Although current health guidelines do not yet allow the opening of the entire Oceanside Unified District, there is a process (called a “waiver request”) where schools can request permission to open just that school.
The first criteria is the new case rate in the area be less than 200 new cases per 100,000 in order to qualify.
As of today, Oceanside is now at 152 cases/100,000. If it continues at this level we qualify.
Another criteria is there be a plan that is safe for both kids and teachers. That plan would have to involve proper distancing. The district’s hybrid plan depended on cutting class sizes in half to enable this.
Waivers are only allowed for grades six and lower. In our Middle Schools, restricting attendance to only the sixth grade would make it easy to provide the proper distancing.
Parents Martin Luther King Middle School have suggested we ask the District to request this waiver for their school.
I am starting a new petition to do that. That petition is at:
https://www.todd4kids.com/kingwaiver
Please read the petition for details.
If you agree the waiver request process should be started for King, please sign the petition – and, as always – pass it on to anyone you think would feel the same.
There are other schools that might be eligible for this – all the middle schools and K-8 schools would obviously have space to properly distance if their ineligible grades were excluded.
We also have several elementaries already near 50% capacity - Laurel (57%), Libby (60%), and North Terrace (64%). If the 15% of parents who indicated they will go with distance learning have done that, all three might be able to do proper distancing with the facilities they have.
If your kids are in K-6 and you feel your school could benefit from this, let me know (todd@todd4kids.com) and I can put together petitions for those schools as well.
Meanwhile, a reminder that the Rally to Reopen Businesses and Schools is tomorrow - Saturday, August 15, 2020 9:30 AM - 12:00 in the parking lot of The Shoppes at Carlsbad, East Parking Lot, 2525 El Camino Real, Carlsbad.
“We believe businesses and schools can be both "Safe" and "Open". Help us communicate that message to our State leaders. Our Keynote speaker will be Supervisor Jim Desmond. Other speakers include local businesses, education leaders and more. Resources will be open at 9:30am, Rally starts at 10:00am.”
I hope this is a properly masked-and-distanced event, to help us be both safe and open!"
I will be there to meet anyone interested in talking about the future of Oceanside schools and the issues involved in reopening in a way that is safe for both our kids and our teachers.
Join us if you’re comfortable doing that.
The people from Open Our Schools will be there as well!
We can make change in Oceanside, with your help it can be done.
Todd Maddison
http://www.todd4kids.com