Please sign & comment ONLY if you have a student in one of the above school districts. 

This is a petition from parents of school-aged children advocating the immediate return to in-person school for students in the Lafayette, Moraga and Orinda TK-8 districts and the Acalanes Unified High School District.

On September 29, 2020, the county health office in Contra Costa County cleared the path for in-person learning to resume on October 13, 2020. With health metrics stabilizing, and firm guidelines in place, the time is now to begin the road to recovery for our students and families. We ask that the leadership members of our districts act NOW, without delay, to move forward with the hybrid learning plans. We recognize that some coordination time is necessary, but we reject the notion that more than a few weeks are needed to resume serving the needs of our children and the needs of parents who want their children to continue distance learning.

For over 90 school days, the students have been learning in solitude from bedrooms, kitchen tables, couches, cars, and related abnormal locations. As communities, we banded together and have done everything asked by health officials and our districts for 7 months. We have made innumerable sacrifices, to the harm of our students and families. We sheltered in place to flatten the curve. We accepted distance learning as a temporary solution to combat an unimaginable situation. The situation has been difficult, for parents and teachers alike, having to fulfill their obligations to work while simultaneously supporting the educational needs of our children.

We recognize there is no perfect one-size-fits-all solution for the stage we are allowed to enter. We are not asking for perfection. But we desire a “can do” attitude from district leaders - and teachers - and not a defeatist one. Time has been lost due to a miscalculation and apathetic approach concerning the timing for return to in-person learning. Our schools are rated among the best in the state because we are critical thinkers, all of us. It’s time to put that thinking into action and lead the way forward.

This Petition advocates for -
The immediate formation of task forces to provide additional critical thinking and a road map for the return to in-person learning. We desire in-person learning in a hybrid model to commence no later than November 2, 2020; we desire a written timeline roadmap toward a 5-day in-person learning experience; and we desire weekly meetings to keep parents abreast of movement along that roadmap. We request a public statement be made no later than October 23rd on the details of your plan.

Let’s get these students back in the class, safely.