Coronavirus School Closures

We are finally getting back some much needed sense of normalcy at Schenectady High after the last year and a half of so of online school. It's a process, and some kids are having a harder time adjusting than others. But having the standard 8 period days we've had throughout all of high-school, at the very least, feels familiar to the students. The 8 period day is what we're used to, and what we've been easing back into. Why would we want students to have to go through yet another readjustment period to get used to 4 period days? Let us students keep getting closer to normalcy without rocking the boat. Let us keep attending the same schedules we're used to. Nobody is going to want to sit through classes for twice as long. Nobody is going to want to have the adjust their school experience again. Students just want to have a school year close to normal as possible and you're trying to take that away. 4 period school days are a bad idea and aren't going to achieve whatever you hope they will. Please listen to students. Let the seniors finish high-school with normal schedules. Let freshmen have their first year be normal as possible. Let us keep normal. 8 period schedules are the most normal and rudimentary part of our school experience and changing that is unnecessary, unsupported and disruptive. Please reconsider changing.

We are demanding Superintendent RAGSDALE’S Resignation! Superintendent Ragsdale needs to be stopped. He and his cohorts refuse to acknowledge this Petition. FOX5 News asked for a statement from CCSD about this petition.  From CCSD, ”The Superintendent serves one of the nation’s largest and most recognized school districts, one with over 109,000 students and 18,000 employees, and in a community of over 800,000 residents. The District cannot allow a three-year-old online petition containing baseless allegations from anonymous sources on the internet to affect the District’s important mission and work for Cobb.” https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/cobb-county-schools-responds-to-petition-calling-for-superintendents-resignation.amp It was started 3 years ago, yes, but was updated in January of this year. When the update happened, there were only a few hundred signatures. Since January 2021, it has grown to over 6000, and that’s the reflection OF CURRENT EVENTS SURROUNDING COVID. Covid wasn’t an issue 3 years ago. So for the CCSD to dismiss this petition is UNACCEPTABLE. It is not anonymous. You all have names and faces. You are all VIPs. For CCSD to make that statement says that you are all “NOBODY’S!” Also the allegations are NOT BASELESS!! RAGSDALE NEEDS TO GO! UPDATE: AUG 15, 2021:  Even though some board members have called for an emergency meeting to address the new issues of the DELTA variant, and to address the dire need to mandate masks, these board members were refused by Ragsdale. Currently it takes 4 votes to place anything on the agenda, so 3/7th of the county’s voice is not being heard. That includes thousands of parents, teachers, and students. YES!! This is still happening! Janet Memark, director of Cobb and Douglas Public Health, has stated MANY times, Covid cases are SEVERE and filling up hospitals, and everyone inside a building should be wearing masks. Students and teacher should be wearing masks.  The American Association of Pediatrics has also said that anyone older than age 2, vaccinated or not, SHOULD be wearing a mask for mitigation and prevention of spread. Yet Ragsdale refuses to listen to the science, scientists, and doctors. https://www.aap.org/en/news-room/news-releases/aap/2021/american-academy-of-pediatrics-updates-recommendations-for-opening-schools-in-fall The new quarantine rules for CCSD are basically nonexistent.  CCSD is allowing children to come back to school after having a close contact. They are not being made to test, or offer a negative Covid result before they come back… They can return to school THE NEXT DAY! The only stipulation is if they wear a mask for 10 days. Lots of children are not testing and are spreading Covid to other kids and families. How is this okay?? Additionally, children under twelve cannot even receive the Covid vaccine so masks are their strongest line of defense against the virus and currently the only way students in that age group can protect themselves against carriers and potential carriers. If a child has to quarantine, the CCSD offers no instruction, even though they have a multimillion dollar platform that supports digital instruction. David Banks, a member of the CCSD school board is sending emails to members of the community with false information. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE. It’s hurting our children and families. Misinformation is the number one reason we are in this mess so deep. It’s the reason mitigation isn’t taking place on our schools. https://cobbcountycourier.com/2021/08/classes-virtual-cob/?fbclid=IwAR3wFx05hA7zd7vuekl1yozr8fXEZOgKaLH5OXDdA_OtTroXwqU0ztdRPuk CCSD applied for and were awarded federal funds using false information about planned Covid precautions and mitigation efforts. CCSD promised to protect students and staff using CDC guidelines in their May 25, 2021 application for American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act ESSER III-LEA Application for the 2021-22 school year. Specifically, CCSD provided details about CDC-approved COVID prevention strategies in their application, which are not being implemented. Indeed, CCSD cited last year's reopening plan to obtain the funds. The link to Cobb’s application: https://shealy-my.sharepoint.com/personal/charmaine_simmons_doe_k12_ga_us/Documents/ARP%20LEA%20Applications/Cobb%20County/Cobb%20-%20ARP%20ESSER%20LEA%20Plan%20Application%205.25.21%20(2).pdf Below are the prevention strategy promises CCSD made in their application, which are not currently being implemented: • American Rescue Plan ESSER III-LEA Application requires grantees to comply with CDC guidance; however, CCSD is not following CDC guidelines • Page 2: application Reopening Plan states that families may submit their choice for face to face or remote learning between September 7th and September 20th via the ParentVue portal but we have been told we cannot change our school choice, which parents had to make in March 2021 at which time CDC prevention strategies were in place • Page 6: application appendix cites CCSD Reopening Plan that masks are mandatory on school buses for drivers and students; however, they are optional and thus also in non-compliance with the federal transportation masking order. Cobb County School District is not enforcing the federal mandate requiring masks on school busses. Their official guidance only states that masks are ‘strongly encouraged’ for all CCSD students and staff. This violation of federal law intentionally puts students and staff of Cobb County School District at risk of contracting Covid-19 and intensifies community spread.  • Page 6: application appendix cites CCSD Reopening Plan that there will be assigned seating on buses to assist track and tracing; however, this is not taking place.  • Page 15: application explicitly states “the plan is updated to current CDC guidelines”; however, CCSD is not following CDC guidelines • Page 16: regarding proposed prevention strategies, application states: “re-opening plan contains mask guidance in English and Spanish”; however, there is no mask guidance. Ragsdale’s negligence as well as his refusal to listen to the doctors and science will continue to claim lives until he is stopped. Please keep sharing this petition, and thanks for being part of the fight! #ragsdale_resign #ragsdaleresign #cobb4masks UPDATE: JAN 31, 2021 The concerned parents/guardians, students, and staff of the Cobb County School District call for the resignation of Superintendent Chris Ragsdale. Mr. Ragsdale’s actions or lack thereof have become increasingly concerning and, at this point, are endangering the lives of staff and students. Mr. Ragsdale refused to wear a mask for a 10 second moment of silence to acknowledge and honor a teacher, Mr. Patrick Key. Mr. Key was one of the face-to-face teachers who died of Covid. Mr. Key’s last wishes included the wearing of masks so that everyone would be safer. It was a massive display of disrespect to a dedicated and loved teacher. Thousands of teachers, staff, parents, and students have requested that Mr. Ragsdale spend funds and take APPROPRIATE measures to protect staff and students against Covid. This would allow for schools to stay open and for all students to return to the classroom for instruction. Mr. Ragsdale has refused to do this. He did however, make the request to spend $12 million on unproven technologies from  a startup company that he has extremely questionable ties to. Mr. Ragsdale has yet to disclose a comprehensive plan presenting metrics utilized in the decision of school closures. Instead we have gotten an ever changing and flighty approach that is highly inappropriate, confusing, and frustrating for parents and staff.Mr. Ragsdale has had a long history of questionable financial dealings calling into question his ability to manage CCSD funds.Mr. Ragsdale refuses to wear a mask in public school related events such as school board meetings. Mr. Ragsdale has continuously been extremely uncooperative with multiple members of the school board. He is argumentative, disrespectful, and refuses to answer questions presented by the board regarding Covid and the school system. His lack of cooperation has contributed to the board being highly dysfunctional and ineffective in the battle against Covid in our schools. This has LITERALLY become a life or death situation. Thank you for caring about the students and staff of CCSD, thank you for your time, and THANK YOU for signing! Together we can make a difference.

On February 25, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) warned that Americans should prepare for the pandemic spread of coronavirus. On February 27, 2020, the CDC confirmed possible instance of community spread in United States.There is presently no preventative vaccine or cure. Case fatality rate is estimated to be significantly higher than for influenza. In Pearland ISD, students feel pressured to attend school to avoid losing their finals exemptions despite symptoms of illness. Pearland ISD allows students to have up to four absences per semester per class. Even if all absences are excused, if they exceed this criterion, they will still lose their exemptions. The CDC has already warned that school closures may be necessary to contain the pandemic spread of this disease. We demand that Pearland ISD take this opportunity to re-examine their absence policy to ensure that they do not encourage sick students to attend school. Exemptions for exams should not be tied to attendance. Rather, it should be tied to mastery of material learned in the classroom. While the immediate cause for this petition is the imminent threat of coronavirus, we insist these changes go into effect as best practice moving forward.  

Amid the COVID-19 Omicron variant surge, our schools have not yet shut down. This variant is said to be highly contagious. Many students and teachers are out, and that number continues to increase every day. Half of our classrooms are vacated. Teachers are having to substitute to fill in for absent teachers. Even so, some people choose to not wear a mask or social distance, increasing the danger for others.  Distance learning can be hard, but it is not impossible. Some students have younger siblings who are not yet vaccinated. Others have elderly at home who are vulnerable and more likely to get very sick, or even need intensive care. Our schools should go on distance learning for at least 2 weeks to decrease this chance. UC Riverside, UC San Diego, UC Irvine, UC Santa Cruz, UCLA and UC Santa Barbara campuses have already announced that they will be starting their 2022 classes temporarily on remote learning. Students would be able to keep up with their classes/work and not fall behind. Some students are missing a lot of work because of their absence. Teachers are struggling with keeping up with both online and in-person class communications. It is not safe to continue education in person. Our schools should go back into Virtual/Distance Learning in order to keep everyone safe and keep the COVID-19 cases down. We need to put the safety of students and faculty first. Education is important, but we cannot learn if we have to focus on getting better first. Our health should be the first priority.