OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) – Students and teachers in an East Bay school district just got one step closer to returning to the classroom.
However, the union that represents teachers in that district says not so fast.
Alameda County has officially moved into the red-tier of the California Department of Public Health’s blueprint for a safer economy.
Among other things the red-tier allows schools to reopen for in-person learning after maintaining red-tier status for two weeks.
“I think it is positive whenever we hear cases are going down because we don’t want to see people getting sick,” Oakland Education Association Chaz Garcia said.
However, the spokesperson for the Oakland Education Association Chaz Garcia explains why the union cautions any expectations of hastily returning students and teachers to classroom settings.
“We have safety criteria that still needs to be negotiated and agreed upon before return to doing any in-person learning,” Garcia said.
We should note Alameda County’s most recent health order clarified that schools must continue distance learning until local conditions support in-person learning.
That is even if the county meets the state’s criteria for returning to the classroom.