Parent starts petition to get Carson City schools re-opened in August

A local parent has started a petition to open Carson City schools in August and will present the petition at the Tuesday, July 14 meeting of the Carson City School District Board of Trustees.

"As a parent of students enrolled in the Carson City School District, I am anxious to see the schools reopen next month in person," said parent Nichole Valdez in an email. "Superintendent Stokes has indicated that the parents are overwhelmingly in support of schools reopening, but not many parents know how to make an impact. There is a meeting on July 14 that, in essence, will decide the fate of the 2020/2021 school year, so we do not have much time."

The petition reads as follows: We, the parents of students enrolled in the Carson City School District, hereby petition the Carson City School District to open the Carson City Schools for regular full-time, in-person attendance for the 2020-2021 school year. As parents, we recognize the impacts of Covid-19 upon the community and our children, however, we believe the benefits provided by such in-person education are critical to our children's development. Additionally, we believe this is appropriate as recognized by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The link to the petition is: http://chng.it/5bbfDdvc

Last month, Carson City School District Superintendent Richard Stokes and the school board sent the following letter on June 30.

Dear Carson City School District Students, Families, Staff, and Friends:

The changes in our lives due to the COVID-19 Pandemic are many. Unfortunately, the impact of the virus continues to change the most fundamental aspects of how we live, including how we hold school, which is the purpose of this letter. Due to the emergency directives from the Office of the Governor, I must announce that at this time, schools within the District cannot reopen in normal fashion to begin the 2020-2021 school year.

Emergency Directive 022 from Governor Steve Sisolak and subsequent guidance from the Nevada Department of Education require schools to employ a variety of pandemic-related restrictions, in accordance with Phase 2 of his Reopening Plan.

Once developed, each district’s plan is to be communicated to parents, staff, and school communities and presented to the district’s Trustees for approval at least 20 days prior to the first day of school. For Carson City School District, a draft of the proposed plan will be presented at the July 14 School Board Meeting and the final plan will be presented at the School Board Meeting scheduled for July 28, 2020. Please be advised that the starting date of school in the Fall could be delayed. Please watch for updates.

To develop a specialized educational plan, a committee of staff, parents, trustees, and community partners was organized to study the restrictions, survey responses, district resources and then recommend a proposed plan for the 2020-2021 school year.

Because schools must operate within the requirements of social-distancing and the limitations of having less than 50% occupancy in the buildings, the Committee is looking to create a hybrid system of on-campus and at-home learning for the start of the 2020-2021 school year. Other options like full remote learning with teacher-led support will also be available for families who desire to keep their children at home. While the specific details of the plan are still being developed, the Committee recognizes the need to reduce the burden on families as much as possible while providing the best educational opportunities for students.

We wish to thank those who participated in taking the School District’s Survey regarding the opening of the next school year. To see the Survey results, please press Ctrl + click on this link:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-36998QJ37/

To view the Survey results from the families who took the Survey in Spanish, please use this link:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-WXKS6QJ37/

You will notice from the Survey results, the majority of participating families preferred to return to school in the fall without restrictions. Unfortunately, what citizens and school officials desire is somewhat different from what is being required by State officials. If you have on opinion on school operations due to COVID-19, we encourage you to exercise your civic freedoms by contacting the Governor’s Office to share your thoughts regarding the expected restrictions to reopen schools.

Sincerely,
Richard Stokes, Superintendent, and the Board of Trustees