Parents rally against virtual learning
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NASHVILLE (WSMV) — A large group of Nashville parents, students and teachers rallied on Sunday afternoon to protest Metro Nashville Public School’s decision to go back to virtual learning amidst rising COVID-19 case numbers in the city.
The group demanded the school board plan to allow students to return to the classroom with in-person learning on January 7th with the beginning of the Spring semester.
“Y’all are handicapping these children with these policies that you’re making under Covid,” said one MNPS parent.
“We need our schools open. We’ve been closed for nine months over 250 days,” said Brian Hagan, a freshman student with MNPS.
The group of frustrated parents and students said they felt like virtual learning was not working saying there’s been a rise in truancies. The rally even saw a number of teachers in attendance along with MNPS School Board member Fran Bush.
“We do understand that this pandemic is real. We understand how it effects our lives every single day. But we have to live with it,” said Bush.
These parents said they want a more elaborate and transparent plan from the district to get schools to reopen safely.
An online petition has even been started with more than 2 thousand signatures to get the school board to weigh in.
The district’s COVID-19 Risk tracker has the district still on the high end, looking at city-wide data about the virus, keeping MNPS in all virtual learning.
The Metro Nashville Education Association said if we want the risk factor come down and students return to class – the city as a whole has to work together.
“With the community spread that we have at this time I don’t see how that goes down,” said MNEA’s Amanda Kail. “If they could join us in calling for a state mask mandate so that we can bring down the community spread.”
Kail told NEWS4 that safety is all the association has been asking for throughout the pandemic, with smaller class sizes and expanded sick leave in order to keep schools open. She said schools cannot stay open if teachers are constantly pulled to quarantine.
“One thing that would be interesting to me is to see if any of those parents would be interested in signing up to be substitutes,” said Kail.
NEWS4 asked for comment from MNPS officials about what parents at Sunday’s rally were asking for and have not heard back at this time.
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