After seven months of watching her kindergartner try to figure out the difference between school and home and her dyslexic second-grader try to learn to read by Zoom, Megan Bacigalupi was moved to action Sunday afternoon.
She stood behind a rented podium near the shores of Lake Merritt and leaned into the public address system. “In-person education is essential,” said Bacigalupi, who was not just one mad mom acting on her own. On the other side of the podium, facing into the sun, stood 200 sign-carrying adults and their kids, united as OUSD Parents for Safe Reopening.
“Schools Not Screens” was the rallying cry as this grassroots organization stood on the grass to insert parents’ voices into the negotiation between the Oakland Unified School District board and the teachers union, as to how and when 86 public schools will bring 36,000 students back into the K-12 classrooms.