One year ago, school classrooms closed across the Bay Area. In San Francisco and many other districts, they have yet to reopen.
We asked for readers to tell us their experiences with distance learning, hybrid learning or in-person school. In just over a week, we received over 200 responses, an outpouring of stories from parents, grandparents, concerned residents and teachers from all over the Bay Area.
Many of the messages contained real hope for the path ahead. An SFUSD teacher wrote in to say: “I can be in the classroom tomorrow. Let’s make it happen.”
Many more expressed anxiety, frustration and fear for what has been lost in the past year, but also what the risks of reopening might be. A parent wrote of her teenage son: “He’s learned that California cares more about takeout than it does about education.” A teacher told us:“I don’t see the faces of over 90% of my students.” Some parents wrote in to say that school closures have forced them out of San Francisco.