Thousands of Sacramento City Unified students are being
left behind in distance learning during coronavirus pandemic
Marcheri Smith hovers behind her son Tulley as he strains to hear his teacher’s instructions on Zoom and worries, like many parents at Sacramento City Unified schools, whether her son is falling behind.
With spotty internet, tight budgets, glitchy devices and piling responsibilities, Smith’s family is just trying to make it through each day.
“I don’t sleep at all,” she said.
Parents, school experts and educators say their worst predictions of the coronavirus pandemic’s effect on children are being revealed with each passing day of learning from home: Despite sincere efforts by teachers, aides and administrators, the Sacramento City Unified School District is failing to step up and help its most vulnerable students.
Most of the district’s 46,000 students live in low-income families; about 72 percent qualify for free or reduced lunch. The financially strained district must not only educate through distance learning, but also offer healthy meals to thousands of students, provide after-school programming and outdoor exercise, create safe spaces for foster and homeless youth, and help English learners and children with special needs thrive…
Earlier this year, Sacramento Regional Transit outfitted 10 buses with wireless hotspots and parked them in neighborhoods with low internet access, including at some Sac City Unified schools. That pilot program, which served 140 locations each week, ended in July.
Educators and families are worried that thousands of children are falling behind in Sacramento, and that they’ll never have a chance to catch up.
“The district has not been honest and truthful with the public and itself about its historical failure to provide quality education for all kids,” said Carl Pinkston of the Black Parallel School Board.
Marcos Bretón described in the BEE what he thinks are the facts of the SCUSD budget. Most of the data he uses are cut and pasted from prior articles he wrote. , The title is deceptive. It is not factual.
SCUSD is not going broke, SCUSD has a $93 million surplus at the end of this year. Remember they said they were going broke last year.
And, they claim they will spend $100 million on books and supplies.
They usually spend $ 10 million.
His is an opinion piece. It is irresponsible reporting.
The Bee Editorial Board supports the School Board incumbents. But, at least they should accurately report on the budget. Frankly the current Board members do not understand the budget.
California itself has a major problem of underfunding of schools. The state has been doing so since 1988. You can resolve this. The funding issue is on the ballot as Prop. 15.
See the Prop 15 video below. http://choosingdemocracy.blogspot.com/2020/10/what-is-prop-15-explained.html
The Sacramento USD funding crisis is not in teachers’ salaries, or health benefits. The district is mismanaged- and the Board is responsible.
California under funds its schools and that produces large classes- the largest in the nation. We have few counselors and almost no school nurses.
Sacramento USD suffers from under funding and mismanagement. Please vote accordingly.
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