By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
A group of parents is asking that Bowling Green City Schools consider other options for getting students back to some form of in-person learning.
The group, called BG VOICE, has reportedly collected more than 800 signatures on a petition asking district leaders to offer choices other than strictly online learning.
The spokesperson for the organization, Jessica Swaisgood, insisted that the parents want to work with the board and administration to find options that will work for the many students who are struggling academically and emotionally with remote classes.
“I was discouraged by the board meeting last week,” Swaisgood said. So she and other parents formed BG VOICE. “We wanted a safe area for bouncing ideas, to come up with a solution for families who believe kids could be in the classroom right now.”
Swaisgood is motivated by her family’s experience – with one child excelling at online learning, and the other struggling. She praised the teachers, but not the online model.
“We’re trying to make the best of the situation, but she’s just not an online learner,” she said of her daughter.
“We’re focused on giving parents a choice,” she said. “We’re concentrating on having a voice and being heard by the people who are supposed to represent us and our children.”
Swaisgood said the parents group is made up of families who are solid supporters of the school district.
“I’m not about hate and anger,” she said, noting that when she sees negative comments on the group’s Facebook page, she removes them. “There’s no tolerance for that.”
The group just wants to feel like they are being listened to, and would like the board to focus on how to make in-school learning work rather than spending so much time talking about why it won’t work.
School Board President Ginny Stewart assured that parents are being listened to – those who want to be back in school and those who want to remain remote.
“All the board members gave this a great deal of consideration,” Stewart said about the board’s decision last week to stay online.
This decision has been more agonizing than any other she has faced on the board, Stewart said.
“It’s not that we don’t want the kids to go back to school,” she said.
A press release from the parent group stated that the members understand that they and the school board have one common goal – the well-being of all children in the community.
But the methods to reaching that goal differ. The board has cited two main concerns for remaining online – the heightened numbers of COVID in the district, and the fact that a hybrid program would divide students to allow half to attend school on two days a week and the other half on two other days. They would have no teacher instruction the other three days a week.
The BG VOICE group doesn’t have a plan for getting kids back to in-person learning. But members believe there has to be a way to provide in-school classes while continuing remote learning for others.
“We don’t want to take the choice from those who want to stay home,” Swaisgood said.
But Superintendent Francis Scruci explained last week to the school board that the district does not have enough staff to provide in-person and online classes at the same time.
The parents group would like the district to study more options than the current hybrid plan.
“I believe that in a community like Bowling Green, there’s got to be a solution,” Swaisgood said.
Swaisgood said she and other parents involved realize the seriousness of COVID. They don’t believe it’s a hoax.
“But I believe there has to be a way we can do it,” she said of getting kids back into the buildings.
All the other school districts in Wood County are back to school at least part-time. So Swaisgood suggested the board “take advice from some of the surrounding schools that have made it work.”
Superintendent Francis Scruci has repeatedly said that Bowling Green is not like the other districts in the county since it is the only to have a university in its community. The numbers of COVID cases have reflected that concern, with higher rates being reported in Bowling Green.
But the parents group points out that private and parochial schools in the city – St. Aloysius, BG Christian Academy, and Montessori – are back in classes with few to no COVID cases reported.
They also collected information on other Ohio communities that are home to state universities. All but one have some form of in-person classes in place or are in the process of a slow roll returning students in school. Some are starting with elementary students coming back first.
Stewart noted that the board asked Wood County Health Commissioner Ben Robison to present the latest COVID information at the two most recent board meetings. “So we could get real clear information on where we are,” she said.
Robison said the numbers in the Bowling Green area are higher than elsewhere in the county. But he also said that the health department isn’t seeing cases spreading in schools.
But safety in schools has to be a priority, Stewart said.
“We’re not going to apologize for a decision that we believe is in the best interest of families, students, teachers and the community,” she said.
Stewart also pointed out that the district is working on improving the online learning process, and will present ideas at next Tuesday’s board meeting.
“We want to improve it, modify it, until the time comes when we can get these kids back to school,” she said.
Two board members, Norm Geer and Tracy Hovest are working with school administration to set thresholds for when students can return to their buildings.
BG VOICE will continue to speak out by holding a “rally for choice” on Monday, from 4 to 6 p.m., in the Wooster Green area of Bowling Green. Masks and social distancing will be required.
“That is another way we are going to make our voices heard,” Swaisgood said.
Stewart supported the parents speaking out. “They have a right to demonstrate and a right to sign a petition. That’s how a democracy works,” she said.
The group’s petition can be found here: https://www.change.org/p/bowling-green-city-school-board-bring-the-bgcs-students-back-to-the-classrooms.
