Oakland public school students, parents and educators are banding together to demand better COVID-19 safety protocols at schools, as the possibility of a teachers strike looms.
More than 1,200 Oakland Unified School District students signed a petition saying they would skip classes unless district officials met their demands. Teachers, meanwhile, could strike if their union can’t reach an agreement on safety measures with the district.
Oakland Education Association President Keith Brown, a middle school teacher at Bret Harte Middle School, said during a video press conference on Friday that students’ activism has shown the city, and the country, the need to prioritize their well-being.
Alex Ibarra, a student at Coliseum College Prep Academy in East Oakland, said the bottom line is simple.
"I want parents to be able to send their kids to school and not have to worry that they might come back with COVID," he said during the press conference.
Oakland public school students and teachers have some specific demands as to how to make schools safer as the omicron variant spreads, including better and more frequent testing. The students’ petition demanded the district distribute KN95 or N95 masks to all students and construct additional spaces so students can eat outdoors in rainy weather.
In Friday's press conference, Brown called on the district to provide weekly testing at all schools, as well as enough tests and high-quality masks for staff and students. The union is also demanding expanded hours at the district’s testing hubs.
"This is a fight for safe and racially just schools," Brown said. "And we're here as students, educators and parents united for better schools."
Oakland Unified School District officials have called the district’s testing system "robust," and officials have said they've been giving N95 and KN95 masks to students and staff.
Brown said the union's bargaining team met with district officials on Friday. The union is authorized to strike if the two sides can’t reach an agreement by the end of the day.
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