P2P Protesters Want Kids Back In School

By AMY DAVIS

The Progress

More than 200 parents gathered outside of the Clark County School District (CCSD) central office in Las Vegas on Thursday, Aug 27, to urge district officials to open schools and let kids go back to the classrooms.

The peaceful protest, organized by parental rights organization Power 2 Parent (P2P), featured a number if influential speakers including Senator Scott Hammond, Education Specialist Selene Lozada, Suicide and Mental Health Advocate Byron Brooks and even Mesquite’s own, Jodi Thornley, Special Needs Advocate.

“Parents are extremely frustrated,” said P2P President Erin Phillips. “They don’t feel like the kids are learning. Teachers are working harder than ever, but unfortunately, we just weren’t prepared for a distance learning model. We can return to schools with safety measures. They have done it all over.”

Washoe, Lincoln, Eureka and Elko County School districts have opened with safety measures and modifications in place.

“Going back to school for in person learning has been recommended by the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics,” Phillips added. “Whether that looks like a hybrid model or part time in the classroom, that is ok with us. Our theme is that kids are safer in schools.”

Mental health issues, abuse and suicide rates have skyrocketed since the school closures in March.
“I am hoping to get our kids back in school where they belong,” Thornley said. “I want to allow our teachers to do what they do best which is face to face teaching.”

Thornley’s son is hearing impaired. She said that he is finding it very difficult to listen to teachers through the small speakers on school-issued chrome books.

“I need CCSD to hear how far children have regressed during these few months off of education,” Thornley said. “Distance learning is not working”

“This is hard for parents, students and teachers,” Thornley added. “We need the school district to hear our plea. We are asking for a little bit of flexibility, especially in the rural areas, to allow us to go back to school.”

Logandale resident Charlie Melvin, who is the Director of Public Relations for P2P said that the organization exist to help Nevada parents advocate for their children.

“Right now, we all have an issue with the way that our children are going back to school,” Melvin said. “We want our children to return to school and we want them to do it safely. We have way too many children who are going without critical services.”

Lozado spoke regarding the problems faced by the Latino community.
“The biggest problem we have is lack of educational resources,” Lozado said. “Another is that parents don’t know who to leave their children with when they go to work.”

Lozado said that one option given to parents is to drop their children off at community centers at the cost of $400 per month per child. “This is cost prohibitive for so many families,” he said. “Parents now have to choose between providing for their family or monitoring their child’s education.”

Brooks said that the need for kids to go back to the classroom is beyond politics. “There is nothing political about the health and welfare of our children,” he said. “There is nothing political about educating our community members.”

Senator Scott Hammond, a classroom teacher of 16 years, was the concluding speaker at the protest event.

“More than anytime in our history, Nevada students need adults fighting for them,” he said. “We cannot let this year be a throw away year. We cannot allow special interest groups to deny our children a full education out of fear of ‘what-ifs’.”

Hammond said that Nevadans need to be allowed to return to their normal lives given certain precautions taken.
“There are teachers who want to go back to school and students who need to be there,” Hammond said.

“The CDC, the WHO, AAP, AMA, and even Dr, Fauci are all in agreement that it is both safe and important for students to get back to a more normalized educational experience.”

Hammond also exclaimed that special education and low-income families are being robbed of the opportunity for an equitable education.

“The loss of federal special education services and other critical services will have negative effects on our students,” Hammond said. “It is past time to open our schools.”