Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
‘OPEN THE SCHOOLS’
Protesters rally for in-person education at Unionville, West Chester and Downingtown
UNIONVILLE » Children, teens and their parents advocated for the immediate reopening of public schools on Sept. 21 at protests held across Chester County.
“It’s a disservice not to even have the option to send my child back to brick and mortar school,” said Kelsey Abernatby McLean who attended the protest against an ongoing ban on in-person collaborative learning for students enrolled within the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District.
Outside Unionville High School, the family friendly protest on Monday at twilight called for the district to “open the schools” and included a march, with a few dogs in tow, and a peaceful demonstration along Route 82.
Many drivers passing by honked out repeatedly in support of the cause.
Participants, of all ages, held signs and flags calling for the reopening of schools and declaring their right for constitutional liberty.
For those present, this equates to the ability to attend public school for collaborative learning and the “pursuit of happiness” as guaranteed in the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution.
“They shut down in March. They knew this day was coming,” said Joseph Dettore of Pennsbury Township. He
shares six children with his wife, Amy.
“It’s political. I think it comes down to politics. People are scared,” said Amy Dettore of the ongoing shutdown and media hype therein.
Many children are struggling to adjust with the weight of virtual-only learning. Some are falling into depression; isolated.
“It’s heartbreaking,” she said.
The death rate in Chester County from COVID-19 is less than .0066 percent of the total population. The vast majority of deaths, more than 90 percent, were senior citizens and all others had pre-existing conditions.
Elsewhere, while a high school football team practiced behind the Downingtown S.T.E.M. Academy, about 70 parents and students pushed for five-dayper-week, in-person schooling out front, Monday evening.
The demonstrators held signs high and had heard that some schools might soon open on a part-time hybrid basis during the ongoing global pandemic.
The West Chester Area School District is considering an Oct. 19 opening for elementary students and Nov. 5 for secondary learners. The opening is contingent on a Sept. 29 vote by the school board and health department data.
Downingtown teachers will tentatively return on Oct. 12, elementary school students on Oct. 26 and secondary students on Nov. 9.
Both districts started sports team practices Monday, Sept. 21.
Parents and students from WCASD and DASD demonstrated during Monday’s “Give Us a Choice” rally in Downingtown.
Beth Ann Rosica is the mother of two boys in the WCASD.
“I love our district, our teachers and our community,” Rosica told the demonstrators, with a bull horn. “I am here today to advocate for our teachers, for my children, your children, and every child in the district, especially for those educationally disadvantaged students who may not be able to advocate for themselves.
“My message today is that hybrid is not good enough. And honestly, I think that hybrid may be worse from an instructional standpoint for both teachers and students.”
Chrissy McFadden is the mother of students at Peirce Middle School and Henderson High School.
“We deserve a choice,” she said. “If I want to send my children, I should be able to.
“If you don’t feel comfortable sending your children, have them stay home. Education is essential.”
Conor Whomsley is a fifth-grader at Starkweather Elementary School, misses his friends and is often is disconnected from virtual Zoom classes.
Conor’s sister, Liam, said she also gets disconnected and “misses stuff.”
Mother Beth Freney sends students to Rustin High School, Stetson Middle School and St. Agnes School.
“We all deserve a choice,” she said. “West Chester (Area School District) offers the cyber choice, there’s no choice of in-person instruction.”
Freney said her children also get booted off the internet during virtual classes.
“It’s not fair for them to be wasting their days,” she said.
Jim Holt is the father of a Downingtown West senior and said the virtual education is a “mess.”
“We want our choice now — not in November.”
“My message today is that hybrid is not good enough. And honestly, I think that hybrid may be worse from an instructional standpoint for both teachers and students.” — Beth Ann Rosica, mother of two in the WCASD