Abington School District Parent Group Lobbying For Continued Remote Learning To Keep Families Safe
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- There's a school dispute in Montgomery County. Some parents in the Abington School District don't feel it's safe right now to send their children back to school for in-person learning.
Parents say they want to stick with remote learning, for now, to protect their families during the pandemic.
There was a meeting last week and parents say that one didn't go so well.
There's another meeting happening Tuesday, and parents who are in favor of remote learning say they hope it continues.
"Recently, there's been a little bit of a divide in our community because the topic of reopening the schools for a potential hybrid program," one parent said.
Parents say times like this should bring out resilience, but that's not the case for the Abington School District.
"We really feel this is a public health crisis and whether or not you choose to go virtual or hybrid, ultimately a decision to open up the schools at all is going to put our community at risk," one parent said.
They go by the name "Keep Our Abington School Community Safe." The group is made up of parents who are in favor of continuing remote learning past the first marking period.
"As we stand now, the numbers are even higher now than when we decided to go virtual in the beginning of the school year," one parent said.
Three parents who have students who attend elementary schools, middle school, and high school say it hasn't been easy adjusting to remote learning, but it's worth the challenges if it keeps their families safe.
"We want to be clear, it's not that we never want the schools back open, it's that we want it done safely. We want the community to be safe, we want our families to be safe," a parent said.
Parents with the group say they support the administration and staff, but believe it's not safe for schools to reopen just yet.
"It was enough that we had asked our teachers to potentially take a bullet for our children. But now, we're asking them to put their lives at risk from the very air they breathe," a parent said.
The Abington School District sent Eyewitness News a statement, reading in part: "We have met with various parent/guardian groups representing multiple sides, and will continue to develop our educational program and health and safety plan."
The special board meeting starts at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
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