WOODLAND, Calif. — Most California students are not returning for in-person classes anytime soon, but some local teachers are being asked to work from their classrooms.
In Woodland, teachers are fighting for their right to choose where they teach from.
Woodland teachers protested outside the Woodland Joint Unified School District Offices on Thursday, demanding district leaders give them the option to work from home.Over 1,000 people from the community signed a petition for teachers to work from home, if they choose to.
"All of our staff received a message from our district that said that even though our students would be learning from remotely and we would be teaching remotely, that all of our staff was expected to do that work from a district worksite," Jen Drewek Shilen, president of the Woodland Education Association, said.
Shilen, who teaches world history at Woodland High School, said the district is asking teachers to teach from their classrooms because the school districts provides reliable internet service, supplies and personal space without interruption. This is something, she said, many teachers have available at their homes, too.
"However, many teachers are fully equipped to do this distance learning from home and won’t need to access those resources that have been offered," Shilen said.
Gov. Gavin Newsom addressed the issue during a Monday news conference.
"I don't believe anyone should be forced to put their life and health at risk, period full stop," Newsom said.
Although Newsom says the state has given discretion for those decisions to be made at the local level, another district requiring teachers to return to the classroom is Manteca Unified. Their first day of school is August 6.
At Thursday's school board meeting, the board thanked the community for its comments, but did not address the issue since it wasn't on the agenda.
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