Check out this video of an LA Board of Education meeting in which a Latina mom is choking back tears while pleading for schools to reopen.
These board members, all who make well over 6-figure salaries, totally ignore her while eating, texting and talking to people off screen.
John & Ken talked to Chantal Lovell, Communications Director at the California Policy Center about this sickening video.
The board’s behavior comes amidst growing evidence supporting the mother’s anecdotes: school closures are unnecessary and are inflicting irreparable harm to children. Researchers at Harvard University have been following 224 children throughout the pandemic and found “two-thirds of them had clinically significant symptoms of anxiety and depression, and the same number had behavioral problems such as hyperactivity and inattention,” according to The Wall Street Journal.
Another new report, detailed by The Sacramento Bee, found similar impact. In Los Angeles Unified, two-thirds of students have fallen behind in math and reading, with the impact to children of color being even more severe. Unable to cope with the indefinite isolation and bleak outlook, more and more children are turning to suicide.