'I’m just not understanding what the hold-up is': Rochester parents push for in-person learning

Parents of elementary schoolers inside Rochester Public Schools are becoming increasingly frustrated with the district’s decision to delay a return to in-person learning, as districts across Minnesota gear up to welcome students back to class and the governor allows leisure establishments to open starting next week.

On Tuesday, the Rochester School Board approved a modified and scaled-down version of the district’s “Return to Learn” plan, stopping short of guaranteeing a return to in-person learning after a four-hour discussion. Med City Beat spoke to parents prior to the meeting, who said they were disappointed by the district’s lack of transparency. 

Now, after Gov. Tim Walz announced that bars and restaurants would be allowed to open at 50 percent capacity starting Monday, the local outcry has grown — in number and in intensity.

A petition urging the district to reconsider had over 1,000 signatures Friday afternoon, and a Facebook group composed of angry RPS parents had over 500 members. Administrators inside that group are planning a “peaceful protest” for next Tuesday outside the Edison Building.

“I’m just not understanding what the hold-up is,” said Brianna Dibble, parent of two RPS students. “I feel like [the district] is making it a lot harder than it has to be.”

Dibble has a seventh-grader at Willow Creek and a second-grader at Washington Elementary School, and also works as a school nurse for a neighboring rural district that has already returned its elementary schoolers to in-person learning. She says with the right health, safety and cleaning protocols, in-person learning can be made safe for students — citing transmission rates of “next to nothing” inside the school she works at.

Meanwhile, the governor’s decision to allow bars and restaurants to open to 50 percent capacity has Dibble and other local parents scratching their heads: if it’s safe enough to open up establishments that are proven to spread the virus, why are Rochester’s schools — with inconclusive evidence on how open schools affect local Covid situations — deemed unsafe?

“This will affect what our county numbers are, which will affect if our children can go back to full in-person or not,” said Dibble. “Even the movie theaters are going to open up. All these leisure activities, where kids and families are allowed to gather, will be opening up, but we’re not sending our kids back to school. Why?”

In Tuesday’s meeting, Superintendent Michael Muñoz and board members alike cited two main reasons for their decision: a lack of input from RPS staff (which the Superintendent was chastised for by board members), and concern over the district’s ability to move swiftly if another Covid-19 surge happens in the coming weeks.

“In general, it’s much more difficult to do things and change things for a district of our size,” said Muñoz. “When you’re talking about 18,000 students and 2,600 employees, it’s harder to make changes on the fly... I talk often about our ship. To turn it, to make changes, it’s different to turn a large ship than it is to turn a tugboat.”

The next update on the return to in-person learning is scheduled for February 2.

Isaac Jahns is a Rochester native and a 2019 graduate of the Missouri School of Journalism. He reports on politics, business and music for Med City Beat.

Cover photo licensed via Canva