Pam Barish (1min) — Kindergarten teacher of 30 years urged the board to pause reopening plans if pandemic conditions deem it unsafe.
Laura Easley (1min) — Education reform professional and parent advocated for increased socio-emotional learning, planning for marginalized students, and collaboration with after-school providers.
Mercedes Kwiakowski (4min) — Pediatrician and child psychiatrist recommended balanced metrics including mental health indicators, prioritizing K-2 in-person attendance, optimizing classroom instruction time, and a community commitment to minimizing exposures.
Gloria Comfort (1min) — Asked unanswered questions about what happens when a teacher tests positive, including substitute coverage, student quarantine, testing costs, and notification protocols.
Jeanette Melendez (1min) — Fifth grade teacher said she loves her job but is not comfortable returning in person given the spike in COVID cases and urged the board to choose full distance learning.
Susan Forker (1min) — Thanked the board, asked when a decision would be made about starting in full distance learning even if the hybrid plan moves forward, and advocated for a more equity-focused approach to child care.
Erin Washburn (1min) — Newly elected RCTA president and middle school music teacher cited unresolved safety questions and urged the board to choose full distance learning given rising case counts and county health stepping back from testing and tracing.
Ariana Baltay (1min) — Eighth grade teacher of 20+ years opposed returning to classrooms, citing inadequate testing, restroom cleaning concerns, outdoor lunch needs, and incorrect application of stable cohort guidelines.
Jennifer Overby (1min) — District teacher speaking as an essential worker advocate, calling for negative COVID tests before campus return similar to tuberculosis testing requirements.
Caitlin McManus (1min) — Parent and middle school teacher said she cannot wait to return to in-person teaching but only if safe, and asked the board to consider full distance learning as other districts are doing.
Michelle Packet (1min) — Teacher raised concerns about lack of hot running water, asymptomatic spread, inadequate PPE, inability to monitor distancing, special education support gaps, and noted COVID may be airborne with inadequate ventilation.
Melanie Haskell (1min) — Parent asked for more specific information before choosing a learning model, particularly about positive case protocols, flexibility in distance learning schedules, an independent study option, and restoration of librarian services.
Peggy Klein (1min) — Kennedy Middle School RSP teacher warned that COVID conditions do not yet meet Step 1 requirements, that many teachers may not return, and that distance learning with real teachers provides higher quality instruction than scrambling for substitutes.
Candice Nance Kerrigan (1min) — Parent of incoming kindergartner asked about teacher training for remote learning and whether parents could serve as digital volunteers.
Sandy Hoover (1min) — TK teacher at Clifford raised unanswered questions about illness tracking and school closure thresholds, and proposed starting with distance learning for one to two months to monitor case trends.
Elle Kolekar (1min) — Parent sought clarity on whether distance learning students would still participate in school events, retain their school-of-choice placement, and receive daily instruction.
Jennifer Mercado (1min) — Teacher said returning to in-person instruction is unsafe given rising cases and called for 100% distance learning until the rate falls below 100 per 100,000.
Erin Washburn (3min) — In extended time ceded by colleagues, detailed unresolved practical safety questions and argued that full distance learning gives students more daily access to teachers and peers than the hybrid model, and that teachers have trained to do it well.
Jocelyn Rutenberg Semke (1min) — Parent of incoming fifth grader opposed in-person learning due to rising cases and unknown long-term effects, and said distance learning would be more effective than a restrictive hybrid environment.
Ann Lucero (1min) — Teacher argued that returning to school under current conditions would be a missed opportunity and compared the partial hybrid model unfavorably to doing distance learning well.
Christina Kim (1min) — Parent of incoming Mandarin Immersion kindergartner said her family would choose full distance learning due to health-compromised family members, and asked for more detailed plans about what distance learning would look like for immersion programs.
Dionne Smith (1min) — First grade teacher at Clifford recommended distance learning, citing fear of transmission in a classroom with new students, logistical and emotional challenges of safety protocols, and rising case counts in Redwood City.
Ellen Jacobson (1min) — Parent and teacher thanked the board for following the data and urged redirecting planned safety investment toward technology and robust online learning.
Tiffany Anderson (1min) — Henry Ford parent who witnessed COVID devastation firsthand urged the board not to knowingly risk teachers and staff whose science-based safety concerns deserve respect.
Betsy Snow (1min) — Sequoia High School library media specialist supported distance learning and strongly opposed eliminating any library or librarian positions, arguing they are essential to literacy and can provide virtual services.
Megan O'Reilly Green (1min) — Small business owner, licensed daycare provider, and PTO president proposed that PTOs help organize equitable child care solutions within educational cohorts during distance learning.
Kathryn Stewart (1min) — Parent shared her experience running informal peer learning Zoom sessions and encouraged other parents to contribute similar support so teachers and families can share the load.
Indra Hernandez (2min) — CDC preschool teacher thanked the board for their care, noted a current student is hospitalized with COVID, and urged continuation of distance learning until it is safe to return.
Rita Melissa (1min) — Read a collective letter from 26 Adelante Selby teachers expressing belief that it is not safe to open schools and committing to a robust full distance learning model.
Maribel Prado Parenti (1min) — Adelante Selby teacher clarified that teachers' calls for safety are about protecting the whole community—students, families, bus drivers, custodians, and all staff—not unwillingness to work.
Eric Sutton (1min) — Roosevelt/Orion teacher used probability math to argue that social circles approach dangerous COVID exposure levels, and recommended smaller online groups and co-located student scheduling support.
Katie Goetz (1min) — Parent of immersion students asked for clear guidelines on how non-native-speaking parents can support their children's immersion learning in a full distance model.
Joan Perez (1min) — Sixteen-year district teacher expressed concern that teacher safety is not receiving enough attention, and noted that conditions for safe reopening—suppressing the virus—are not currently met.
Julia Fang (1min) — Parent of young Mandarin Immersion students asked how immersion can be made interactive and engaging online for children who struggle to focus on screens, and requested as many instructional minutes as possible.
Michelle Butler (1min) — Special education teacher and parent of an adult child with autism noted that some special ed students made meaningful progress on goals during spring distance learning and expressed confidence in improving the online model.
Maria Stockton (1min) — CSEA president and 41-year district employee said she feels less assured about safe reopening as case numbers grow, and asked the district to meet with CSEA and RCTA to establish a process for notifying staff of on-site COVID exposures.
Josefina (1min) — Fifth grade teacher and parent of a 10-year-old said keeping staff, students, and families safe is the priority, and urged the board to start fall with distance learning and revisit in spring based on data.
Brian Howell (1min) — District teacher said he cannot protect students' physical safety in a classroom and argued that distance learning can reignite students' intrinsic joy of discovery.
Jeanette Serrano (1min) — Kindergarten teacher in her 33rd and final year thanked the board for not asking teachers to sacrifice their safety on top of everything else they already give willingly.
Franklin Herrera (1min) — Kennedy teacher and soccer coach said he misses students but asked whether the district wants to be part of the solution or part of the problem, arguing that reopening risks accelerating infections.
Vanessa Sanchez (1min) — Second grade Adelante teacher urged distance learning to start the year, arguing the hybrid model wastes planning time and exposes communities with limited resources to disproportionate risk.
Sarah Gurkes Suba Marty (1min) — Parent nursing a baby asked about flexibility in synchronous schedules for working parents and whether an independent study option modeled on Modesto City Schools could be offered alongside distance learning.
Subha Mati (1min) — District technology coach in a high-risk health category said an early decision for distance learning would give teachers certainty and a relaxed mind needed to create optimal learning environments.
David Weekley (0min) — Parent of incoming Mandarin Immersion kindergartner called for regular testing as a pillar of safe reopening and for more serious incorporation of outdoor instruction.
Michelle Laird (1min) — Psychologist and special education preschool coordinator speaking for 30+ colleagues said their most vulnerable non-verbal students require hands-on teaching, and confirmed that one of their preschool students has tested positive for COVID.
Joan Solari (1min) — Five-year district teacher said as much as teachers want to be back with kids, the science does not support in-person return and the board must follow the data.
Jennifer Wenzel (1min) — Thirteen-year district teacher and mother of a toddler said sleepless nights worrying about bringing COVID home to her family reinforce her view that in-person opening would likely cause preventable deaths.
Alex Herrera (1min) — Son of a 20-year district teacher and substitute teacher himself said returning to school would jeopardize thousands of people's health and stated he would not return as a sub.
Michelle Mehrani (1min) — Twenty-year kindergarten teacher at Clifford said nothing makes her sadder than not greeting new kindergartners but that it is not safe for anyone on campus at this time.
Sophie Minchin (1min) — Community member acknowledged the enormous burden on teachers under either model and urged the board to prioritize equity and additional child care solutions for families who cannot manage remote learning without support.
Stephanie Kolsing (1min) — Orion teacher and superintendent's advisory council member said teachers fear for their safety and called for distance learning teachers to have safe access to classrooms, copiers, librarians, and custodians.
Alec Duncan (1min) — Community member stated that without a vaccine, cure, or treatment, opening schools in August is not a good health choice and the potential consequences would weigh on everyone.
Aida Ortiz De Aguilar (1min) — Preschool teacher asked the board to reconsider reopening the CDC separately from elementary schools and urged waiting to reopen preschool together with the rest of the district.
Zoe Wilson (1min) — Eighth grade teacher said she feels distance learning is the right decision despite the heartbreak of not being face-to-face with students.
Kayla Kamley (1min) — First-year teacher moving to first grade argued that starting online allows young students to build trust with teachers without the social-emotional harm of constant safety policing.
Patricia Alcocer (0min) — Preschool teacher recommended continuing distance learning until the COVID curve declines and noted that preschoolers' natural sociability makes it very difficult to maintain distancing and mask protocols.
Sylvia Antonelli (1min) — Adelante Selby third grade teacher said losing a human life is irreversible while the instructional model is reversible, and expressed full commitment to returning to the classroom when it is safe.
Suzanne Ruiz Dunlap (1min) — District employee supported full distance learning and urged the board to continue conversations with special education preschool teachers about the unique challenges their students face.
Jacqueline Rodriguez (5min) — Parent and community member (speaking partly in Spanish with chat translation) conveyed priorities from a community meeting with county officials: addressing learning loss, individualized supports, special population services, guaranteed instructional minutes, and child care and technology access.
Patricia Perla (1min) — Preschool teacher recommended continuing distance learning until the COVID curve declines and until COVID testing is available as a prerequisite for reopening, noting families' fears about returning.
Maria Elena (2min) — Special education teacher recounted seeing a COVID-positive adult removed from a family's apartment whose children attend the district, and called for everyone to be tested before being placed together at school.
Mercedes Northern (1min) — Community member asked whether the board considered live scheduled daily classes with accountability as in private schools, outdoor classes for when school resumes, and counseling resources for at-risk students.
Michelle Bond (1min) — Teacher noted that just as the district planned to pivot from hybrid to distance learning, the reverse is equally true—starting with distance learning allows a quick return to in-person when conditions allow.
Elvira Cortez (1min) — Twenty-one-year district teacher and site supervisor at the Roosevelt CDC questioned why child development centers would be asked to open if it is unsafe for regular school, and urged the preschool not to open before the rest of the district.
Gwen Minor (1min) — Community member cited CDC director's warning about the coming fall and winter being the most difficult in American public health history, and supported full distance learning while urging community collaboration on child care and trauma support.
Adriana Behar (1min) — Preschool teacher and Garfield parent said it is too soon to reopen preschool next Tuesday and that teachers have trained for distance learning, with families supportive of continuing it.
James Carrick (1min) — Teacher and parent said he did not enter teaching to gamble with lives, cited the death of a teacher who contracted COVID during summer school, and asked how many more must die before the district recognizes it is not the right time to reopen.
Abed Kamal (1min) — Stanford instructor urged greater synchronous online teacher-student interaction based on his Zoom teaching experience, and recommended pool testing for staff and students as a condition for future in-person return.
Michelle Ortez (1min) — Twenty-one-year Roy Cloud teacher and RCSD parent said this should not be parents versus teachers but parents and teachers versus COVID, and asked the community to redirect negative social media energy toward advocating for child care and teacher safety.
Michelle Smith (1min) — Parent proposed using school sites as child care hubs for working and vulnerable families during full distance learning, and pointed to UC Berkeley's ATDP online program as a model of effective asynchronous and synchronous learning.
Ariandi Jimenez (1min) — New Hoover third grade teacher said reopening would disproportionately harm communities of color, noting Latinx residents make up 49% of San Mateo County COVID cases while being less than 25% of the population.
Linda Elkins (1min) — Parent of three elementary students and advocate for the hybrid model asked why both models could not be approved now so the district could pivot back to in-person as quickly as possible when conditions improve.
Allie Gilmore (1min) — Parent of an incoming third grader and a special education preschooler said she is disappointed but hears the teachers, and asked the district to support parents as co-teachers, fill in distance learning details, and help parents advocate for needed county and state resources.
Rob Hager (1min) — Parent of two fifth graders supported full distance learning, raised questions about teacher testing frequency, threshold metrics for switching models, temperature check protocols, and charter school compliance with district directives.