School closures put Oklahoma parents in a bind

(The Center Square) – Some Oklahoma parents are finding themselves in a bind once again as schools close or switch to remote learning because of rising cases of the omicron variant.

“Fortunately, there have been relatively few schools closed and for just a few days at most,” Katherine Bishop, president of Oklahoma Education Association, told The Center Square. “Some of them didn’t close, they went to virtual school. It’s always inconvenient for parents and students to have to shift back home in the middle of the week, like a snow day. But we do have some experience with it over the last couple of years, so, hopefully, families are able to manage.”

While families have learned to be flexible over the past 22 months, some still find it a great challenge to operate smoothly when the kids are out of their usual school routine.

“Really, for a lot of families, it is so much more than just an inconvenience,” Owasso parent Jennifer Johnson told the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs. “It causes parents to lose wages because they can’t go to work. It causes disruption in children’s schedules, which then with a lot of kids who may have some special needs or special requirements, it throws off their schedule and that can throw off the dynamic of the family. Really, calling it an ‘inconvenience’ is almost a slap in the face to parents, because it’s so much more than that.”

Bishop said while the closures have been short, they still illustrate a real problem for Oklahoma schools.

“Many of the closures have occurred because schools didn’t have staff to cover all the classes,” Bishop said. “Our teacher and substitute shortage is at a critical stage, and it is affecting children from pre-kindergarten through high school.”

The problem has been growing for years, and the pandemic has only exacerbated the situation, Bishop said.

“Health experts are hopeful that the pandemic is winding down, and that will help immensely,” Bishop said. “But we have to look at long-term solutions to recruit and retain our teaching professionals.”

Gov. Kevin Stitt signed an executive order last month allowing state employees to serve as substitute teachers so schools would not have to close because of staffing shortages.

“I’ve said from the beginning that our students deserve an in-person education and our schools need to stay open,” Stitt said during a news conference

The Oklahoma Chamber of Commerce is asking businesses to follow suit by giving employees extra paid time off to substitute.

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