LOS ANGELES — She’s never stepped foot in a classroom, let alone a protest, but on Monday 5-year-old Cali was on strike. She skipped her daily two-hour Zoom kindergarten session and instead joined her mom, Renee Bailey, at a protest in Westwood.

“I’m not a teacher. I have no idea if what I’m teaching her is on track with the curriculum for kindergartners,” said Bailey, who is currently juggling remote work for her full-time job with a pharmaceutical company with educating her two children.

What You Need To Know

  • Superintendent Austin Beutner has set a goal of reopening at least some schools by April 9

  • Parents are divided over the risks of returning to in-person learning

  • Los Angeles County will not allow teachers and staff to access the COVID-19 vaccine until March 1

  • Some parents participated in a "Zoom Blackout" Monday to protest remote learning

Her 14-year-old son, Kaleb, has special needs, and lost access to physical, occupational, and speech therapy when schools closed in March 2020. She says his development has been severely impacted by seven hours of Zoom learning every day.

LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner has set a goal of reopening at least some schools by April 9, but it would require vaccinations to be available for teachers and staff. Los Angeles County does not plan to allow educators to access the vaccine before March 1. Supply delays have hampered efforts to quickly vaccinate health care workers and those over 65 years of age.

“Those children in the inner city, they’re falling further and further behind and we need to talk about that. It’s an issue that’s been ignored,” Bailey said.

Across town in Highland Park, Brenda Del Hierro’s children logged onto Zoom as usual. She’s worried opening schools too soon will expose her family to the deadly virus. COVID-19 has hit her community hard as well. Her 2-year-old nephew contracted Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome, a rare condition that affects some children exposed to COVID-19.

Thankfully, he recovered.

Related Stories

“Both my sister-in-laws have had COVID and I have a friend who her husband has COVID. He’s now in a rehab. He’s had COVID for months now. It’s just scary,” Del Hierro said.

Renee, the mother from South L.A., doesn’t believe families should be forced to return to campus if they are worried.

“Parents that are scared that’s their choice and they should absolutely have that choice,” Renee said.

She believes her kids deserve to learn and feel supported. As a working mom, she can’t do it all on her own.