Parent letter: Douglas County School Board’s complete failure & betrayal of kids

We elect a school board to put our children’s education first; to set both students and teachers up for success. When a school board fails to do this, we owe it to our children and teachers to replace the current board. The stakes—our kids’ academic, mental, and social/emotional future—are too important for us to wait and hope for improvement. 

Douglas County’s school board has indeed failed our kids. While nearby school districts returned to in-person learning formats, our school board delayed. Charter and private schools in Douglas County have been back to in-person learning for a while, yet our board hopes we can follow suit sometime after spring break. They’ve had since last summer to plan the in-person learning our kids deserve but have failed to do so. 

Remote learning has dire effects on our kids. Average DCSD student grades slid significantly, and mental health emergency room visits for kids are up sharply. Studies show these can have long-lasting negative impacts on our kids. 

The CDC says in-person learning doesn’t add to overall community spread—the science shows they can and are being fully opened safely. 

Knowing these things—why is our school board choosing not to return to in-person learning full-time? 

This has been our school board’s test of leadership, of whether they put our kids’ education first, and whether they look to science/data to help guide them. They’ve failed this test and it’s now incumbent on us to stand up for our kids, teachers, and community.

Sincerely,

Brandi Bradley