Hundreds of Parents Volunteer to Help Palo Alto Schools During COVID-19 Surge

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Nearly each schoolhouse territory successful the Bay Area is struggling to find capable steadfast teachers during the COVID-19 surge to capable its classrooms each day.

But successful Palo Alto, hundreds signed up to unpaid conscionable hours aft the schoolhouse territory pleaded for help.

Nearly 700 parents person signed up to assistance the Palo Alto Unified School District this week. Some parents said they are acceptable to start, portion others question the solution and suggest schools should instrumentality to virtual learning.

Jen Wiener is simply a genitor scheduled to commencement volunteering connected Wednesday. She volition beryllium directing postulation successful hallways astatine a mediate school.

"I thought it was a large idea," Wiener said. "I was truthful gladsome we are reasoning of bully solutions to enactment unneurotic to support the schools open."

The Palo Alto Unified School District, similar galore others successful the nation, person been dealing with staffing shortages. The territory is missing much than 100 enactment unit and up to 80 teachers a time -- positions officials said are going unfilled due to the fact that determination is not capable substitutes.

In a video posted to YouTube, Palo Alto Unified Superintendent Don Austin asked parents to go schoolhouse volunteers. He said the caller omicron surge has impacted staffing levels and the territory needs indispensable roles to beryllium filled by volunteers.

"Until the surge is over, we request our community, 1 Palo Alto, to unpaid similar ne'er before," Austin said. "We request assistance successful areas astir radical don't adjacent cognize exist. It won't beryllium glamorous. Many of the indispensable jobs that hap mundane to enactment your kids aren't glamorous."

Palo Alto Unified says volunteers indispensable beryllium vaccinated and tin get tested for COVID-19 astatine schoolhouse investigating clinics.

The parents volition beryllium helping with airy custodial work, nutrient services, directing COVID investigating lines and adjacent assisting substitute teachers erstwhile classrooms request to beryllium combined.

"I person truthful overmuch gratitude to our families," Austin said.

Parents successful Cupertino besides answered to a outcry for assistance from teachers.

Parent Alejandra Chavez said she offered to assistance her district, but besides wonders if kids would beryllium amended disconnected going to virtual learning.

"You don't cognize who your kids is going to get successful the schoolroom 1 time and who they are getting the adjacent time due to the fact that teachers are absent connected a regular basis," Chavez said.

In San Francisco, parents are signing up to walk retired accelerated COVID tests and PPE.

Some of the volunteers said the extremity is to assistance schoolhouse unit and students consciousness supported and easiness the load successful these hard times.

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