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SALT LAKE CITY – A new report from The Salt Lake Tribune says 300 kids have transferred out of the Salt Lake City School District.
Mary Catherine Perry is not surprised. She sometimes drives 45 minutes roundtrip to drop her daughter off at her new school.
She says online learning was not working, so switching to another school district has been great for her daughter’s education.
Many families she knows have also made the jump to a new school.
“They still have waiting lists 15-20 kids long of, I’m sure, more Salt Lake City kids who want an in-person experience. If [our new school] could let more kids in, we would probably be losing more,” Perry said.
The Salt Lake City School District says it will bring elementary school students back to class next month.
But there is a lack of trust.
“Our board and our district have been a little unpredictable since the summer. So, I’m not sure that anyone can fully count on that to happen,” Perry said. “It’s just been a rocky year in terms of knowing what to expect from the parents’ side, and I’m sure for the schools and the teachers, too.”
Robynn Garfield has two sons who have special needs.
A producer at KSL NewsRadio, she also drives several miles to make sure her boys get the in-person instruction they need.
Like Perry, she is also skeptical about whether Salt Lake City schools will return to in-person instruction. She also believes her new school district is taking the right COVID-19 health and safety precautions.
“Watching the comparison of this new school district we’re at, and seeing what they’ve done to accommodate kids, education was their first priority and public health second. I think that’s how it should be,” Garfield said. “Let the health department deal with health and let school districts educate kids.”