Vinita Daily Journal

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Families brace for school closures during strike
, Ben Felder
Mar The Oklahoman
d are paid, so they have to do
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2018 7 teachers strike sounded like
an extension of spring break
for 12-year-old Deacon
Page Scott.
A006 That is until his mother
Clip broke the news that she’s
resized prepared to offer her own
46% lessons in typing, spelling,
reading and other subjects he
would be missing at school.
“I can be pretty tough,”
said Jenny Scott, Deacon’s
mother, who laughed as she
listed off the subjects she is
prepared to teach.
Scott and her four children
— two of whom are in local
schools — enjoyed a sunny
afternoon last week at Me-
morial Park as their spring
break ended.
“We might be off again in
just another week,” Scott
said. “But I’m OK with
that because a lot of teach-
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in Oklahoma
ers can’t live on what they
something. I’m absolutely in
support of them striking.”
As thousands of Oklahoma
teachers prepare to strike and
over 100 schools have con-
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if a walkout occurs, parents
across the state are bracing
for a closure of schools, the
length of which is anyone’s
guess.
Robyn Hunter, who takes
care of her two grandchil-
dren in Edmond, took off
work last week for spring
break and said she will have
to again if schools close next
month.
“It would be tough, but we
could manage,” Hunter said.
“I just hope it doesn’t last
long. I only have so much
vacation time.”
The Oklahoma Education
Association has circled April
2 as the date for a walkout
if state lawmakers do not
approve more than $1.4 bil-
lion in new annual funding,
which includes teacher pay
raises and increased school
funding.
But beyond lawmakers,
families with school-age
children will also feel the
pressure of a strike, the lev-
el of which depends on what
options a household has.
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den for some parents more
than others, especially de-
pending on how long the
strike goes on,” said Carrie
Williams, executive director
of Rainbow Fleet, a cen-
tral Oklahoma organization
offering child care referral
services. “If you are a parent
of a special-needs child, this
is a pretty serious situation
because you can’t just drop
your child off anywhere.”
Williams said her organiza-
tion has listed child care op-
tions on its website to help
parents determine a solution
during a teaches strike.
“We are getting a lot of
calls from parents, and we
expect next week it will pick
up even more,” Williams
said.
While some parents will
have to rely on all-day care,
others might take advantage
of organizations offering
partial-day programs and ac-
tivities.
Both the Science Museum
Oklahoma and the National
Cowboy & Western Heritage
Museum have announced
drop-in activities for chil-
dren during a strike.
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ma Institute for Child Advo-
cacy are compiling a list of
resources and activities for
children.
“Groups are stepping up,
and I expect many more are
still talking about what they
can do,” said Joe Dorman,
CEO of the Oklahoma Insti-
tute for Child Advocacy.
“But I do worry that some
kids are going to miss out. In
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is no doubt that some kids
are going to miss out because
parents are not aware of what
resources there are.”
For many students, miss-
ing school can mean miss-
ing a meal, as more than 60
percent of Oklahoma stu-
dent are eligible for free or
reduced-price breakfast and
lunch at school.
Rebecca Kaye, acting su-
perintendent of Oklahoma
City Public Schools, said
the district will use buses to
act as “rolling feeding sites”
each day during a strike.
“The buses will pick up
meals that are made by our
school nutrition staff, take
them to designated locations
where kids and families will
be able to come and get the
meals, then (the buses) will
go pick up some more and go
to another site,” she said.
Tulsa Public Schools has
also said it is working with
community partners to pro-
vide free breakfast and lunch
at approximately 70 non-
school sites throughout the
city.
Edmond Public Schools is
planning to provide transpor-

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cafeterias for students who
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rely on school meals. The
district also said it will use
ahoma

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volunteers and school staff to
continue its weekend back-
payment to: pack food program.

SAVE $5
For nearly all, a walkout
lation

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in April would require some
level of adjustment.
ta, OK 74301
:LOVRQ9LQLWD BUCKS! “This is a tough situation,”
Scott said. “But somebody
has to force these legislators

Rubber neck sale to do something.”

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