Crossing 'virtual picket line': Columbus families weigh truancy vs. supporting teachers

When Columbus Education Association union members went on strike for the first time in January 1975, hundreds of Columbus City School's teachers formed picket lines outside their schools demanding better wages.

CEA officials estimated at the time that only 5% of the district's nearly 96,000 students attended classes during the weeklong strike. Students who did attend classes had to physically cross the picket line to learn, something that many students and parents were uncomfortable about.

Now, it's a different story.

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Wednesday is the first scheduled day of school for the vast majority of Columbus City Schools students, but it's unlike any other day in the district's history.

With teachers still on strike, the state’s largest district of some 47,000 students will start the school year remotely. Columbus City Schools buildings are closed to students and community members, and the district is moving to “synchronous and asynchronous remote learning,” according to its alternative opening plans website.

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On the one hand, broad access to online learning has allowed school districts nationwide to keep students learning during situations which would've previously shut schools down, like inclement weather, pandemics and strikes. Many Columbus City Schools parents have criticized the decision, however, raising concerns that students didn't do well working remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown.

Elliot Kim-Stone, a second grader at Ecole Kenwood French Immersion, won’t be logging on for remote learning, his mom, Sharon Kim said.

“It’s a virtual picket line; we are not going to cross it,” Kim, of Clintonville, said. “Our family 100% supports the teachers and staff and union members.”

While some parents are firmly set on attending online school — or not — others are torn on whether to cross what is now a virtual picket line.

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"I feel completely paralyzed with indecision," said Lauren Carlson, a Clintonville parent with an incoming first grader at Ecole Kenwood French Immersion School.

Carlson said she wants to support educators, but without a good idea of how long this strike will last, it's raised some questions: Do they need to get by for a few days without logging in, or do they need to plan for the long haul?

"If this strike drags on for weeks, we need to do something," Carlson said. "But the thought of facilitating virtual learning with my 6-year-old daughter while also working at home full-time puts a knot in my stomach."

Carlson said she would have preferred if the district delayed the start of school until an agreement was reached between the union and the district.

"It is not benefitting our children," she said. "It's just adding an additional stressor to an already tense situation."

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On Monday, CEA spokesperson Regina Fuentes said that union members will not judge parents whether or not they or their kids log onto class on Wednesday, and that they should “make the best decision for their child that they feel is right.”

“We always want to encourage education to continue moving on,” Fuentes said. “However, we understand that the substitutes that supposedly have these alternative plans are no substitute for the expertise and the high-level of education of educators.”

Columbus City Schools Board president Jennifer Adair said that while she — as a parent — appreciates the decisions families are making, attendance rules still apply to all students.

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“It is extremely important that parents do understand what the consequences of that could be. These are things that we are required to do under Ohio law,” Adair said. “And so if students do not attend, they will be marked absent.”

Columbus City Schools spokesperson Jacqueline Bryant said state law "addresses the importance of regular school attendance and the negative impact that excessive absences may have on a student’s academic success."

"To support the academic advancement of our students, the district will partner with students and families to identify and reduce the barriers that may impact regular school attendance," she said.

According to Ohio Revised Code 3321.191, "habitual truant" is defined as:

• Absent 30 or more consecutive hours without legitimate excuse;

• Absent 42 or more hours in one school month without legitimate excuse;

• Absent 72 or more hours in one school year without legitimate excuse;

A parent or guardian will be notified if a student has excessive absences, which are defined as:

• Absent 38 hours or more in one school month with or without legitimate excuse; or

• Absent 65 or more hours in one school year with or without legitimate excuse.

Bryant said daily attendance check-in times will be "established by the principal at a designated time and all Zooms are recorded." So attendance numbers could vary building-to-building depending on grade-level and the number of Zoom check-in meetings, she said.

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President of the Ohio Federation of Teachers ​​Melissa Cropper said having the remote option during a strike makes it easier for a school district to say school is happening, even if learning, per se, isn't.

"It’s really not happening," she said. "They are still not in front of teachers that are prepared to teach them. They are not going to get the curriculum. It’s mostly just going to be filler type stuff.”

Some Ohio parents opting to not have their student log on in support of Columbus Education Association

Jinny Hanes helped create and circulate a petition among Columbus City Schools families urging them to not cross the virtual picket line.

Instead of logging into online classes, her two sons – a sixth grader at Medina Middle School and a fourth grader at Clinton Elementary School – will be out on the picket lines Wednesday morning.

"We'll be out alongside the teachers who've stood with us for so long," said Hanes, of Linden.

Hanes said she feels like the district has been bullying parents into making sure their kids attend virtual classes.

"The hope is that if enough parents don't sign in, then they can't take all of us," she said.

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There are situations where families feel like they don't have a choice in sending their kids across the virtual picket line, Hanes said, like high school seniors worried about graduation and parents in the midst of custody battles.

"We don't want people to feel pressured if they can't," she said, "but at the end of the day, a lot of us are willing to sacrifice for the greater good."

Chris and Alisha Wood have weighed that decision with their two kids as well and ultimately decided they won't be crossing the picket line.

"We plan to spend the week talking and reading with our kids about the labor movement and unions with some visits to picket lines," said Chris Wood, of Beechwold. "We have friends who are teachers, and thinking about what they're sacrificing and putting at risk, we agreed that not going to class is the sacrifice we can make."

Things might change if the strike lasts long enough to potentially affect graduation plans for their daughter, who will be a senior at Columbus Alternative High School. They've discussed whether it would be better for their sixth-grader at Dominion Middle School to be among peers in virtual classes, but ultimately decided supporting his teachers on the picket line would be more beneficial.

Katie Knostman said her three sons – a senior and a sophomore at Whetstone High School, and a sixth-grader at Dominion Middle School – won’t be logging on for remote learning.

“I don't feel comfortable sending them online since it’s viewed as crossing the picket line,” the Clintonville resident said.

Normally, she pushed her sons to have good attendance, but she wants her family to stand in solidarity with the union.

“I view the teachers as advocating for the best possible environment for the students,” she said. “I really think they have had to work in some really difficult conditions.”

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Christy Haynes is a parent of a ninth-grader at Columbus Alternative High School. She said while it’s ultimately up to her son on whether or not he wants to attend classes online, she herself has been leaning towards not wanting him to.

“The district is trying to force us to get our students to sign in for remote learning,” Haynes said. “It’s a slap in the face to teachers.”

However, Haynes said that it also depends on how many days the strike will continue, which is the biggest unknown to her and many others. She added that if it’s only two or three days, she feels her son can weather a few unexcused absences.

“The thing we have to decide is whether or not it’s worth the risk,” Haynes said. “To me, it is.”

But if it goes longer, she said she has questions on what it means for her child, especially when it comes to applying to postgraduate opportunities.

“What does this mean for my student in the future, since it may end up on his record?” Haynes said. “Is it a black mark or does it speak to his character?”

Other Columbus City Schools families choosing to log in for online learning

Stephen Hardwick, 55, plans on having his two students — a seventh-grader at Dominion Middle School and a 10th-grader at Columbus Alternative High School — log on for virtual learning Wednesday during the Columbus teacher strike.

“We need to have them in school that’s available,” said Hardwick, of Clintonville.

He does, however, have concerns about the quality of remote learning they will receive.

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“Remote learning is far worse for the students than having the teachers in the classroom,” he said. “Remote learning is not a good substitute for having teachers in the classroom. I’d rather have my student be in an 80-degree building than be online."

Columbus Alternative High School will have to wait until the start of the 2023-2024 school year to get building-wide air conditioning.

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Sheridan Hendrix is a higher education reporter for The Columbus Dispatch. Michael Lee and Megan Henry are K-12 education reporters for The Columbus Dispatch. Sign up for Extra Credit, their education newsletter, here.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus teachers strike makes families debate 'virtual picket line'