LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Hundreds of people gathered in protest ahead of the Clark County School District Board of Trustees meeting on Thursday.
Chants like "all kids, full time" could be heard from the crowd at Las Vegas Academy high school, where the Clark County School Board met in-person for the first time in nearly a year.
RELATED: CCSD: Additional students can return to classrooms March 22, April 6
"We're feeling very enthusiastic about getting our kids back full-time or kids, all ages," said Abby McCoy, who has four students in the Clark County School District.
McCoy says she has seen a noticeable change in her childrens' demeanor and a slump in their academics.
"I'm definitely not doing as well as I was in-person," said 10-year-old Max Summerhays.
"I was a straight-A student and now I'm getting three B's," he said. "I'm not as focused."
WATCH FULL | Clark County school board meeting Thursday
Some say they were encouraged by the announcement that select grades will be brought back to in-person instruction as soon as March 1.
"What I think about are all of the kids that don't have [two supporting parents], they have parents who work, who might have food insecurity,," said McCoy.
"No one's taking them to school to get their food each day," she said. "Some are in abusive situations and those mandatory reporters are not able to report what they are seeing."
City of North Las Vegas Councilwoman Pamela Goynes-Brown spoke into a microphone, telling participants that kids need to be back in classrooms and all sports and extracurricular activities should resume.
Other local leaders, such as Las Vegas Councilwoman Victoria Seaman, expressed support of reopening schools fully.
Now a Dr. Cole Sondrup speaks about what he’s seeing in the emergency rooms. Teen mental health crisis, suicides and attempts. urges kids in classrooms. @KTNV pic.twitter.com/4TNHVpll8y
— Joe Bartels (@Joe_Bartels) February 26, 2021
On Wednesday, the district announced that in-person learning will resume for all grades -- using a phased-in approach -- and that school sports are coming back.
"I made a huge announcement, really in collaboration with our schools and our staff, to get our children slowly and methodically and safely back on our campuses, to extracurricular activities as our priority," said Dr. Jesus Jara, superintendent of the Clark County School District.
The CCSD Board of Trustees heard from several people at their meeting voicing their opinions about a return to classrooms.
Less than a handful of people at the meeting provided feedback indicating they opposed the return to in-person instruction, citing the safety and health of students and staff due to the pandemic that is still not under control and has sickened millions of Americans and killed more than 500,000 people in the United States.
The timeline for the return to the classroom is as follows:
- March 1 - Pre-K to 3rd grade - Hybrid
- March 22 - Grades 6, 9 & 12 - Hybrid
- April 6 - Grades 7, 8, 10 & 11 - Hybrid
- April 6 - Pre-K to 5th grade - Face-to-face 5 days
The CCSD Board of School Trustees also received a briefing on the budget, legislative session and approved a new memorandum of agreements with the Clark County Education Association and Education Support Employees Associations.
You can watch Thursday's full board meeting here.
