By Mary O’KEEFE

On Wednesday morning parents of students in the Glendale Unified School District – GUSD ­– brought their concerns about getting students back into school to the doorstep of the Glendale Teachers Association office in Montrose.

“We want the union to follow science and facts,” said Sharis Poulatian, a parent and organizer of the event.

Poulatian acknowledged that the GUSD has done a lot to prepare its schools for a safe return to in-person learning.

“One of the sticking points for teachers is that they get vaccinated [against COVID-19],” she said. “The District is doing that.”

GUSD has vaccinated over 700 staff members and continues to work with local health partners to offer more vaccinations.

“We are here to support the district to reopen in a hybrid [program],” Poulatian added.

GUSD plans to reopen in-person classrooms with a block-type schedule that would divide students into two groups with one attending in-person classes on specific days and the other group attending in-person classes on alternate days. This plan was decided upon based on surveys sent to parents and students.

Poulatian said she felt the District has followed all the protocols for reopening schools following guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the California Dept. of Public Health and the Los Angeles County Dept. of Public Health [DPH].

“[GUSD] has had 17 visits from [DPH],” she said.

The District has passed each inspection by the health department, according to Superintendent Vivian Ekchian.

Poulatian mentioned other districts that have opened successfully with hybrid schedules and safety protocols and feels GUSD can do the same.

GTA released a statement to CVW last week outlining its concerns for reopening, which included asking the District to collaborate with GTA to sign a contract that spells out the health and safety protocols as well as the expectations for hybrid instructions. It does not mention vaccinations as a requirement; however, it focused its concerns on hybrid instruction.

GUSD and GTA continue their negotiations on reopening.