San Francisco parents hold another day of Zoom-in protests

SAN FRANCISCO - For the second day in a row, parents in San Francisco fed up with distance learning on Friday brought their kids to Zoom into their lessons from outside of a closed elementary school, in an effort to show just how much kids need to be back in the classroom.

At 9:30 a.m. outside Miraloma Elementary School, kids rolled out their blankets and booted up their tablets to Zoom in to their classes, in what is being called a "Zoom in" demonstration organized by the group decreasing the distance.  They did it despite the rain as well. 

Amy Carle, one of the protest organizers, said she had no intention to be the leader of this cause. But she was inspired by her son, who is in kindergarten, and desperate to see his friends. 

"It's been really tough on the kids," Carle said. "It's been really tough on families. 

Most private and parochial schools in San Francisco have re-opened for in-person learning, but the San Francisco Unified School District says they're not quite there yet, but are hopeful schools will offer hybrid in-person learning soon. 

Families who attended the outdoor Zoom-in at Mission Terrace park yesterday said their kids aren't getting the quality of education they deserve.

"They are suffering at home and so we wanted to bring them out and let our city see our children and let them be heard," said parent Viviane Safrin. 

The city sued the school district and the board of education two weeks ago, putting pressure on them to get public schools back to in-person learning.

Since then, six elementary schools have been passed health inspections and cleared to reopen, but there's been no set date for when that will be.

Kids told KTVU they're losing focus, and staring at screens all day hurts their eyes. Families will be out on Monday in Dolores Park.