What began as a modest community on the social media platform quickly grew into the political juggernaut Moms Demand Action, the nation鈥檚 largest grassroots gun control group and a primary foe of the National Rifle Association and their allies in Washington, D.C. 

After fighting in the political trenches for more than a decade, Watts plans to retire this year after a long-fought win: Last year, President Joe Biden signed into law the first new federal gun rules in nearly three decades. 

But the mass shootings haven鈥檛 stopped. On Wednesday, students nationwide marched out of their schools to demand additional gun control measures after a shooter killed six people 鈥� including three 9-year-olds 鈥� March 27 at a private Christian elementary school in Nashville. This week, Tennessee House Republicans three Democratic state representatives who led a protest on the House Floor in response to the shooting and in solidarity with the hundreds of demonstrators, many of them young people, who packed the Tennessee Capitol.

The Nashville shooting has become the latest partisan flashpoint at the center of the country鈥檚 divisive political discourse. As students in Nashville and nationwide flood the streets to demand additional gun control measures, Republicans have latched onto the tragedy, which was carried out by a 28-year-old transgender shooter, with anti-trans rhetoric. 

In an interview with 蜜桃影视, Watts 鈥� who now lives in California and whose children are grown 鈥� said the GOP鈥檚 response to the Nashville shooting follows a long history of leaning on 鈥渟traw men鈥� to avoid an honest dialogue about gun violence. She also offered insight into the power of mom-led advocacy and advice for parents advocating for changes in their own communities.

The interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity. 

This week it鈥檚 students who are walking out of school and hitting the streets protesting after the recent school shooting in Nashville. But we鈥檝e been here before. What, if anything, is different this time? What factors have made this shooting in Nashville so politically galvanizing? 

I think it鈥檚 different every time. There鈥檚 this idea that somehow there鈥檚 going to be a tragedy and everything is going to change overnight. And it didn鈥檛 happen after Columbine, it didn鈥檛 happen after the Sandy Hook school shooting, it didn鈥檛 happen last summer [after mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas]. But that doesn鈥檛 mean that things aren鈥檛 changing. 

The system is not set up in this country for overnight change. The system is set up for people to get involved in democracy and that means that you do what I call the unglamorous heavy lifting of grassroots activism, and that forces incremental change. 

I have seen over the last decade incremental change lead to a revolution. There鈥檚 been a seismic shift in American politics. Back in 2012, a quarter of all Democrats in Congress had an A rating from the NRA. Today, not one does. They鈥檙e proud of their Fs. 

And we had 15 Republicans support the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act that passed last summer. So things are changing and I believe that after every national shooting tragedy, when people start to pay attention, you鈥檙e seeing change.

The NRA is incredibly weak. They really didn鈥檛 have a seat at the table when the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act passed. The fact that we have a 90% track record of stopping the NRA鈥檚 agenda every year, those things are only enabled by all of the change that has happened and added up over the last decade. 

When you ask what鈥檚 different this time, I think it鈥檚 that there are even more people who are filled with rage over this situation, who know we don鈥檛 have to live like this. We sure as hell shouldn鈥檛 die like this. The more people who use their voices and vote on this issue, the faster we get to a place where our country isn鈥檛 run by the gun industry. 

President Biden signed the first federal gun control measures in nearly three decades 鈥� yet these shootings keep happening. What do you see were the effects of the law that has been signed, and what more needs to be done to solve the problem? 

The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act was a very important, critical step forward, but it was just one first step on a much longer journey. 

We need to have background checks on all gun sales at a federal level, we need a Red Flag law, we need to make sure that domestic abusers can鈥檛 get guns, including stalkers. There鈥檚 so much that needs to be done, and we鈥檝e done it really at a state-by-state level. 

Blue states in this country now have pretty strong gun laws, whereas red states don鈥檛. We鈥檙e only as safe as the closest state with the weakest gun laws, so we need much more to happen at a federal level. But in order to do that we have to have a Congress that will make that happen. 

The idea that shootings were going to stop after the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act passed is not realistic, but I want to be clear that it is meaningful. It takes a multifaceted approach to looking at gun violence as a complex issue. It isn鈥檛 just mass shootings or school shootings, that鈥檚 about 1% of the gun violence in this country. It鈥檚 also domestic violence and gun suicide and community gun violence. 

You asked what鈥檚 happened since the law was passed. The fact that we have stepped up background checks through the FBI through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, 119 buyers under the age of 21 have been blocked from gun sales because they were deemed too dangerous to have access to guns. Prosecutions have increased for unlicensed gun sellers. There are new gun trafficking penalties that now have been used in at least 30 cases across the country. Millions of new dollars have flowed into mental health services for children in schools and into community violence intervention programs. 

President Biden said after the Nashville school shooting that he on the issue without Congress at this point. What is your response to this admission? 

I think that was a little more nuanced. I think he was basically saying that if we want holistic solutions for gun safety it really does have to be passed by Congress. I also want to be clear that the Biden-Harris administration has done more on this issue than any other administration in our nation鈥檚 history. 

Right now, the House is controlled by gun lobby lackeys. They鈥檙e not only opposed to passing good gun safety laws, they鈥檙e actually attacking federal law enforcement and they鈥檙e pushing gun extremists鈥� laws that would put us at risk. Just hours after the shooting in Nashville, a House committee scheduled a vote on legislation that would make it easier to buy really dangerous assault weapons that have arm braces. It鈥檚 the same device that the shooter in Tennessee had. 

So you know, I want to be clear that we鈥檙e making progress. If you鈥檇 asked me a year ago that we would have passed the first gun safety bill in 30 years that expanded background checks and funded state Red Flag laws and helps close what we call , I would not have believed you. 

So it is possible, and I think it鈥檚 inevitable, that our lawmakers at a federal level will eventually take action on this issue because their constituents are demanding it. There was a reason that Mitch McConnell whipped the votes on the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act and that鈥檚 because he saw polling that showed the Republican Party would be decimated if they did not act after Buffalo and Uvalde. That trend, especially when you see shootings like what just happened in Nashville, will only continue. 

We鈥檙e seeing more and more gunfire on school grounds in this country and we know why. It鈥檚 because there鈥檚 unfettered, easy access to guns.

The Nashville tragedy was carried out by a person who was reportedly transgender. As such, many Republican lawmakers and pundits have blamed the shooting on the suspect鈥檚 gender identity 鈥� rather than on guns. In what ways are you working to counter efforts to divert the focus from firearms to other social issues?

We see these same straw men after every single shooting tragedy in this country. Republicans always want to make it about anything but what data shows is causing our uniquely American crisis, which is easy access to guns. You know, other nations have mental illness, they have access to video games, they have divorced parents. 

The reason we have a 26-times higher gun homicide rate is that we give people easy access to guns. You know, the vast majority of mass shootings in this country have been by straight white men. And at no point have they said that that is a crisis, that we should really look at straight white men. It鈥檚 clear that that is just a way for them to divert attention because what they don鈥檛 want to talk about is the fact that too many guns and too few gun laws have given us the highest rate of gun homicides and suicides among all high-income countries. 

Gun politics have long been divisive and you鈥檝e found yourself the subject of sharp political critiques and, most alarmingly, death threats. There鈥檚 evidence of the country growing increasingly divided, and with that an uptick in political violence. In what ways have you experienced this change firsthand? 

When I started Moms Demand Action, I was sort of living in a bubble. I was a white suburban mom and I got off the sidelines because I was afraid my kids weren鈥檛 safe in their schools. Then when you come to this issue, what you realize is that it is much more complex and much more holistic than that. 

I was really shocked that we were having rallies and marches in those early days in Indiana and we were surrounded by men who were carrying loaded long guns in public. I was just shocked that that was legal. And in fact, open carry is legal in over 40 states in this country. To me it was a signal that something is very wrong. 

The more and more we pushed on gun extremists, the more they pushed back by behaving that way and we saw them starting to open carry in stores which is why we started corporate campaigns to change their gun policies. What we were starting to see were the seeds of gun extremism. They felt like a right not utilized and expressed in public was a right they didn鈥檛 have, and the NRA actually pushed back on this idea. In 2014 they came out and 鈥榙ownright weird,鈥�  and said it was not something that you do in normal society. And then just days later, they had to change their position because gun extremists in Texas were burning their NRA membership cards. 

Every state has its own version of the NRA but it鈥檚 often to the right of the NRA and much more extreme. When I lived in Colorado, they鈥檙e called the Rocky Mountain Gun Owners. They believe any gun law whatsoever is an infringement on the Second Amendment. So the NRA tends to be pulled to the right by these extremists. I mean, in 1999, the NRA opposed guns in schools and supported closing the background check loophole. And certainly that鈥檚 a far cry from where they are today. 

They鈥檝e lost control of their Frankenstein, and gun extremism is now this recruiting tool. It鈥檚 an organizing principle, it鈥檚 a fundraising tactic all for the right wing. I mean, guns excite the right-wing base about things that have nothing to do with guns. And so it is getting young white men through the door, it is radicalizing them, these groups often play in conspiracy theories. Again, some of those were originated and propagated by the NRA. 

The goal is to stoke fear, recruit new members and sell guns. Those fringe gun extremists that our volunteers were facing in those early days started showing up at state houses and anytime a statue was being removed and even threatening lawmakers and police officers and fellow citizens.

We鈥檝e tracked armed demonstrations since 2020 and found that they鈥檙e six times more likely to be violent or destructive than demonstrations where people are not armed. It seems pretty intuitive, but the data bears this out. 

So to answer your question: Yes, I think gun extremism is on the rise and is a very dangerous threat to democracy.

Tennessee Rep. Andy Ogles deleted a recent family Christmas card from social media after you criticized the photo, which featured the lawmaker and his family wielding guns. Republican lawmakers have faced similar criticism in recent years for posting similar family portraits. Why do you think it鈥檚 important to highlight these images? Are you concerned that the attention may ultimately play into their hands? 

I think it鈥檚 fascinating when these gun extremists back down, like deleting the photo. I think it鈥檚 really important to point out that this is the culture that鈥檚 killing us. 

This idea of unfettered access to guns and treating them like toys, like putting them in the hands of children. Both of my grandfathers were World War II veterans. They were responsible gun owners, they had the highest amount of respect for those guns and in a million years would not have posed with them like they were toys as opposed to tools meant to kill things. 

It鈥檚 really important that we shine a light. Sunlight is the best disinfectant and that鈥檚 certainly the case when it comes to gun extremism because people see this behavior. The vast majority of Americans 鈥� regardless of whether they鈥檙e gun owners or not, regardless of whether they鈥檙e Republicans or Democrats 鈥� they support common sense gun laws. And I think that seeing that kind of gun extremism is a turnoff to most Americans and they know that鈥檚 not who they want making our policies. 

You began your advocacy after the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012 with a Facebook group. What is it about grassroots, mom-led advocacy 鈥� based on the idea behind Mothers Against Drunk Driving 鈥� that makes it a particularly effective gun control advocacy approach? 

Bigger picture, women are the secret sauce to advocacy in this country and frankly, in the world. If you go back to when women were first allowed to be activists in America, which was Prohibition 鈥� they [men in power] could never really put that genie back in the bottle. Once women got off the sidelines, they wanted to use their voices on issues that they cared about. 

We are often given the task of caring for our families and our communities. All the way from Prohibition up to the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, it鈥檚 really been women and mothers forcing change in this country and using the power available to them. We are the majority of the voting population, we鈥檙e the majority of the population 鈥� period.  So when we use our voices and our votes, we can affect change. 

I often go back to something that feminist author Soraya Chemaly said. She wrote and she featured Moms Demand Action in there and she and I had a conversation about this and she said, 鈥榊ou know, 80% of the lawmakers in this country are men and men are inherently afraid of their mothers.鈥� 

The lawmakers in this country are either very, very excited to see us show up 鈥� hundreds or even thousands of us at a time in our red shirts 鈥� or they鈥檙e very, very afraid. So that can be a powerful coalition. 

Given your success in taking that Facebook group and turning your advocacy into the size of the organization that you did, I鈥檓 curious what lessons you learned about American politics and policymaking? What advice do you have for other mothers and other women who are working to inspire change in their own communities? 

I don鈥檛 think that men are as afraid to fail in public because that鈥檚 sort of seen as brave and courageous, where I think women feel like there鈥檚 blowback when they鈥檙e not perfect, or if they fail. 

If I had waited until I knew everything there was to know about gun violence or organizing, I still wouldn鈥檛 have started Moms Demand Action. I think it鈥檚 important to birth your ideas into the world. The very worst thing that can happen is that you fail and that you learn from that failure and you try something again. 

I had this great reverence for lawmakers before I started Moms Demand Action and I assumed they were very smart and committed and concerned and kind and unfortunately what you learn is that too many of them are not and they really don鈥檛 want to listen to what you have to say. But if you are an activist who is all of those things 鈥� concerned, committed, compassionate, curious 鈥� you would make a great lawmaker. I鈥檓 very proud of the fact that hundreds of our volunteers have decided to take a leap from not just shaping policy but to actually making it and running for office and winning. 

In this last electoral cycle, in November, 140 of our volunteers ran for office and won at all levels of government. We have volunteers who are now members of Congress. I think that鈥檚 a really important lesson, too, which is that women make great lawmakers. 

After more than a decade in this work, at the end of this year you plan to retire. What motivated that decision and what鈥檚 next for you?

I鈥檝e been a full-time volunteer, it鈥檒l be 11 years at the end of this year, and that鈥檚 a long time to do this work. But also, I鈥檝e asked myself that question because I think it鈥檚 important for a founder鈥檚 role to be finite. I never imagined I would spend the rest of my life doing this work. I鈥檓 so honored and so proud to have sort of lit the spark, but it really is up to other new and emerging leaders to keep that going. 

This movement needs to last into perpetuity and so, by stepping back, I think I enable other leaders to step forward. I鈥檒l still be a volunteer for Moms Demand Action, I鈥檒l just be doing it as a California Moms Demand Action volunteer. We have leaders who are ready to step up inside the organization and outside the organization, and I think that鈥檚 really exciting. 

As for me, for what鈥檚 next, I obviously will always care about this issue and it will be very important to me and I will use my voice in different ways. Something I鈥檓 really passionate about is empowering women in all different ways, but particularly running for office. 

I don鈥檛 have an answer for you on specifically what鈥檚 next. I will be with Moms Demand Action through the end of the year, I will certainly rest a little bit and I鈥檓 going to be teaching at USC starting in January and, other than that, I鈥檒l figure out what鈥檚 next when the time comes. 

Corey Wise, who served the district for 26 years in various capacities, was ousted during a special meeting Feb. 4 that barred public comment and came after the four members reportedly conferred on their own to strategize his removal. 

A day before, some 1,500 employees staged a sickout in protest of what was to come, forcing the state鈥檚 third-largest school district to close its doors.

鈥淧eople are out of sorts right now,鈥� teachers union President Kevin DiPasquale told 蜜桃影视. 鈥淭he way our former superintendent was fired without due process or any type of performance evaluation really has shaken the community and our staff. Employees feel like they could be next.鈥�

Students were equally upset, walking out of school en masse Feb. 7, saying the board valued politics more than education.

鈥淚 get that Corey is beloved,鈥� board President Mike Peterson said at the Feb. 4 meeting. 鈥淚 will stipulate that. But just because a leader is loved and respected doesn鈥檛 mean he has the skills, the vision and capabilities to lead this large district.鈥�

The battle in predominantly white, affluent Douglas County mirrors those being fought in , some with very different demographics. As conservative parents have become organized during the pandemic, they are pushing back against what they see as government overreach, opposing COVID-related protocols and targeting the teaching of race and gender-related topics.

Other are beginning to rise up to counter those views.

Board member Elizabeth Hanson, who broke down in tears defending Wise at the board meeting, said the eyes of the state and nation are on Douglas County.

鈥淭his decision was not about performance in any way,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his is politics in its ugliest and purest and most destructive form. This is an attack on public education and I hope that it is something that will wake up our community, our state and our country. There are very calculated efforts that are happening right now and only the people have the power to stop that.”

Many community members are now considering a possible recall effort. A similar, successful push in , in which three board members were removed last week, might serve as a playbook. The strategy seems to be gaining momentum: Ballotpedia, a nonprofit, nonpartisan online political encyclopedia counted , up from 29 a year earlier. 

Neither Peterson nor the three other newly elected board members agreed to be interviewed. The slate, backed by , won election running on an anti-mask, anti-critical race theory platform. The phrase refers to a college-level academic framework but has become a catchall for any subject dealing with race or systemic racism in the K-12 setting.

Wise鈥檚 critics on the board said he did not have the leadership skills necessary to enact their vision, though they didn鈥檛 articulate what that is. 

Wise, whose base salary was $247,500, told the board Feb. 4 that he recognized the division in the community and welcomed the chance to address members鈥� concerns about his performance. 

鈥淚 love this district,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 love this county. It’s been my home. I have been working my tail off 鈥� as has all the staff.鈥� 

Wise鈥檚 firing has prompted legal action from community member and attorney Robert Marshall. He for discussing the superintendent’s employment outside a formal board session in violation, he said, of the state鈥檚 open meeting laws. He wants the termination vote thrown out.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the behind-closed-doors deal-making that is exactly what this law was put in place to prevent,鈥� Marshall, a self-described conservative who wants to stop the board from acting similarly in the future, told 蜜桃影视.

Board members David Ray and Susan Meek said Peterson, the board president, told them that the majority members talked about Wise鈥檚 job status amongst themselves and offered the superintendent an opportunity to resign before bringing the issue to the full board. The district is obligated to pay Wise鈥檚 salary for 12 more months. 

Wise鈥檚 newly hired attorneys on Feb. 18 requested records from the school district and the preservation of evidence The lawyers are interested in board communications around Wise鈥檚 termination and topics such as masking, student racial demographics, banning books, the teachers union and the district鈥檚 equity policy. 

鈥楪et Out and Leave鈥�

The board majority has been openly anti-union 鈥� as the power grabbers,” conservative board member Kaylee Winegar told Fox News Feb. 7 鈥� and has pledged to revisit the equity plan, which took years to develop and was only just beginning to be implemented.

It was meant to help address the type of racial tension that led to the in recent years, including the former. and central office employees wrote a letter to the board Jan. 25 demanding the equity plan鈥檚 preservation. Parents are also concerned.

鈥淚 am a mom of some LGBTQ students and a student with special needs,鈥� Tiffany Baker said. 鈥淲e have to worry about equity.鈥�

The mood in Douglas County schools continued to deteriorate after the Feb. 4 board meeting. Teachers in at least three district schools found fliers on their cars Feb. 16, admonishing them. 鈥淢ost Teachers Are Good and We Appreciate Them!鈥� it read. 鈥淵ou are Bad! Get Out and Leave!鈥�

鈥淚t is shocking to see such high levels of hate being leveled at teachers and staff,鈥� DiPasquale, the union head, said. 鈥淭hey should not have to worry about their safety at schools or in our community.鈥�

The fliers came the same week teachers were informed by the district that someone asked, under the Colorado Open Records Act, for the names of all those who called in sick during the protest. The request, which alarmed many given the heightened tension in the community, has since been rescinded, Meek said.

A similar petition to release teachers鈥� names in Colorado鈥檚 second-largest school district was . That same district, Jefferson County, managed to members a year earlier.

Parents have also said the district should be more concerned with student mental health than political infighting: In addition to the pandemic, Douglas County schools suffered a at one of its charter campuses in 2019 that left one student dead and many more injured. Parents still credit teachers for saving their lives 鈥� one mother was visiting campus when shots rang out 鈥� and that of their children. 

鈥淏ullying, social-emotional struggles, safety 鈥� that鈥檚 what we should be focusing on,鈥� said parent Amy Valentine.

Kailani Smile, a 16-year-old junior, was among the students who walked off campus Feb. 7. The past two years have been an enormous challenge, she said: Turmoil at the administrative level has only added more stress. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 great to see students my age and younger pushing for things like the equity policy,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut we shouldn鈥檛 have to be dealing with this. We are students and should be focusing on our education instead of worrying about our school board.鈥�

鈥楾hings we could have handled better鈥�

The Douglas County School District serves 64,000 students some 30 miles south of Denver. It鈥檚 reliably Republican: the U.S. presidential race by a comfortable margin in 2020, though as the prior election.

The county, 90 percent white, is in the nation: The median home value between 2015 and 2019 was $468,700, . The same held true for and , which was $119,730.

But those comfortable statistics have not stopped the chaos that has unfurled in the past few weeks, crystallizing around the superintendent鈥檚 removal. Board member David Ray called the barring of public comment on the matter a travesty.

鈥淭o take an action on an all-encompassing topic like 鈥榝uture direction of the district鈥� without allowing the public to formally address this is reckless and negligent,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t goes against decades of practice where this board has always allowed for public comment prior to taking any formal action.”

Board member Winegar, while criticizing Wise for, among other things, enforcing the district鈥檚 mask mandate, seemed to concede the move to get rid of him took place outside normal channels.

鈥淢aybe there are some things we could have handled better, to bring in the whole board,鈥� she said. 

The conservative members鈥� plan was not flawlessly executed: Board member Becky Myers, who won election as part of the slate, at first voted against the superintendent鈥檚 dismissal and then hastily changed her answer to a 鈥測es鈥� after being prompted by Peterson, the board president.

The flip-flop incensed board member Hanson, who voted against Wise鈥檚 firing.

鈥淚f she cannot follow what is happening, it is not your responsibility to bring her up to speed,鈥� Hanson said. 鈥淗er vote is 鈥榥o.鈥欌��

Amid the board conflicts and the public protests, Peterson seemed to take his mandate to terminate Wise from a different source 鈥� the election that swept him and his fellow conservatives into office. 

鈥淚 think we heard the voters loud and clear in November,鈥� he said. 

Lead Image: Teachers and their supporters rally outside Douglas County School District鈥檚 central office Feb. 3, a day before Superintendent Corey Wise鈥檚 ouster. (Courtesy of Kevin DiPasquale)

It will take roughly six months before New York City schools can add remote learning options, Mayor Eric Adams told elected officials Wednesday morning.

The timeline, which effectively means no virtual instruction through the end of the 2021-22 academic year, represents a stark rejection of the concerns of students, parents and teachers worried for the safety of in-person learning as the Omicron variant continues to cause roughly 40,000 new COVID cases per day in the city. 

On Tuesday, thousands of students walked out of class, protesting what they said were unsafe conditions. In the first week of January, over two dozen city and state legislators signed a to Mayor Adams calling for a temporary pivot to remote learning through Jan. 18 to slow the spread of the virus.

Adams鈥檚 estimate that it will take about six months for city schools to include virtual options came during a call with officials responding to their request for a virtual option. 

New York state Sen. Jabari Brisport was on the call and is one of the officials who co-signed the letter. 

鈥淎t first, the talking point (from the mayor) was that they would get back to us later at a future meeting about the remote option,鈥� Brisport told 蜜桃影视. 鈥淣ear the end, when pressed again on a remote option, the pushback was that he wanted to do it the correct way and have as many stakeholders involved as possible, and make sure it works the best for students and teachers and that that process will probably take six months.鈥� 

Adams has repeatedly said that he does not want to close schools or revert to remote learning in face of the current upheaval, but has not said publicly before when a remote option might be viable.

When asked about his statements Wednesday, Adams鈥檚 spokesperson Amaris Cockfield told 蜜桃影视: 鈥淭oday the mayor held a private question-and-answer session with lawmakers to discuss existing plans to keep children and teachers safe and keep schools open. He鈥檚 committed to working together with lawmakers in pursuit of the best outcomes for students and staff.鈥�

Dora Chan, a senior at Brooklyn Technical High School and an organizer of Tuesday鈥檚 New York City student walkout, said the mayor鈥檚 stance feels 鈥渉ypocritical.” Adams cited wanting time to engage with stakeholders, she said, but in her mind, the stakeholders have clearly spoken: the students by walking out this week and the teachers by rallying for a temporary remote option.

鈥淲e can’t wait six months. Six months is going to be in June,鈥� added Samantha Farrow, another walkout organizer and Stuyvesant High School junior. 鈥淭he mayor should be more empathetic and should be more timely with these decisions because what’s happening right now is happening right now.鈥�

Studies have generally shown that remote learning has led to compared to in-person instruction. Numerous political leaders have maintained their emphasis on keeping schools open for in-person learning, including President Joe Biden, who announced Wednesday that his administration was sending millions of COVID-19 tests to schools to weather the Omicron surge.

Chan and Farrow acknowledged the flaws of virtual learning, but argue that, temporarily, it鈥檚 the only safe choice.

鈥淲hen people 鈥� say remote learning is bad, I totally agree. I鈥檝e been through it,鈥� said Chan, who spent her entire junior year online. 鈥淏ut we鈥檝e reached that point where it’s absolutely necessary to go back to [virtual instruction]. Obviously, we’re hoping that this is just for a bit until we get these COVID cases under control.鈥�

This month, the high schooler said she’s stayed home from school because she lives with her grandparents and does not want to bring COVID home.

Farrow has returned to classrooms, but said the lax virus protocols worry her. Recently, her desk-mate in French class left halfway through the school day after learning their COVID test had come back positive. Farrow only found out about the exposure, she said, because that student texted her directly. On Monday, she said six separate friends told her that they were positive for COVID.

A spokesperson for the New York City Department of Education declined to comment on Adams鈥檚 position, telling 蜜桃影视 that they prefer the mayor鈥檚 press office explain his remarks.

Brisport, himself a former math teacher in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, said he supports Adams鈥檚 vision for community input into how best to structure remote learning. But he doesn鈥檛 think that plan needs to be mutually exclusive with an immediate, temporary virtual shift.

鈥淚 think this is an area where we can’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 would support having an imperfect remote option now, and then having this really well thought-out one in six months.鈥�

In the first week back from holiday break in the nation鈥檚 largest school district, the daily attendance rate never topped . On Monday, rates rebounded slightly to 76 percent, but a large share of students remained absent, indicating widespread hesitation over safety conditions.

鈥淎 temporary remote option needs to be available to parents while infections continue to rise,鈥� State Sen. Jessica Ramos wrote in a Jan. 6 explaining her letter to the Adams administration calling for temporary virtual learning. 鈥淐hildren are a critical unvaccinated population & families need to be able to make choices without fear of truancy.鈥�

鈥淧eople are coming to school positive,鈥� said one student, explaining their COVID fears.

Students who walked out of class Tuesday that they were given mandatory detention for their choice to protest.

鈥淎s a former teacher,鈥� Brisport said, 鈥渋f all my students walked out of my classroom citing safety concerns, then I would take that to heart and see if there was something I could do differently as opposed to doubling down, which is not what we’re seeing from the current administration.”

鈥淚 think the school experience is gone. People aren’t even showing up.鈥�

鈥淚 avoid the cafeteria now.鈥�

NYC students explain why they walked out of class.

Thousands of students from more than 29 New York City public schools abandoned their classes Tuesday walking out into frigid weather, demanding a remote learning option as Omicron surges and they feel unsafe at school.

As COVID cases rise and attendance remains unpredictable, New York City parents, students and teachers uncomfortable with in-person learning took to social media.

From coast to coast, Oakland and Boston students will soon stage their own walkouts.

One student鈥檚 reddit post last week described being in school as 鈥渂eyond control,鈥� detailing a day of absent teachers and 鈥渇unctionally no learning.鈥� Study halls became 鈥渟uperspreader events.鈥� Bathrooms were full of students taking COVID tests. 

Teachers abandoned their classes when notified they had tested positive. Skipping class became 鈥渞idiculously easy,鈥� the student wrote.

An anonymous student that their parents are forcing her to go to school despite testing positive for COVID.

Despite last week鈥檚 low attendance and 2022 first major snowstorm, Mayor Eric Adams has consistently opposed closing schools or offering a remote learning option.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 have any more days to waste and the long-term impact of leaving our children home is going to impact us for years to come,鈥� Adams said, stressing schools are 鈥渟anctuaries.鈥� 

Students left the conditions they called unsafe in hopes of garnering attention from 鈥減olicy-makers that can help close down schools temporarily,鈥� organizers said in .

Cruz Warshaw, a Stuyvesant High School Junior behind the walkout, charged it was 鈥渋gnorant and inconsiderate to put people鈥檚 lives at risk for without reason.鈥� 

Three more juniors and seniors from Brooklyn Technical and Stuyvesant High Schools created social media accounts to share walkout plans and information on what they鈥檙e asking for 鈥� and why: 

Before long, students from more than two dozen of the city鈥檚 schools said they would join in. The plan: Leave school at 11:52 a.m. 鈥� right before sixth period, around lunchtime for many 鈥� and head straight home. 

Right on time and one after the other, Brooklyn Technical High School students did just that.

By lunchtime, the cafeteria in New York鈥檚 largest school 鈥� by enrollment 鈥� looked like this:

Their exit was met with backlash, accusations they simply wanted the day off 鈥� and that they were probably all going to hang out. 

This Brooklyn student insisted that wasn鈥檛 the case:

However, some participants faced more than online anger. A redacted email from a Brooklyn school official threatened students with mandatory detentions upon their return.

鈥淭here are so many people sick and our mayor is not doing enough to protect us 鈥� We want the choice to keep our bodies safe,鈥� Felicia, a junior at Bronx High School of Science told The Riverdale Press reporter Sarah Belle Lin during Tuesday鈥檚 walkout.

Some of the city鈥檚 youngest learners, alongside parents, also joined the .

Many students and parents disagree with offering a remote option and point to its shortcomings, including that . 

While attendance is , it is up 9 percent . 

A few hours after the walkout, New York Schools Chancellor David Banks responded to the protests, asking student leaders to meet with him to work together for safe and open schools.