Olympic Times

Eastern Washington Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-05), has been advocating for the resumption of in-person learning.

She has shared her constituents’ experiences, saying that children doing remote learning have been greatly impacted by the situation — either in learning or in mental health issues.

In a conference, the congresswoman said that one of her constituents said that “virtual school is nothing like homeschool.”

“Her daughter is in hybrid learning,” McMorris Rodgers continued. “She’s falling behind. “Shannon coaches young athletes, too. She told me that young people in our state have been neglected. They’ve been ignored. They’re told that they’re not important. Her daughter’s friend tried to end her life.”

McMorris Rodgers has also joined other members of Congress in a letter to President Biden urging the president to keep his “pledge to follow science on COVID-19 and encourage state and local leaders to reopen schools across the United States.”

Teachers' unions in various states have been opposing going back to school.

In one of her recent tweets, McMorris Rodgers shared a Fox News report that Berkeley Federation of Teachers president Matt Meyer was seen dropping his 2-year-old daughter off for in-person instruction at a private pre-school.

“How do you explain this?” the congresswoman said. “Closures are having devastating impacts on our children. We MUST open our schools for EVERY child.”

McMorris Rodgers has also voiced disappointment with Washington Gov. Jay Inslee's decision to halt the vaccination of the next group of essential workers: school teachers.