More than 70 Turlock Unified School District students participated in a “sit-in” outside of the district office on Wednesday morning, accessing distance learning via their Chromebooks while protesting continued school closures and the proposed reopening plan for secondary students. Participating parents and students are calling for five days per week of in-person learning, according to Kristin Patterson, who is a moderator of the Facebook page Reopen All Turlock Schools.

“The idea is to show the district that kids want to be in school to learn. There is no substitute for in-person education and the loss our children have experienced, both academically and socially, is massive,” Patterson said.