Teachers at Oakland’s Frick Academy Hold Sickout Due to COVID-19 Outbreak

OAKLAND (CBS SF/BCN) – After a breakout of COVID-19 cases at Frick United Academy of Language in Oakland, most teachers, support staff and administrators called in sick Wednesday and Thursday to protect others from the virus, a teacher at the school said.

The school has had 22 cases of COVID-19 since the school reopened after winter break while 25% to 75% of students have been absent from each class, according to organizers. Yet, officials with the Oakland Unified School District have not quarantined the school, prompting teachers and staff to act.

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“Like schools across the district, Frick is in crisis due to the devastating effects of the omicron variant and the negligence of Oakland Unified School District,” Frick teacher Ella Every-Wortman said in a press release. “We do not take this action lightly. We take this action in solidarity with OUSD students who have called upon their teachers to join them in fighting for the safety of our schools.”

The teachers and staff are demanding:

1. N95 masks for all students and staff
2. Weekly PCR testing for all students and staff
3. Mandatory school-wide quarantine when we have three or more positive COVID cases
   on campus in a two-week time period
4. Vaccine clinic at Frick United before 1/31/22 to improve vaccine access for our
   community
5. An emergency plan for teacher/staff absent

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School is out Friday, so the two-day “sickout” will provide a five-day quarantine period before classes resume Tuesday after the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday Monday.

Oakland Unified School District officials did not immediately respond to a request for a comment.

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