Vice President Pence visits AZ, talks about reopening classrooms

TUCSON, Ariz. (KOLD News 13) - On Tuesday, Aug. 11, Vice President Mike Pence visited Arizona to talk about the reopening of classrooms.

“President Trump and I believe, and the CDC believes, that distance learning is no replacement for having kids back in the classroom- as soon as we can safely and responsibly do that,” said Pence.

That push continues as school districts like TUSD, Ajo and Amphi take off the first week of the new school year, virtually- something the Vice President says isn’t the best option as the year continues.

“Look, we want to be respectful of the decisions that are made at the state and at the local level,” said Pence. “Arizona has been through a lot, particularly over the last six weeks. We’ve provided resources and are prepared to provide billions of dollars of more support for states, but we believe safely reopening our schools is in the best interest of our kids.”

That, with the number of new cases and the rate of positive tests coming down- he says [those steps in the right direction for health] are also a good sign for education.

“We believe with very few exceptions- and there will be some, but for most of our school system we really believe the best place for our kids is back in the classroom,” he said.

Pima County has yet to meet 3 benchmark guidelines for learning during COVID-19 which were released by state leaders on getting classrooms back open. Vice President Pence seems optimistic.

To review the COVID-19 benchmarks set to allow kids back into classrooms during COVID-19, click [HERE].

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