BUFFALO, N.Y. — Duncan Kirkwood understands the struggle parents and students faced not being in the classroom five days a week.
"A lot of our children need in-person instruction but there were some children that excelled with remote instruction," Kirkwood said.
His oldest daughter -- who attends a Buffalo charter school -- is one of them.
"She is accelerating to the point where I and my wife are having conversations about do we try to skip her a grade," Kirkwood said.
He's seen the impact on his own children.
Now he's advocating for Buffalo Public Schools to allow parents to choose how their kids learn in the upcoming school year.
That's whether their kids are in the classroom five days a week or learning remotely.
Kirkwood, a parent advocate with We the Parents, is doing it with several groups including the Urban-Think Tank, the New York Equity Coalition, the District Parent Coordinating Council, and many more.
"Every single parent who says 'my kids need a remote option' is right for whatever reason it might be and we know there's a host of reasons," said Wendy Mistretta, president of NYEC.
According to the New York State Education Department, BPS scored a one in preparing its children beyond life after high school during the 2018-2019 school year.
That's the lowest a district can score.
It's also why these organizations are worried about BPS not having after-school programs in their return plan.
"That's a huge concern for us. The district is using an accelerated model to be able to catch our kids up. Core to an accelerated model is additional seat time in after school or Saturday school, but we're going to start out without an after-school program," said Sam Redford, with the New York Equity Coalition.
2 On Your Side's Danielle Church reached out to BPS about all of this.
A spokesperson said, "Dr. Cash's correspondence from August 9th clearly states that plans may be amended per the state of the pandemic and our Medical Advisory Teams recommendations."
When asked if any plans will be amended before the first day of school, they reiterated, "Plans can always change per our medical advisory team based on the state of the pandemic."