Cathey Graves Shares Her Rally Remarks With Manhattan Beach

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA — Manhattan Beach Unified School District Board member elect Cathey Graves was set to speak at the "Rally for the SAFE Opening of Schools and Sports Activities" but a family situation prevented her from delivering her remarks in person.

The "peaceful protest", as organizer Vince Vaughn described it to the Manhattan Beach City Council last night during public comment, is set for 4 p.m. today [Wednesday, Nov.. 18] in front of the Manhattan Beach Historical Society Museum in Polliwog Park.

Graves shared her remarks for the rally with Manhattan Beach Patch. Here they are:

"Hi friends,
We are making a difference. Your voice has already increased communication and encouraged
action from our community leaders. I am honored to have been given the opportunity to address
this group. I support your goal of reopening our schools safely for our students and teachers. Please wear your masks and socially distance so that we keep the focus on this goal. Let your voice be heard without distraction.

I am here to address the devastating effect that the prolonged closure of our schools has had on
our children. I am the Co-VP of Health and Wellness at Mira Costa and have seen how our kids
are suffering. In mid-December I will be a new member of the MB School Board. I intend to
carry your message with me as I take on this position: that we must do everything in our power
to restore normalcy to the lives of our children. For the sake of their physical health. And for the
sake of their mental health.

Each year, our 7th, 9th and 11th graders take the California Healthy Kids survey. The survey helps
MBUSD assess health risks and behaviors, school connectedness, and protective factors. In the
most recent survey, 44% of our 11th graders reported chronic sadness or hopeless feelings in the
last 12 months. 20% of our 11th graders reported that they had seriously considered suicide. And
that was before COVID!

Two weeks ago, our Student School Board representatives sent out their own survey to assess the
effects of COVID on their classmates. Based on results we have to date, 63% of students
reported that they experienced more prolonged periods of sadness than before the pandemic.
78% of students reported that their level of stress/anxiety was worse than before the pandemic.
Our 9th and 11th graders took the Healthy Kids survey today at school. I anticipate it will show
similar results.

The CDC recognizes that in school, students are able to access support systems needed to
recognize and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, appreciate others’ perspectives,
and make responsible decisions. This helps reinforce children’s feelings of school
connectedness, or their belief that teachers and other adults at school care about them and their
well-being. Such routine in-person contacts provide opportunities to facilitate social-emotional
development that are difficult, if not impossible, to replicate through distance learning.
At Mira Costa, we are doing our best to connect students to school, even while we are in a
distance learning environment. Junior and Senior Link Crew mentors are assigned to every
freshman. These amazing upperclassmen orient the 9th graders to Mira Costa, meet with them
once a month to answer questions and are always available to answer questions and support our
newest Mustangs. This happens during in person school and is continuing on Zoom.
Students, working with assistant principals Daniel Pestle and Jessica Bledsoe, are creating
content for Wellness Wednesdays. Every student at Costa is assigned to a Social Emotional
Learning class where they have an opportunity to discuss issues of importance to them during
class on Wednesdays. To date, students have discussed student advocacy, civic responsibility
(centered around the elections) and what students should know about opioids in the South Bay.

We are fortunate as a district to be supported by Beach Cities Health District and South Bay
Families Connected. If you haven’t, I would encourage you to google these organizations. They
both have amazing resources for youth and families suffering from depression, anxiety,
substance abuse, resiliency and dealing with the pandemic. Beach Cities Health District, within
the last 2 weeks, spent nearly $10,000 to purchase additional resources for the district to support
Social Emotional Learning for our youth and we will be incorporating those resources into the
Wellness Wednesday curriculum.

Clubs are continuing to connect Costa students. All clubs are meeting through Zoom platforms.
The Cyber Security Club is actively competing. The Sports Analytics Club has three times as
many members as in the past. Link Crew leaders have suggested to all their freshmen that they
join at least 3 clubs. This is keeping our students connected.

And importantly, athletics are up and running, following County guidelines. Nearly 75% of
Costa students play a sport and this provides an important way to connect our students to
campus. Most of our teams are gathering, with strict protocols in place, including daily health
screenings, temperature checks and kids meeting in cohorts. It is not perfect, but it gives the kids
a chance to be together and connect.

Is it enough? No, it isn’t. We looked at the recent survey data and we know despite all of these
efforts to connect our kids to campus; it is not enough. Kids miss their friends. They miss the
light-heartened fun at lunch. They miss seeing friends as they change classes. They miss the
traditions of homecoming and class challenges. We cannot replicate these experiences on Zoom.
The best solution is for our kids to return to in person school. I am excited about our special
needs and TK-2 children returning to campus and applaud our School Board and Superintendent
for making that happen. Please continue your efforts to get all of our children back to school.
Make responsible decisions. And encourage your kids to do the same. We need to demonstrate to
community and school leaders that we can create a safe environment for our students and
teachers. Make your voice be heard."