Back to School Aug 2020

Hand washing is essential Learning in normalcy is essential Daily routine and structure is essential We have school children how to survive this pandemic not by making them stay indoors but by modelling the right way to wear masks, hand washing and social distancing and how to incorporate these into the new norm It is essential to talk about the science behind the vaccines and why how to keep healthy Parochial schools are not like public schools. Each kid will not be handed a chrome book or lap top or have the ability to stream live classes as simply we don’t have the same kind of funding We talk about a community. Let this catholic community teach them that Jesus is in charge and how we can be responsible by going to school, following the rules and learn together

Our kids need to be back to school!

Kids need something back to normal even if they have to wear a mask the routine of learning is essential.

Thanks so much for signing everyone!! Feel free to send it along to anyone you'd like - Kathleen Mosier and I tried to send it to as many people as we could :)

When the president of the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends returning I think we should listen. Yes option for virtual or e-learning should be available but full time in-class learning should be the primary option

This is such a disheartening statement to read as a teacher. Your biases are clear as you pick and choose narrow (at times outdated) statistics to support your position. Your first link is from the end of June weekly statement from the CDC, when infection rates were significantly lower. At that point, the SJCHD recommendations would say we could be in person. You also state that you take COVID seriously, then you repeatedly compare it to the seasonal flu, which has a much lower fatality rate, not to mention other the severe complications from COVID. How can you compare overall flu infection numbers with COVID, when kids haven’t been in school during COVID? How many signees here are local teachers? Are you willing to teach in a non-well ventilated school building with a full class? Your last point states we don’t have a cited case of student to teacher transmission - but what country has opened schools with an infection rate approaching ours? Our curve has not been flattened. We all want a safe return to school, but the current community rate of infection is too high for that to be possible. For those of you in disagreement, I sure hope you have signed on to be a substitute teacher when a teacher has to quarantine without additional sick days from the diocese.

As a physician MD, I support these these truths that have been ignored and even grossly distorted by the media and agenda-driven public officials and career politicians. Please instill some common sense and sanity back into our thoughtful decision making.

With a safe option I prefer the kids are back in live school

Catholic schools have a greater duty (than public schools) to parents and children to have in person schooling. The Catholic education value proposition is different than the public education and therefore we should not feel compelled to follow the public systems’ policies on educating during covid. Add the fact that the educational experience for students and families last spring was a miserable failure that we should not have to endure again.

Our kids need school for education and socialization!

There are many values to consider and being so risk averse and weighted toward safety is an imbalance! We need to have community, social interaction and some normalcy for our children’s spiritual and mental well-being. We must not be ruled by fear but free to live and live with faith!

As a healthcare professional I have spoken to many fellow providers who think it’s absolutely essential for school to happen in person. It’s needed for immunity and the developmental risk to children is far too great.

Kids need to get back to school!

100% for in person learning!

As a healthcare provider in the community I can tell you that the healthcare community feels strongly that children should return to in person school. This is vital to their educational and social development. Even those physicians and nurses directly caring for people with Covid in the hospitals and nursing homes locally feel that the way this is being handled is ruining peoples lives and we should be returning to normalcy. Unfortunately, bureaucrats and politicians are making healthcare decisions for us.

Agree whole heartedly - they must be in school - extremely disappointing fall sports were cancelled/postponed

I do not believe the reasons that the public schools have postponed opening apply with any force to the Catholic schools, and I’m very concerned about the short- and long-term effects of more elearning on our students.

The children need to go back to school! The chance of them having an adverse reaction to covid 19 is minimal!

#backtoschool

The kids must go back. They will be fine. The teachers will be protected.