As Health and Wellness Professionals, as well as concerned parents and caregivers of children at Mountain Phoenix Community School, we have grave concerns about the damaging physical and mental health impacts of the prevailing COVID-19 policies and recommend an approach we call Focused Protection.

As immunity builds in the population, the risk of infection to all – including the vulnerable – falls. We know that all populations will eventually reach herd immunity – the point at which the rate of new infections is stable – and that this is not dependent upon a vaccine. Our goal should, therefore, be to minimize mortality and social harm until we reach herd immunity.

The most compassionate approach that balances the risks and benefits of reaching herd immunity is allowing those at minimal risk of death to normally live their lives to build up immunity to the virus through natural infection.

Current MPCS policies are producing devastating effects on our community. The results (to name a few) are little to no education, decreased income for families that need to stay home with kids instead of working, giving our kids a fear-based mindset, and a lack of Waldorf in vision and execution. Keeping students out of school is a grave injustice.

How is it that MPCS chooses to follow Jeffco Public Health on some recommendations but not all recommendations? For example, MPCS chooses to implement mask-wearing, social distancing, and special procedures; however, they choose not to follow the Re-Start Jeffco plan, where ALL kids through 5th grade are going to school in-person full time if they choose.

Also, have the leaders at MPCS looked up the science on mask-wearing, or are they just following what others are doing? The science shows that masks are not effective in the spread of disease. We know that the coronavirus particle size is so small that masks do not block it. In addition, if one looks at OSHA’s website, the organization that developed the rules and regulations for mask-wearing, one will find that mask-wearing is actually dangerous in healthy individuals. By wearing masks, we are decreasing our oxygen by up to 20% and increasing the carbon dioxide we breathe, which, according to OSHA, leads to things like headaches, loss of attention, and more. This is not a good state of being when trying to learn. Besides, we are re-breathing the germs left on our masks that happens every time one breathes out.
Lastly, it is very troubling that the leadership of MPCS seems to have lost the Waldorf way. To quote Rudolf Steiner, “Our highest endeavor must be to develop free human beings who are able of themselves to impart purpose and direction to their lives. The need for imagination, a sense of truth, and a feeling of responsibility- these three forces are the very nerve of education.”

This petition requests that the administration and governing council of MPCS:

• Try to preserve the Waldorf philosophy better and follow the Re-Start Jeffco plan. This includes 100% in-person learning for students in grades PreK-5.

• This also includes following the OSHA guidelines on mask-wearing that say prolonged mask use is not healthy. “…surgical masks have been recommended by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as a last resort, when no National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) approved respirator is available. Using surgical masks as a form of personal protective equipment (PPE) may lead to adverse health effects.”(1) According to OSHA regulation 1910.134(e)(1), “The employer (MPCS) shall provide a medical evaluation to determine the employee’s (kids and staff) ability to use a respirator, before the employee is fit tested or required to use the respirator in the workplace.” This needs to be evaluated at the school.

We urge those in charge at MPCS to check their dedication to these kids’ education. Consider health circumstances from ALL the data, as well as things like education, fresh air/oxygen and carbon dioxide levels, mental/emotional health, and how your decisions are affecting these things and our children.

Thank you.

1. Sanchez, Erin, "Filtration Efficiency of Surgical Masks" (2010). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/1760