We recognize the teachers, administrators, and volunteer board members of the Lafayette School District for their dedication, hard work, and commitment to our students through the unprecedented COVID crisis.

We recognize the difficulty that COVID-19 has presented for our schools. We first saw teachers working through their spring break to prepare for the disruption caused by the necessity of closing schools down in the spring. We saw those same teachers work tirelessly to try and create a meaningful education experience remotely for our students. We saw administrators work over the summer, bringing in experts in not just educations but public health to evaluate the options available in excruciating detail, and create spaces for parents to be heard.

Again, we have seen our teachers work tirelessly to redesign the online experience, and work harder than ever (and teachers work HARD) to create the best online learning experience they can deliver this fall.

We believe that the problems facing our schools are wicked problems that are not solved easily or alone. Our administrators face tremendous pressure to re-open schools, even as they are doing the best they can to balance competing pressures. We believe they deserve our gratitude and thanks for their service in this difficult time, and our trust that they are making the best decisions they can in the interests of our students, their education, their physical and mental well-being, and the public safety of our community as a whole.