September 30, 2020

Dear Walled Lake Consolidated School Board Members,

The purpose of this petition is to send our children to school utilizing the traditional classroom setting, on a full-time basis. On August 4, 2020, the Walled Lake School District Board of Education voted to implement on-line learning for all students through October 30, 2020, at which point, the Board committed to re-evaluate the virtual learning agenda and begin plans to re-establish in person school.

In the coming weeks, movie theaters, bowling alleys, trampoline parks, indoor climbing gyms and other businesses will re-open, with social distancing expectations. This is great news and reflects the steady decline of Michigan’s Covid-19 cases. Now it is time for our schools!

The on-line mode of instruction is robbing our children of effective learning and vital social interactions with their peers. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, “…children get more than academics at school. They also learn social and emotional skills at school, get healthy meals and exercise, mental health support and other services that cannot be easily replicated online.” Michigan has recently approved student’s participation in sports and other extra-curricular activities that had previously been banned in response to Covid-19. Therefore, the message currently being sent to our children is that extra-curricular activities and sports are more important than in-person learning. Moreover, the risk to our children’s mental health due to their continued isolation will most certainly be measurable.

Lastly, on-line learning is not as productive as in person learning. Considering that our neighboring districts have returned to face-to-face classes coupled with the low Covid-19 numbers in the WLCSD area, it is time to return our students to their schools and classrooms. The following are the expectations of parents and tax payers in the Walled Lake School District:

· Full time, 5 days per week, face-to-face learning implemented by November 2, 2020; not a hybrid model

· Provide the My Path option for parents that choose to continue virtual learning

· Provide weekly updates from the Superintendent’s office or Board of Education regarding the timing and implementation of the face to face plan, including dates certain for each occurrence

· Conduct and consider parent survey responses regarding changes to student learning plans

We respect and thank our teachers and staff for all they have done to educate our children during this unprecedented time – they are the backbone that makes WLCSD thrive. We know the teachers miss our kids and our kids miss them! Let’s get our children back to class! Thank you!