Community Statement on Equitable & Safe Schooling Options During the COVID-19 Surge
January 7, 2022
Photo by Allison Shelley for EDUimages
As organizations that serve students and families, we continue to strongly believe that there is not a “one size fits all” approach to education during COVID-19 that will serve ALL students safely and equitably. Presently, we are alarmed by the unprecedented number of COVID-19 cases being reported and increasing daily. Thus, it is important to reiterate and underscore the commitments we believe are necessary in these difficult times.
We cannot talk about equitable and safe schools without addressing the challenges that a “one size fits all” approach presents for students with disabilities, multilingual students, and working parents. A real equitable approach to providing a free and appropriate education to students must include BOTH in-person learning for special needs populations and children whose families require in-person schooling for childcare and other services AND robust distance learning option supports for families who want to be engaged in the school community but are not confident in the health and safety conditions of the schools to send their children for in-person schooling. ALL options must be expressly anti-racist and oriented first toward the health and humanity of young people, their families, educators, school-based staff and our communities.
“Presently, we are alarmed by the unprecedented number of COVID-19 cases being reported and increasing daily. Thus, it is important to reiterate and underscore the commitments we believe are necessary in these difficult times.”
While we understand that in-person learning is best for many students, the health and safety of our school communities take precedence. Therefore, we acknowledge that our state and local leaders could be forced to transition to distance learning to protect the safety and wellness of our students, families, school based staff and communities.
Parents and district staff should not be judged or shamed for the complex and difficult choices they make for themselves and their families. It doesn’t matter what the choice is, in the end, every family situation is different and all of us are faced with impossible options, whether you are a student, parent, caregiver, teacher, or other district staff. We must collectively support people with resources and accessible opportunities to make decisions that promote public health and safety.
Public Health & Safety Measures for Schools During COVID-19 Pandemic
In-person and distance learning must be made accessible to students and families, and strictly adhere to public health and safety guidelines that protect students, teachers, administrators, and all school staff as much as possible from exposure to coronavirus. As concerned community members and adult allies we support the demands made by our youth who are directly affected. At the very least, these safety measures include:
Photo by Allison Shelley for EDUimages
High quality distance learning options for students and families who need it
Youth demands for how best to accomplish this include:
Creating a set curriculum that ensures students are ACTUALLY being aided and supported during distance learning
Project-based assessments instead of tests where possible, when tests are administered they should be take home assessments
At the secondary level, delaying midterms until they can be authentically conducted as project-based and take home assessments
Provide Pass/Fail for course credit as long as the pandemic continues to interrupt academic learning
Accessible and weekly mandatory in-school testing for all students and school-based staff
Consistently enforced health and safety protocols including masking in schools and limiting class size to enable and maintain physical distancing
Provision of high-quality masks such as verified KN95s or KF94s and free at-home testing kits to students, families, and school-based staff
Maintaining clear guidelines regarding the quarantine and contact tracing processes for students and staff
Clear, consistent and linguistically responsive communication to students, families and school-based staff
Youth demands for how best to accomplish this include:
Provide more information on vaccines and vaccine clinics and have sufficient free testing kits/sites available to students, families and school-based staff
Communicate in multiple formats and languages to support youth, families, and school-based staff to practice effective mask wearing, frequent hand washing and sanitizing, and other public health and safety measures that mitigate the spread of COVID-19
Regularly survey youth, families, and school-based staff to learn more about how schools and local and state government can better support them
Upgraded ventilation and/or air filtration systems
We face unique challenges as a society in these times. We must rise to these challenges by reimagining our schools, social services, and systems overall. As we support young people to learn, we must also cultivate a world in which they will grow to lead. We owe them nothing less than the thoughtful intention we hope to have conveyed here. We call upon Governor McKee, other elected leaders, and public officials to work together with communities to do what is right and necessary.
Photo by Allison Shelley for EDUimages