John,
Despite the advice and concerns of health care professionals, scientists, doctors, school nurses, and parents — Trump is pushing for the full reopening of schools.
I’m a mom of a first grader and it’s terrifying to think of my son returning to a school building that could put his health at risk. And I know I’m not the only parent who’s worried watching this nightmare unfold in our schools.
We’re already hearing lots of troubling stories — outbreaks of COVID-19 in classrooms, school nurses without any support or PPE to protect themselves, and teachers torn between protecting their family’s health and doing their job.
We must come together to fight for the safety of students, teachers, and school personnel. But before we devise a plan to pressure Congress to take action, we want to hear your thoughts and any personal experiences you have related to school reopening.
It’s clear that Trump’s motivation to reopen schools in the middle of a deadly pandemic is all part of his personal agenda to pretend that coronavirus is not a problem in our country. His administration even threatened to cut off funding for schools that choose not to reopen this fall. We see right through this act and we refuse to be silent as he endangers our children’s lives as a part of his political games.
Students and staff are starting to speak out about the real dangers they face right now being forced to return to in-person classes without proper protections or safeguards in place.
Two Georgia high school students say they were suspended after they posted this photo of crowded hallways from their school.
Others are sharing examples of the lack of resources schools have to provide protection in classrooms:
We also just heard that a school where Vice President Pence visited to show his support for their choice to reopen, has already been forced to quarantine because a student became infected.
All of these examples point to the fact that it’s not enough to say “reopen schools” — we need protections, resources, and a plan to make school reopenings safe.
I won’t stop fighting until my son and all of our children are safe.
For our children,
Tabitha