Alison B
Members of the School Board,
I am writing to encourage the school board to vote to allow the students to get back to in-person learning. While it would be ideal to vaccinate all of the teachers and staff before students return, I do not think it is realistic. Many people have had to work throughout this pandemic prior to being vaccinated. Additionally, multiple studies stated by the CDC have shown that the spread in schools is much less than in the community the school resides. In a school board meeting last fall, Dr. Steinhaus stated that LAPS already had their hybrid plan approved by NM State before anyone had been vaccinated.
Our kids are suffering. Their parents are suffering. Online school is not really school. The high school schedule is only four half days with no instruction at all on Wednesdays. Our kids need social interaction and they need to be playing sports and engaging in extracurricular activities. We can do these things safely. I am really concerned about the mental health of our kids from everything that we have been doing for the last year. I am afraid we will be realizing the negative impacts of this social isolation for years to come. Many friends in other states have kids back in school either in hybrid or full-time and have been playing sports safely. We have to put our kids first. This decision has to be about the students.
Sincerely,
Alison Bailey