Rally for a Safe Return to School, Petition to Gov. Raimondo

This petition will be delivered to the Governor on Friday 8.14 at 3pm in front of the RI State House.

“We are concerned parents, school employees and community stakeholders who are part of R.I. Parents / Educators for Safe Schools, a Facebook group with more than 15,000 members, and we are uncomfortable with the state’s push to reopen schools for in-person learning on Aug. 31. We believe that it is currently not possible to safely open schools for in-person learning, especially in districts with high infection rates and insufficient resources to implement equitable safeguards if forced to return.

Research suggests that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, is spread via airborne microdroplets (1) that travel much farther than 3 to 6 feet; that most children transmit the virus just as easily as, if not more easily than, adults (2); and that even asymptomatic children can suffer lung damage (3). There has been a 40% increase in childhood cases of Covid-19 nationally during the past two weeks of July (4), and there is still a lot to learn about the virus and children. These considerations demand that we pump the brakes on an in-person return to school for Fall. It is not okay to force Rhode Island students, families and school staff to participate in the dangerous experiment of reopening schools.

Additionally, across Rhode Island, we know that school buildings are in disrepair and lack the ventilation necessary to keep school communities safe; that few if any districts have the time and resources to upgrade ventilation systems; that “stable pods” will be destabilized by busing and extra-scholastic activities; and that there is currently no statewide standard for detecting and quarantining positive cases and their contacts.

We know that our most vulnerable school districts will return to school with the highest degree of risk. Our state says it cares about equity, but we’re on a path that will send students in communities with the highest infection rates back into dangerous learning conditions without clearly delineated, fully funded statewide safety mandates.

Based on these observations, we don’t believe reopening schools for in-person learning on Aug. 31 is safe or prudent.

We acknowledge that distance learning has many obstacles to be overcome, that it is no match for pre-Covid in-person, face-to-face learning, and that it presents serious challenges for people who rely on school for childcare and other services, but we insist that the state find a way to address these issues without sending everyone back to school. We acknowledge that distance learning is not ideal for academic progress and mental health, but fervently believe that the risks to physical and mental health involved with returning to in-person learning while Covid-19 still rages is infinitely worse.

Even in light of those hardships and obstacles, we hold it as an inarguable truth that Rhode Island is not ready to reopen school buildings for in-person learning on Aug. 31.

The co-signers of this petition ask for the following to support a safe reopening of schools for Rhode Island students, families and school staff:

1. A delay of at least two weeks to the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year (SY) to give LEAs and school teams time to prepare for an unprecedented opening situation.

2. A return to distance learning for all Rhode Island schools at the beginning of the 2020-2021 SY

3. Because doctors are unsure of how the seasonal flu will interact with Covid, or how treatments and vaccines will develop, we are asking state decisionmakers to hold off on an in-person return to learning and only revisit that decision at the end of the first semester.

4. The state must fund and provide alternative childcare options while schools remain in virtual learning.

5. The state must provide additional funding to districts for IEP and 504 accommodations that don’t compromise student or teacher safety.

6. The state must fund and provide wraparound services for all Rhode Island students, comparable to the services they would have received in their school buildings (free breakfast and lunch, adequate mental health services, and anything else community leaders say their constituents need).

7. The state must fund and provide financial safeguards for families with school-age children (eviction and utility moratoriums, flexible unemployment, extended stimulus relief).

8. The state must provide additional funding and time in all districts for professional development that focuses on optimizing distance learning.

9. Emergency distance learning was well supported in the Spring by the state’s efforts to put technology and internet access into the hands of all of our children. We request that in the 2020-2021 SY, the state continues to fund and provide accessible technology needed to provide equitable access to virtual learning for all Rhode Island students (high-speed Wi-Fi, Chromebooks, etc.)”

References:
(1) https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2020/07/global-experts-ignoring-airborne-covid-spread-risky
(2) https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/18/health/coronavirus-children-schools.html
(3) https://www.sun-sentinel.com/coronavirus/fl-ne-pbc-health-director-covid-children-20200714-xcdall2tsrd4riim2nwokvmsxm-story.html
(4) https://services.aap.org/en/pages/2019-novel-coronavirus-covid-19-infections/children-and-covid-19-state-level-data-report/?fbclid=IwAR2LkMNnWdm0eWteVLSwfwMM73r9v76L2ZhltelNmriCoDxhWASlRyfVIOM

Over 1,500 names (to date) are affixed to the petition.

To view the petition – and to sign, virtually – go to:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/18e7it2UDLPq1NsWvGT7g225JOAIidQiOsOLnSZBzCPw/edit#

The Mobile Protest on Friday, Aug. 14th, 3-5pm

RI Petition Delivery & Rally for a Safe and Fully Funded Return to Schools

Facebook Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/2627593760827008

On Friday, August 14, 2020, parents and teachers from the group Rhode Island Parents / Educators for Safe Schools and Safe Return to School RI will be delivering a petition and rallying at the State House in an effort to convince state leadership to act in the best interest of students, school staff and their encompassing communities by mandating a return to distance learning until more stringent standards of safety in schools are met and funded.

The rally will include a speaking program and in person protest in front of the statehouse and an accompanying car rally (you will find the route description below).  Participants are encouraged to take photos and post them to social media using the hashtag #SafeReturntoSchoolRI.  Participants planning to join the in person rally in front of the State House should wear masks and remain six feet apart from all other participants from outside of their households.

For real time information about rally and route changes, download the free app Signal and submit your phone number here to be added to the group. If you get lost, just navigate back to the procession. Drivers should obey all traffic laws and keep both hands on the wheel.

The Cause

Despite assurances that the state’s decisions on Covid-19 prioritize health and safety of students and families and are driven by science and data, the governor and state education/health officials continue to push for a return to in person learning on August 31, despite the climbing case numbers, mounting research about Covid-19 in children and outcries from concerned families, school staff and community members.

“No one should have to feel anxiety or fear about returning to school. We have options, we can do distance learning, and though distance learning was a struggle for many it is the safest choice to keep everyone from being exposed to the virus. If schools reopen, students and teachers will get sick and learning from home will happen. We know very little information about this virus and how it affects kids. God forbid any teacher or children’s cases in RI be fatal.

This will affect the whole state and so many people.” Ashley Breault said, parent/organizer

Parents and teachers across Rhode Island share feelings of being ignored by Governor Raimondo and the Rhode Island Department of Education as decisions are made without any consultation, feedback or transparency.  The group also gathers to demand the passing of the state’s FY 2020-2021 budget.  In the middle of our state’s hotspot, in the middle of a pandemic, it is unacceptable for any district in Rhode Island to begin the 2020-2021 SY without a budget.

The Petition

After just one week, over 1,400 Rhode Island families, students, school staff and community members have signed a petition urging Governor Raimondo to hold off on a return to in person learning and to fully fund districts in the state’s most vulnerable urban hotspots.  

“We know that our most vulnerable school districts will return to school with the highest degree of risk. Our state says it cares about equity, but we’re on a path that will send students in communities with the highest infection rates back into dangerous learning conditions without clearly delineated, fully funded statewide safety mandates.”

The petition critiques the current plans for returning to school buildings as currently unfunded and infeasible.  

“…across Rhode Island, we know that school buildings are in disrepair and lack the ventilation necessary to keep school communities safe; that few if any districts have the time and resources to upgrade ventilation systems; that “stable pods” will be destabilized by busing and extra-scholastic activities; and that there is currently no statewide standard for detecting and quarantining positive cases and their contacts.”

The signers call on the state government to take the following actions; delay the beginning of the 2020-2021 SY by two weeks, call for a statewide return to distance learning for the fall, revisit the decision to return to in person learning only after seeing how cases fare during flu season, fund needs like childcare for families during distance learning, fund wraparound social services, fund safe and equitable IEP and 504 accommodations, provide districts with time and funding for appropriate professional development to support distance learning and fund accessible technology to provide equitable access to distance learning for all Rhode Island school children. 

View the petition at: https: //tinyurl.com/safereturntoschoolri-petition

Car Rally Route

We will enter the rally route from Francis street, passing by the Providence Place Mall, by taking a left on Hayes street and immediate right to continue up Francis street, passing by the State House on the right.  

The route will continue as follows:

• Right on Smith
• Right on Gaspee
• Right on Francis