Edwardsville High School Safety Measures

To: Dr. Henderson and the District 7 School Board.

We write as concerned parents and ECUSD7 citizens. We urge the school district to consider more stringent safety measures before sending our teachers, staff and students back to Edwardsville High School. We appreciate that you have given the option to parents for remote learning; however, only those with economic means can take advantage of that opportunity -- essentially creating a two-tier learning system that allows mostly wealthier parents to fully protect their children. This is unfair and perpetuates just the kind of inequalities the school system exists to disrupt. Additionally, the amount of in-person learning creates more risk for our entire community as data shows that adolescents are just as likely to spread COVID19 as adults. In bringing 2000 high school students on campus daily, the District is taking a great risk.

So that all EHS staff, children, and community members are better protected from the risk of COVID19 transmission, we ask you:

A) to reduce face-to-face learning, placing students on a 2-day per week in-person and 3-day remote synchronous schedule – giving teachers a more manageable remote teaching schedule and reducing the risk of transmission by half.

B) to provide financial resources for internet access so that families without means can ensure the success of their children.

Recently, the governor was in our area and stressed that our COVID numbers are rising.
Please: for the safety of our entire community, we ask you to think of a safer learning environment that would benefit ALL children, EHS staff, and our community.