CCMFSchoolSafety

Are you worried about COVID-19?

So are we!

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) g uidance and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) guidance, and guidance from Pennsylvania's Department of Human Services (PADOH) released on June 8, 2021 all state:

“children between the ages of 2 and 12, however, should wear a face covering in public settings, at events and gatherings, and anywhere indoors when they will be around other people outside of their household.”

We are parents and community members who are willing to make our children wear masks indoors until they can all be vaccinated in order to keep our schools open for in-person learning, with as few disruptions as possible, and protect our most vulnerable learners.

Sign the PETITION
Please sign the petition for your school district if you are with us!
Downingtown Area School District
West Chester Area School District
Great Valley School District
Tredyfferin-Easttown School District

We represent community members who:

Feel strongly that indoor COVID-19 prevention measures should stay in place in schools containing children too young to be vaccinated until all students have had the opportunity to be fully vaccinated.
Want our children in school full time, with as few disruptions as possible, whether it is due to exposure/quarantine, being ill, rising community incidence rates, or school outbreaks
Have concerns about emerging variants which have the ability to change the state of this pandemic world quickly and frequently
Understand that we do not yet fully comprehend the long-term effects of this virus and would prefer that our children not get it, if it can be prevented by something as simple as a mask
Know that for many kids, virtual learning, private school, or homeschooling are not an option
Empathize with the immunocompromised or high-risk kids who will have no safe in-person educational option if their unvaccinated classmates are not wearing masks

Click here to see full info from Michigan.gov

Why we CARE

At Chester County Marching Forward, we understand that COVID-19 is not over yet, especially for:

Our young children who do not yet have the option of being vaccinated
Those with comorbidities that would make catching the virus very dangerous for them

We know that mask wearing is much more effective if worn by the infected individual (whether they are symptomatic or not) and not just by the person who is at-risk.

Current COVID-19 FACTS

While lower risk, there is still a risk to children, from COVID-19. In spite of extensive mitigation measures including school closures and masking last year, over 300 children have died from COVID-19, and thousands more have been hospitalized.
In Chester County last school year, hundreds of students were sent home due to exposure, and could not return to school until their quarantine was over and/or they were able to procure a negative COVID test. Many schools were forced to close temporarily due to outbreaks, and there are many local students still suffering the long-term effects of their fights with COVID-19.
Nearly half of children who have had symptomatic and asymptomatic COVID may have long-term COVID symptoms.
More recent studies show that children are, in fact, capable of spreading the virus.
The Delta variant is 200% more transmissible, increasing the likelihood of classmates infecting each other.
The Delta variant has a 1000% higher viral load, which means fewer ACE2 receptors are needed to become infected.
Smaller lung volume in children will be less relevant as well, as fewer exhaled viral particles are needed to infect nearby people.

This is not a matter to be taken lightly.

Petition ASKS

Our efforts are aimed at encouraging schools to take the following steps to keep our children safe and in-person for the duration of the pandemic:

Maximize ventilation in all school buildings, as evidence now confirms that this virus can remain airborne for longer times and further distances than originally thought. Ventilation is key in situations not conducive to spacing out children.
1. Implement all CDC recommendations physically and fiscally possible (many are low-cost or free). These include opening windows, using fans, and ensuring all ventilation and filtration systems are working properly.
Consistent with CDC and PADOH guidance, mandatory masking inside in spaces with children under the age of 12.
1. Masks are effective and safe for children, according to both the CDC and AAP. As masks do less to protect the wearer than those around the wearer making masks optional would put the vulnerable at risk.
2. Faculty and staff should also wear masks regardless of vaccination status as per the AAP. Transmission to young kids is primarily from undervaccinated adults, and most teachers have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine which only has a 55-60% efficacy against the Delta variant.
3. If universal masking is not possible in the immediate term, masks should still be required in the extra risk areas identified by CHOP, (buses, hallways, etc.) and it would be imperative to have a benchmark threshold for community spread where masks would be required again.
Reduce physical contact and maximize spacing between students as much as is realistic within building constraints, as per CDC recommendations.
Continue to employ common sense sanitary measures, staying home when sick and getting tested, contact tracing in combination with quarantine and isolation as important layers of prevention to keep schools safe according to the CDC.
Create clear benchmarks to add or reduce mitigation efforts dependent on local case rates and communicate said benchmarks with families.
1. This includes implementation of surveillance testing of as many adults and students as possible on a weekly basis, as federal funding will allow, if Chester County community incidence rates approach/reach a more dangerous level.
Whenever feasible, policy changes not recommended by the CDC that reduce COVID-19 precautions should be communicated no less than 30 days in advance.
1. Precaution reductions not supported by the CDC should come with an option to move to virtual for parents uncomfortable with the changes.

References:

Safety. From COVID-19. From Violence. From Bullies.

Are you worried about COVID-19?

Petition ASKS

Safety.
From COVID-19. From Violence. From Bullies.