Superintendent Ryan,
We appreciate your communications to the community regarding bringing our kids back to school. We have previously communicated with you that we are a group of parents and other members of the community that formed the Friends of Exeter Athletics (FOEA) that support Sane and Safe Policies to return our kids to school and athletics at Exeter area schools. We want to thank you, the school board, the committees assembled, administrative staff and all others that are working on return to school policies.
Our letter today is prompted by your recent communication regarding the possibility of having to take a step backward to evaluate the ongoing state of affairs. As parents and friends whose young adults attend SAU16 schools, we appreciate and applaud your efforts with the #1 concern of keeping our students, our staff, our athletes and community safe.
Many of us keep updated by following new information coming out daily. While some may look at how our students returning to school, sports and activities may be negatively impacted by a possible spread of Covid-19, we also see the possibilities of being a model of compliance of Sane and Safe policies that allow our students to return to school and their sports or other activities. Many New England states have managed to keep Covid rates low by following safe guidelines. We support continuing that at school, athletics, and other activities. Is it possible that we may even have one of the healthiest years to date? With Sane and Safe Covid-19 policies, can we prevent other illnesses as well? Most likely! So, turning the outlook to the positive side of the coin, we may see a healthier community both physically and emotionally.
Whether there is a partial return to school, or a temporary remote learning plan, we want our kids to partake in sports this year, in SAU16. Again, it’s possible, with proper execution of Sane and Safe policies, we can return to sports with volunteers and spectators that will help our young adults repair some of the mentally and emotionally negative effects they’ve experienced over the last 6 months. This will help them start to heal from this traumatic upheaval they’ve endured. Many parents have seen how tough it has been for our children, and we're here to advocate for them in the strongest possible way.
FOEA, as a group of concerned community members, is here to assist SAU16 coaches and staff with the implementation of Sane and Safe policies for their upcoming seasons.
This letter is signed by people who believe how critically important it is that our student athletes get back to school and their sports. Attached, we have also included comments by the
signors that they have made on the FOEA Facebook page, in emails to this page or as emails to a member of FOEA, and that they have requested to share in this letter.
We encourage SAU16 to continue to work hard to bring our students back to school and their sports and other activities by focusing on the positive side of what this will do for the student body, the community and maybe beyond as a model of successful compliance to procedures that not only limits the spread of Covid-19, but allows them to thrive academically, physically, and emotionally.
Sincerely,
(Disclaimer: Any individuals that sign as an officer of a Boosters Organization for a sport are signing independently and not for the group)