It is understood and agreed that a fully face to face option is the ideal for some families and students, and that a fully virtual model works for others.  However, the removal of the hybrid model fails to take into account a large section of the student body - those for whom the desire to stay safe is high, but also occasionally require direct, face to face interactions with their teachers and their peers in order to strengthen their performance, maintain their mental health and well-being, and improve the stability and efficiency of the educational process.  We, the undersigned, urge the school board to vote again on maintaining, and potentially expanding, the hybrid model as a viable solution for the following reasons:

• Covid cases are significantly higher in our community than when this decision was made and continue to climb.  The safety of the staff and students is paramount to prevent community spread of this virus.
• Outbreaks and infections have continued to regularly take place with limited class sizes since the announcement, leading to significant concerns about a return to higher capacity classrooms.  
• District has failed to provide any stringent guidelines with regards to the rising levels of COVID-19 infection rates per capita, as well as when or how those numbers will have a direct impact on face to face attendance.  Those numbers and metrics should be shared and available publicly if they are being used to determine the safety of our schools.
• The hybrid option is the most consistent form of education that can be done during these times.  Hybrid allows our teachers to remain in their same capacities and positions with regards to their students, and our students to get the benefit of continuing the model that was started at the beginning of the 2020 school year without a reset or other disruption.