Weston Physicians' Letter to Administration

Petition updateParents for Increased In-Person Learning at WestonWeston Physicians' Letter to Administration

Weston School Parents for In-Person Learning

13 Feb 2021

Dear Weston School Committee, WEA, Dr. Midge Connolly, Mr. Peri, Mr. Gibbons, Dr. Green, Ms. Maguire, and Ms. Faber:

We first would like to thank you for your dedication to the safety and well-being of everyone in the schools and the hard work to insure this during the pandemic. All of us have increased demands at our workplace and added stress during this unprecedented time.

We are all Weston parents but this letter is being written from the perspective of physicians in the community who encourage the school to take an evidence based approach to bring back more in-person learning for all Weston students.

In September it was unknown how the students and staff would adapt to the safety measures required for safe face-to-face learning (wearing masks, tolerating the distancing and changes to day to day school flow). Since then the school principals have reported the students have risen to the occasion and successfully adjusted to the “new normal”. We have also heard and appreciate how much the teachers enjoy having them in the building again and have been creative with new teaching modalities.

As physicians we feel strongly that given the current case rates in Weston schools, the current scientific evidence from across the country regarding in school transmission with the mitigation efforts in place and with Weston’s small school size we are confident that in-person learning for all ages 5 days a week can be done safely. Nothing in the pandemic is certain, and we acknowledge there will never be zero risk, but at this point the benefits of face-to-face education (quality of learning, social-emotional development, physical activity, and personal interactions) outweighs the potential risk of SARS-CoV2 transmission when mitigation efforts are in place.

We are seeing numerous negative effects of this pandemic in our practices and personal lives including:

1) Rapid increase in mental illness in our children and adolescents with increases in depression, anxiety, eating disorders

2) Increased hospitalization for eating disorders, suicidal ideation and attempts, depression, anxiety and other mental illnesses

3) Sharp rise in obesity rates in our pediatric population

4) Increased health care inequities

5) Increased screen time not only for academic purposes, but from kids isolating in their rooms with their phones/computers

6) Interruption and disruption of learning advancement and development

All of these conditions are affecting the physical and mental health of our children and it is our job to protect the health and well-being of our children.

The current evidence from peer reviewed scientific research demonstrates that transmission rarely occurs in schools with adequate safety measures in place and Weston has had no documented in school transmission known to us. Teachers are safe in schools thanks to the hard work of the school committee and administration to create this environment and provide appropriate PPE. Students and teachers are more likely to contract COVID-19 from the community than from school/work. Research from healthcare settings has also shown transmission to be very low even when caring for patients with COVID-19. Wearing masks, hand hygiene and relative physical distancing (not necessarily always 6 feet) works to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Data supports the safety of less than 6 foot distancing in a classroom with universal masking so spacing should not be a limiting factor in determining in-person learning time.

Given the benefits of in-person education currently outweigh the risks, we strongly recommend that all students have in person learning prioritized and maximized immediately to prevent further harm to our children and decrease the loss of their education. We are happy to be a resource to the school/school committee and discuss further if helpful. We have attached references below to support the statements included in this letter.

Respectfully,

Angela Fitch, MD

Andrea Pettinato, MD

Paul Pettinato, MD

Kinga Tomczak, MD, PhD

Michal Tomczak, MD

Rebekah Mannix, MD

Richard Lee, MD

Caroline Robson, MD

Gayle Tillman , MD

Douglas Dahl, MD

Karin Leschly, MD