This petition seeks to address 2 points.

1. Stronger acknowledgement of student mental health by the School District

2. Return of Remote Wednesday as a day of mental health enrichment and study.

 

As it stands, the school district has provided little in way of a response to the mental health of the student body and the effects of online schooling to that student body.

The difference between remote learning and in person learning is that the two are completely different settings. A student performs well in person because the environment is interactive, while through a computer screen the teacher is a small box that relays commands that the student may not have even have heard. Programs such as Schoology are powerful tools but only when proper context is given to perform the tasks at hand. It is overwhelming to have every single assignment infront of the student, which contributes to poor work performance and mental strain.

Our country is facing one of the biggest crises of our time. The New York Times reports 286k deaths, and 15.2 million cases. The state of New Jersey has reported 17k+ deaths. This fact contributes greatly to the mental health of a student: what is a grade when we will never get 17,000 people back?

Course load is also contributing to student poor mental health. Students do not get the positive reinforcement of friends that can be given in a physical setting, those students are also getting these huge course overflows.

Remote Wednesday MUST be brought back to offer a brief respite from over working of the student. Students should be given at least this small amnesty during such a horrible time.

The school district and administration’s job is to provide the best environment for our students, but at current, the environment they have created is overworking, stressful, and to students with poor work performance, impossible. 

GOALS FOR CLARITY

1. Remote Wednesday reinstated as a mental health/check up day for the mental health of student body. Would count as a school day.

2. Student concerns are meaningfully addressed and handled responsibly.

 

CONTACT BOARD MEMBERS

JKozempel@boe.wtps.org - board president

jbollendorf@wtps.org - Superintendent