This is a request to try to persuade the Laredo Independent School District in Laredo, Texas to implement a rotation of physical attendance for teachers in their schools. I am a second grade teacher with elementary age children of my own who are attending school entirely online during this difficult time. I chose to keep my own children at home for school due to the fact that COVID 19 is still a great risk to us all, and is still very prevalent in our community.

I currently teach to mostly remote-learning children and have 4 students that physically attend. Other teachers have less than 4 per classroom. There are preventive measures we have been taken as a district to try to stay safe from the virus this school year. We teachers and students have been provided with face shields and sneeze guards along with a cloth face mask. There has not been any changes to our ventilation systems, with us teachers resorting to having a window open when conditions allow, in order to keep our classrooms vented only and some windows do not open at all. Meals are eaten by the students in attendance inside the classroom, leading to the removal of masks. I cannot be guaranteed that every student and his or her family are taking precautions from COVID 19 when outside of school, specially in the upcoming holidays. At those moments when students are eating, I feel very at risk. I fear for my own health as we well as my family's, now that the flu season is very close.

I am proposing to LISD the overall reduction of teachers having to risk being exposed to the COVID 19 virus by having LISD switch from having them attend and teach physically from their campus 100% of the time, to an attending in a rotational periods system. In this sort of system, the students physically in the campus can be combined by grade level, requiring one teacher per grade level to be there at a time. CDC guidelines can be followed for the children being grouped in the same classroom due to numbers of children being present in campuses are not high throughout the district.

The Laredo Independent School District has the opportunity to better protect its staff and show appreciation for their efforts by implementing a rotation of physical attendance for instruction where the students and teachers will benefit.

We are stronger Together.

Thank you