We are parents from across Erie County who support children attending in-person learning. Presently our schools are shut down bc of the arbitrary rate NO parent but teachers union decided on. The average of positive covid-19 tests goes above 3% in the surrounding community our children’s in person education ceases. The rate IN school is vastly lower.

Under the current guidelines, schools now have closed. But even Cuomo said this rule should be reconsidered, now that a testing system is in place to identify if schools are safe.

“Add to your calculus a positivity rate in the school. Because if the school is not spreading the virus, or if the school has a much lower positivity rate than the surrounding area, then the school is not part of the problem and you can argue keeping the children in the school is part of the solution,” said Cuomo. “If a school is now under 1% and you know that because now you test in the schools, wouldn't you rather the student in the 1% school than the 3% street?” 

 There is no reason for schools to close, in fact every medical expert during this spike including the head of the CDC has begged against it:

 After the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention removed guidelines from its website that promoted in-person learning for schools, CDC Director Robert Redfield said they do not recommend closing schools during the COVIDpandemic.

Redfield’s announcement on Thursday said that schools can operate with “face to face learning” and can do it “safely and they can do it responsibly. The infections that we’ve identified in schools when they’ve been evaluated were not acquired in schools,” he said.

Our children have already lost so much because of the pandemic, and they have largely accepted their fate without complaint. Going to school is the one bright spot for so many of our children, the one chance they have to be with other children, to learn, to grow, and to feel a semblance of normalcy.

The 3% positivity threshold was decided over the summer with no input from parents or students and with no awareness of the role schools play in covid transmission. The evidence from school districts around the globe and from right here within Erie County shows that schools are NOT contributing to the spread of Covid 19. Why are allowing these inept leaders ruin our children’s lives and education?

Countries around the globe have wisely chosen to prioritize the education of their next generation of citizens rather than keep non-essential businesses open. Micheal Martin, the Irish Prime Minister, said about his decision to keep schools open: “We cannot and will not allow our children and young people’s futures to be another victim of this disease. They need their education.” Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, cited "dramatic social consequences" that stem from keeping children out of school. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/29/world/europe/schools-coronavirus-europe-lockdowns.html

Remote learning is not an adequate substitute for in-person instruction. Forcing children to learn remotely depends on that child having technology, Internet access, and an adult (usually a woman) to guide that child. Remote learning will exacerbate the existing divide between privileged children and those with fewer means and will mean that more and more women will be forced to leave the workforce to attend to their children's education.

We call on the Mayor Byron Brown and the Department of Education and County Executive Mark Poloncarz to finally prioritize the needs of our youngest community members. The arbitrary 3% rate to close schools should be abandoned in favor of recognizing how important schools our to our children, to our parents, and to this City. Closing our schools should be a measure of last resort.

Please sign below if you agree.