The Milford School board recently voted to return the high school to full in-person learning, while keeping the rest of the district in hybrid-learning. This will compromise the health and safety of students, teachers, and staff. We demand the school board rethink their decision and keep us in hybrid.

Returning to full in-person learning is dangerous for a number of reasons:

• It will force students to be 3 feet apart instead of the CDC-recommended 6 ft apart, which is unsafe in classrooms or the lunchroom, especially if students remove masks to drink water or eat lunch/snacks

• Mask breaks will be more crowded with more students, meaning they will not be able to stay a safe distance apart, especially if done indoors

• Even as more people are getting vaccinations, not all of the student body and teachers/staff will be vaccinated in time for the scheduled return

• Two new cases were announced the night the school board voted for a full-return, suggesting cases will continue to emerge and worsen as more people enter the school

• If cases increase, which the loosened restrictions would likely allow, we run the risk of returning to full remote or losing out on end-of-the-year events, like graduation and senior week activities

• Changing the schedule for only two months will leave students struggling to adapt to the major change in their schedules, which will jeopardize their ability to focus and learn

• It is not guaranteed that all students will responsibly follow social distancing guidelines outside of school, which puts other students, teachers, staff, and families at risk

• The administration recommended that the school remain hybrid in their original reopening plan