Let's keep Pattonville safe.

All, we need your help.  We are calling on the Pattonville School Board to hold an emergency meeting before school resumes this Tuesday (1/4).  Our hope is that the school board will resume the policy of mask wearing for all while inside the buildings.  After 2 years of this pandemic, the data shows mask wearing helps prevent the spread of COVID-19.  

 Pattonville’s COVID mitigation policies are critical to the health and safety of not just our family, but countless others.  Throughout the school year so far, we have been impressed by the success of the COVID mitigation efforts implemented at Willow Brook (and the Pattonville district at large).  The low COVID infection rates reported throughout the district[1] are a testament to the success of those policies. 

 

In light of that success, we were surprised at the announcement that the school board decided to decrease mitigation efforts – specifically, rescission of the mask mandate in favor of an optional policy – on December 14, 2021, just as infection rates throughout the state and county were spiking.[2] 

 

Now is the absolute worst time to relent in the precautions that were the linchpin of Pattonville’s 1st semester success in mitigating COVID infection.  In the weeks since December 14, 2021 reported infections[3], hospitalizations[4] and (most importantly as far as the Board’s responsibility for the safety of the District’s students) pediatric hospitalizations throughout the country[5] and Missouri[6] are all on the rise.  We are extremely concerned and disappointed that in the face of this overwhelming and publicly available data, the Board has not revised its optional masking decision in advance of students returning to classrooms for the new year. 

 

The Omicron variant is widely reported as more contagious than prior variants.  Although this new variant is reportedly less severe, it has caused more severe symptoms in children than previous variants.[7]  In fact, the CDC continues to recommend masking in any indoor environment in St. Louis County due to our high rate of infection.[8] 

 

We urge the Board to reconsider its December 14, 2021 mitigation policy changes as soon as possible.  In light of the data cited above and the worsening dynamics of the COVID pandemic throughout the region, it is impossible to reconcile the Board’s recent decision to decrease mitigation efforts with its primary responsibility for the health and safety of Pattonville students.  Moreover, the Board’s determination will undoubtedly have ripple effects on the health and safety of the community at large. 

 

We know that we are not the only parents or voters in the district that feel this way.  We urge the Board to hold an emergency meeting so that it can re-institute all COVID mitigation efforts pre-dating December 14, 2021 and ensure that the district’s children can return to in-person learning in the most safe environment possible on January 4, 2022. 

Sincerely,

Pattonville Parents & Registered Voters

 

 

 

 

[1] https://sites.google.com/psdr3.org/pattonville-covid-19-dashboard/
[2] https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#county-view?list_select_state=Missouri&data-type=Risk
[3] https://stlouiscountymo.gov/st-louis-county-departments/public-health/covid-19/covid-19-data-reports/
[4] https://health.mo.gov/living/healthcondiseases/communicable/novel-coronavirus/data/public-health/healthcare.php
[5] https://www.reuters.com/world/us/covid-19-hospitalization-surge-among-us-children-spurs-new-omicron-concerns-2021-12-30/

 
[6] https://healthdata.gov/Hospital/Pediatric-COVID-19-Hospitalizations-by-State/n5sm-z9rn
[7] https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/587809-omicron-sending-children-to-hospital-in-record-numbers
[8] https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/variants/omicron-variant.html