Please join Coalition for Kids 2021, Parents for Reopening Ontario Schools (PROS), and parents across Ontario as we Speak Up for Kids!  This is a call to action for a Province-wide day of protest.  Parents will be walking their children out of online learning and walking to our childrens’ schools to protest for a return to normal at Ontario schools this September – we are advocating for no more school closures, the elimination of quadmesters, resumed extracurriculars, and normal recess at all Ontario schools.  We are also speaking up in support of mental health resources and a holistic and thoughtful, ministry-led plan to address the deep learning gaps our children now face.  

We are a group of people who care about children. We are neither anti-mask, nor anti-vaccine and are aligned with all of the province’s top hospitals, paediatricians, doctors, medical groups, scientists, mental health experts, and public health leaders – all of whom are advocating for an evidence-based, safe return to normal for Ontario’s students.  We are speaking out against our government’s blatant disregard for our children and their education, well-being, social development, mental health, and safety, among many other concerns.  

Unlike “summer camp,” schools are the only barrier-free, inclusive, and free of cost places available to all children and youth; and, as such, we demand they stay open, return to a safe normal, and continue to provide their essential services.  These school closures have been disruptive for all students, but they have had an unfair impact on our BIPOC and racialized students, those from low-income households, and our children with exceptionalities.  Help us Speak Up for all our students!

Let’s work together and advocate for a brighter future for our kids.  Don’t forget to share this event widely to all your contacts!  Invite interested stakeholders in your local area!  Make clever protest signs with your kids!  Please visit PROS for additional reminders and ideas.  Please use this email letter template and edit it to suit your family and send to: your teachers, principals, superintendents, school board trustees, MPPs,  Premier, Minister of Education, teacher unions, and your local public health branch, and other stakeholders.  Please use our press release and send it to your local media outlets (be sure to include your protest’s location in the email).

Reference our key messaging document so we all have a congruent, unified voice when speaking with the media.  Connect with PROS for tips on how to effectively protest.  And use #SpeakUpForKidsProtest for posts (especially photos and footage from your protest!)

Get in touch if you wish to help organize and help concentrate efforts in your local area!

https://www.facebook.com/events/225727556029148?ref=newsfeed