The Rockford Public Schools wrote an article on January 10 stating that there won’t be any school shutdowns or remote learning at this time. In that same article, they acknowledge that this new Covid variant is highly contagious and anticipate children to be infected with or without symptoms. They also state that they are adhering to Winnebago County Health Department directions to stay open as long as possible. The guidelines this school district is following doesn’t have the health and safety of our children in mind.
    I am asking the school district and the health department to give parents the say on whether it is safe for their children to attend school in person at certain times of anticipated high infection rates. Most colleges in this country with an age group that is mostly vaccinated have taken the right precautions in delaying the students from returning to colleges for one to two weeks. These grade schools in RPS 205, where majority of children are not vaccinated haven’t taken any precautions. Instead of being proactive they seem to have a reactive mindset. Dealing with it when the problem arrives. The health and safety of our children should not be gambled with this reactive mindset.
      I personally do not have faith in these guidelines set for our schools. Anticipating a higher infectious rate in our district but doing nothing is concerning for most of the parents. I understand some parents are not able to have their kids home all day. I am simply begging for the remote learning option for the ones who can stay home with their kids and would prefer to keep them in a safe environment until this pandemic is under control.