We value the lives of our teachers, families, friends and community members at large and do not want to put them at risk, causing further spread of this virus.  We do not want to go back to full time in person classes because we care.  The goal of this petition is to express the opinion of many South Milwaukee High students and parents who are not in favor of returning to in person classes. The South Milwaukee School board voted on January 11, 2021 to send High school students back hybrid on January 25th, and then return to full in person classes Monday, February 8th. The School Board wants to send students back to school following the Christmas and New Year holiday and now Packers chase to championship, in which many community members have gathered with family and friends. We have yet to see the true ramifications from these gatherings in our Covid-19 numbers. South Milwaukee's current burden rate is higher than that of Milwaukee County. Our positivity rate is higher than Milwaukee county and all of Wisconsin. Wisconsin's numbers have been on the rise recently. The Staff have even expressed concerns that the school does not have the resources to meet the required standard, to return, at even half capacity. Most of us know the conditions that the school is under, overcrowded classrooms where students are cramped next to one another to accommodate seating. These conditions, even when slightly modified, will not suffice in this pandemic.

At the very least, the school should not be returning to full-time, in-person, at full capacity. It is not safe. IF we are to return at all, Students should return using the hybrid model to limit exposure and provide comfort to the minds of teachers, families and community members. The hybrid model was originally created without a distinct time for it to be successful, it was designed to be implemented when it was safe to do so and transition students to full-time learning, if the COVID numbers allowed. The Havard plan in which the District based its opening conditions on, states it is safe to open, with an asterix. Quoted by the School Board, during the meeting, in the slideshow “schools can be open even at the very high levels of spread we are now seeing, provided that they strictly implement strategies of infection control.” It is only safe to open when all conditions are met. Conditions at the high school level include, masks be worn whenever speaking, and at least 3ft of distance between young learners and 6ft for high school students depending on COVID numbers. The District blatantly stated that in most classrooms, physically distancing of even 3 feet cannot be met. However, the Plan states that these guidelines need to be strictly in place to make it safe for students. The District has said they will distance as much as possible, however, multiple staff have expressed that even with some students participating in virtual learning, they still have approximately 20-25 students in-person. The classrooms do not have the space properly distance the students and resources like the Library, would end up being shared space to try to accommodate spacing, which then creates mixing students and classrooms. Regardless of this situation, bringing students back to in-person learning, there will be illnesses As an alternative to full virtual learning, to not only lower the exposure, but to accommodate students at risk, having the option of in-person hybrid classes limited to those with learning disabilities or extenuating circumstances brought on by the pandemic, could be a viable option.

The goal of this Petition is to hold the South Milwaukee School Board accountable, and reverse the January 11, 2021 decision, which will have a detrimental impact on the SMSD community. We want less lives affected and taken from this virus