Wake County families, educators, staff and taxpayers ask that Superintendent Moore and the Wake County BOE implement the spring reopening plans as voted and approved, provide transparent and up to date data and use current up to date science, data and facts in decision making.

Sixty percent of the school systems in our country reopened in August. The evidence is clear open schools create safer communities. Schools provide a place where safety protocols are enforced 8hrs/day. The Wake County BOE, with the expert guidance of medical and science experts at Duke’s ABC Collaborative approved Plan A for K-5 and Plan B for middle and high schools. Governor Cooper and Secretary Cohen have endorsed Plan A K-5. November 17, the BOE voted 7-1 and we kindly request this commitment be honored as planned. We ask that the BOE make immediate plans to further reopen middle and high schools when Governor Cooper and Secretary Cohen transition these grades to Plan A. Leading science and medical experts in our country urge school leaders to reopen schools. Duke ABC Collaborative has used research and data to provide a clear, concise strong plan to keep WCPSS safe.

Wake County families, educators, staff and taxpayers are owed transparency and up to date information regarding Wake County student engagement, attendance and performance. Several important data points should be made available by Superintendent Moore in biweekly reports. Clear daily attendance rates should be provided to prove that students are adequately being educated. The most current numbers for students requesting in person, broken down by school and grade level, should be shared in January. Grade averages should constantly be monitored and shared with specifics about demographics and race. At the September 15, board meeting Wake County pediatricians Theresa Kallman, MD, FAAP, Cornerstone Pediatrics, Cary NC and Theresa M. Flynn, M.D., Primary Care Pediatrician shared adolescent health issues and concerns that correlate to school closures and isolation. The BOE should be including pediatricians in meetings and getting more regular, at least monthly, information about adolescent health issues. (Ex, Wake County typically sees two suicides per school year. How many since March?)
The BOE adjusted the January start citing teacher shortages. School specific data should be shared regarding these shortages so community members and parents may partner to support schools. Parents are ready and willing to contribute to ensure students get back into the buildings.

Information regarding learning loss and an increase in failing grades has been shared by Superintendent Moore. The BOE has discussed possible plans and intervention strategies for at risk students and those who have fallen behind.   A solid plan with specifics on when, how and what kind of support will be provided needs to be in place for a spring and summer roll out. The BOE should not continue to discuss and acknowledge the needs of such support without developing these plans.

Lastly and most importantly Wake County families, educators, staff and tax payers ask that the BOE fully rely and implement the guidance (12 Principles of Safer Schools) from the extraordinary team at ABC Collaborative. It is indisputable that these are the experts and to argue otherwise is irresponsible as both community leaders and citizens. When BOE members challenge the information ABC Collaborative shares from their research and data it results in unnecessary fear, distrust in educators and the community. It is the obligation and responsibility of elected officials to support science, facts and data shared by ABC Collaborative as none of the BOE members have the qualifications to dispute what is being shared by the Duke University experts.

Supporting articles and references:

https://abcsciencecollaborative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/ABC-SC-Principles-for-Safer-Schools-FINAL.pdf?fbclid=IwAR2sUfyMu0Px_DKmhhC6yGtqdx5w6HkPwOtNcNfHFg6NekbfcsKqbhzpdgE

“The setbacks for younger pupils, students of color, and low-income childrenhave been especially acute.” 

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/12/17/opinion/let-public-health-expertise-guide-school-reopenings/?fbclid=IwAR1jnpaUGc5wufj8sAc805HwVHkm8QI6rG4dqHm164fST1o5ABtViS4MvuA
 
 
"...most affected will be those facing racial, economic and other inequities that have only become more pronounced since the pandemic began"
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/education/covid-having-devastating-impact-children-vaccine-won-t-fix-everything-n1251172
 
“Six feet should be the default minimum for adults, but it’s past time we recognize that kids are different and the importance of schools is different, especially for the youngest learners. Three feet should be the default distance for schools.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/11/12/three-feet-social-distancing-schools-coronavirus/
 
“To date, few outbreaks involving children or schools have been reported.”
https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/coronavirus-disease-covid-19-schools
 
"Keeping kids out of the classroom will make recovering from the pandemic harder in the long term, while not keeping us any safer in the near term."
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/11/ease-restrictions-schools-dont-close-them/617146/
 
“In spite of everything we have learned about COVID-19, the role of schools in community transmission, and the steps we can take to keep children safe at school, we are moving in the wrong direction—and doing so very quickly,” said Robert Jenkins, UNICEF Global Chief of Education. “Evidence shows that schools are not the main drivers of this pandemic."
https://reliefweb.int/report/world/covid-19-unicef-warns-continued-damage-learning-and-well-being-number-children-affected
https://www.edweek.org/leadership/schools-need-to-be-bolder-about-reopening-public-health-expert-says/2020/11
 
 
“On average, students would have to grow at nearly twice the annual rate for three to four months to make up for these losses.”
https://www.eschoolnews.com/2020/12/16/covid-learning-loss-math-gains/
 
"Mental health professionals and social workers are studying the issue, worried about “high rates of clinginess, distraction, irritability, and fear among children,”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/12/17/generation-covid-kids-trauma-pandemic/
 
"Children are more likely to get covid 19 outside of school"
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6950e3.htm
 
"Government missteps and mixed messaging over the pandemic have already widened racial disparities in education."
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/12/we-now-know-how-much-children-spread-coronavirus/
 
"Among children and adolescents aged <18 years in Mississippi, close contact with persons with COVID-19 and gatherings with persons outside the household and lack of consistent mask use in school were associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection, whereas attending school or child care was not associated with receiving positive SARS-CoV-2 test results." 
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/pdfs/mm6950e3-H.pdf
https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/students-reading-losses-could-strain-schools-capacity-to-help-them-catch-up/2020/12
 
 
"I know 5 to 9-year-olds are being harmed by not being in school. Distance learning isn't as good. The mental health issues, the socialization, all those things are key issues," Osterholm said.”
 https://www.kare11.com/article/news/local/breaking-the-news/elementary-schools-can-reopen-in-january-heres-why/89-034876b2-dad9-400d-9020-60c72682e09b
 
"An estimated 3 million students may have dropped out of school learning since March." 
https://www.npr.org/2020/12/29/948866982/a-quiet-and-unsettling-pandemic-toll-students-whove-fallen-off-the-grid