Schools are essential.
All students should have access to an in-person education. Add your name to our petition and join the movement to open schools.
COVID-19 is not spreading in our schools. Yet, as a result of longterm school shutdowns and the use virtual learning, our students are experiencing many increased risks: up to 14 months of learning loss; food insecurity rates have doubled from 18% to 35%; emergency department visits related to mental health have increased 24 percent for children aged 5-11 and have spiked 31 percent among adolescents aged 12-17; and children and adolescents are more likely to develop obesity and exacerbate obesity disease severity.
These statistics only begin to capture the impact of long term school building shutdowns and virtual learning on our students and their families. It is imperative that we follow the example of so many schools across our country and the world to open our schools. With reasonable safety measures in place, we know we can both protect students, teachers, staff, and the community from the spread of COVID-19 and provide access to an in person education.