I am a parent of an upcoming 5th grader in the Fall Mountain Regional School District. Therefore, my thoughts and opinions are mostly geared towards SAU 60. However, my opinions on this matter cross over to the other area SAUs.
We know a lot more about COVID-19 now than we did in mid-March, when schools initially shut down. We know children don’t become sick as often as adults. Furthermore, there is no conclusive evidence that children are superspreaders of COVID-19. We know that for a large portion of the student population, mine included, remote learning simply does not work. Most importantly, we know that for an extended period our small town area has not been a hot bed for cases; as a matter of fact, the cases in Sullivan County, since the beginning, is less than one half of a percent (statistically zero).
The apparent plan for Fall Mountain is a hybrid option of the children going to school every other day and remote learning on opposite days. As a longtime taxpayer in Charlestown, and in a two-parent family where both parents are working on-site as full-time essential workers, I am concerned. This plan is completely unacceptable, impractical, and frankly will not provide my child with the grade level education he is required by law to receive. More than one school district in our area has offered the parents the choice of full in school or full remote. This is what Fall Mountain needs to do as well. If a parent is afraid that their child will be infected or a carrier of the virus, they would have the ability to choose the full-time remote option or do home schooling. However, no taxpayer should get half of what they pay for without a choice in the matter!
I have always had a great respect for teachers and what they do. They are as essential as essential gets in shaping young minds. I hear the entire boiler plate PC “safety is our number one concern.” However, the number one priority of educating children should outweigh safety based alone on the lack of risk in our area (again, statistically zero). The education of our children is critical and not focused on nearly enough in this equation.
In closing, as a parent and taxpayer, I am pleading with SAU 60, and the other area school districts please educate our children in person a full 180 days. Your plan of 90 days on and 90 days off will only come with 90 days of actual instruction. Furthermore, employers has been very generous and understanding of the situation the nation is facing. However, with the Families First Coronavirus Response Act capped at 12 weeks by the federal government, you are essentially asking families to choose between their employment and their child’s education. Taxpayers pay for services and expect to get said services. I do not believe the town ambulance service is only going to come save me every other day if I need it. I believe the town police departments are still doing their jobs in full. Is it too much to ask the schools do the same?
Howard Grace Jr.
Charlestown NH
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