Ever since COVID started learning for students has been a challenge. When the world shut down last year, March 13th, it was for safety precautions. After a while, many school districts developed a plan in place for students to return safely.
Some schools lessened the amount of students in the building at one time. Some schools budgeted for safety equipment and extra cleaning services. Last year MPS was approved for a multi billion dollar grant, however, many schools are still unsafe.
Having worked at a school, I got to see first hand on just how unsafe it is. I’ve seen dirty floors, dirty bathrooms, dirty stairs, and dirty walls. I’ve seen kids intentionally neglect their duty of wearing a mask and practicing social distancing.
The COVID counts are continually on a rise and going back virtual does not seem like the primary option for the district. As of last week, MPS rolled out a mandate for staff to become vaccinated and a $100 reward for all students above 12 who go get vaccinated.
While this saddens me, I’m not sure the focus is learning at this point. I don’t feel student and staff safety is a priority for MPS. I don’t feel that the goal is for kids to learn.
What do we do? How do we make sure our kids are learning and are safe? What can we do as a community? How can we make this better?
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