After 2+ weeks of unmasking with no statistically significant surge (in fact a decline), I can’t believe that so many of the intercity districts are still masking the kids. 95% of the districts in NJ are unmasked except for the districts with a high population of non-white students. What will it take to end this madness for these kids?
Sample letter below submitted by one of our child advocates to Trenton, one of the districts still using draconian measures that do not work.
Dear Superintendent,
I speak as not only an educator but as a mother and a concerned community member, when I say I am deeply disappointed and upset that Trenton has chosen to disregard an opportunity to allow our children and their parents to decide on what they feel is best for their child regarding masking in school.
I am a new employee at Trenton but I am not new to this profession. I take great pride in the work that I do and care very deeply about the kids I am fortunate to service. With that being said, I see first-hand how detrimental the masks are to our students' speech and language learning as well as their social-emotional development. I service fourth grade students that do not know their letters or their sounds. You can imagine how troublesome it is to teach a child how to properly say their letter sounds with a mask covering our mouths. As humans, we rely so much on facial gestures, social cues and reading lips to help us to understand what is being said to us. Imagine a child, who has already lost over two years of a proper education trying to "catch up" on years of lost learning and having a physical barrier blocking their line of education.
The negative effects these masks are having on our children is so immense and it is heartbreaking to see on a daily basis. Our children remain forced in masks despite overwhelming scientific evidence that COVID’s risk to children is minimal.
I'm reaching out because I need some clarity on what Scientific data you have followed in concluding that the benefits of these masks outweigh the negative consequences of them? The CDC and NJ health department have stated that those who live in the yellow zone do not need to be forced to wear masks in schools. I was very hopeful that since it was stated at the board meeting that Trenton is in the yellow, the mandate would finally come to an end, and we could bring these kids some much needed normalcy. I also did my own research and have found that the COVID Color Metric is separated and based by counties and the CDC has Mercer county as Green (low) COVID cases. I'm wondering where does it state that we're in the yellow zone? There are zero masking recommendations for those areas in the green zone and for those in the yellow, they recommend masks only for at risk individuals, none of which constitutes the necessity to continue this universal mask mandate.
During last night’s board meeting it was stated that, "We are seeing really good case numbers in the city and in our schools," so I was shocked to hear that it was deemed necessary to continue this, especially while all the neighboring districts have made the decision to go mask optional.
I know we strive for equity, but I can't help but wonder how this choice reaches that goal? How can we get our students where we need to, for them to succeed like the other kids just a neighborhood away, when those kids don't have anything blocking them from communicating and comprehending the information being taught to them?
I hope you understand that this email was written from a place of love and passion for what I do. I just want the best for the kids in Trenton and I want them to get the most out of my lessons and unfortunately that is not possible with the barriers in place.
I truly hope you will reconsider your decision to continue the mask mandate here at Trenton.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Thank you,
Concerned teacher
Please note that we have to be careful with these leftist, communist terms, which we are getting to used to hearing and accidentally using. Equity is not equality.