Dear Governor....we can do better.

*This post is NOT coming from a heart motivated by a political agenda or with any hidden motives.  I am writing with sincere concern for the health and safety of my own children, my students, my colleagues and myself.

Yesterday, the governor of Iowa released the "Reopening Guidance for Schools" document as a resource for administrators to safely open school districts.  As many teachers and parents alike, I have been anticipating the release of such information in order to plan for what the fall may look like for my classroom and for my own children.  Knowing full well how quickly things can change between now and the first day of school, I was still interested to see what safety guidance would be given to schools during this strange back to school season we are about to begin.

Here are a few of the highlights taken from the document released yesterday.  Please forgive me if I have left out specific details, but this is the general overview of the guidance given to Iowa schools.  

*Stay home if you are ill.

*Don't screen students and staff upon entering school.

*Teach and reinforce washing hands with soap and water.

*Requiring face coverings for all staff and students is not recommended.

*Provide PPE for employees who have a medium to high risk of exposure.

*School may not be able to guarantee that physical distancing can be met in all school settings.

*Post signs on how to stop the spread of illness, properly wash hands, and promote everyday protective measures.

*Have a general framework for cleaning facilities.

In March 2020, our schools were placed into an unprecedented state of closure due to the pandemic facing our nation.  Locally and nationally, schools began closing their doors to students in order to minimize the spread and enable our health care system to withstand the influx of Covid patients needing specialized care.  Prior to the closure, our school district already had MANY wonderful policies and practices in place to keep our students and staff safe.  

*Students and staff were already strongly encouraged to stay home if they are ill.  We did not screen students and staff upon entering the school.  

*We daily taught and reinforced washing hands with soap and water.  

*Our district had many signs posted throughout our buildings educating students and staff on how to stop the spread of illness, properly wash hands, and promote everyday protective measures.

*Our district staff had a general framework in place for cleaning facilities.

Here are a few things not yet in place in March 2020:

*Staff and students did not wear any type of face coverings.

*PPE was not provided.

*Due to the size of classrooms and number of students, there was not a way to guarantee physical distancing was being met to minimize exposure.

As evidenced above, this reopening guidance from the state to administrators offers very few additional recommended protective measures for students or staff.  This very same pandemic has prompted the closing of businesses, minimizing groups gathering to 10 or less, closed places of worship, and then more recently has prompted several safety guidelines that must be followed when reopening businesses.  Yet, we are being told to reopen our schools in the fall(about 6 weeks from now) without any additional preventative procedures in place.  Am I jumping for joy to wear a mask every day at school? No.  Do I think having each students' temperature taken as they enter the building and designated times in the hallways creates a scheduling/staffing nightmare? Yes.  However, we have always been in the business of protecting and doing what is best for our students. I proudly belong to a district that I believe has ALWAYS risen to the challenge and a district that is made up of amazing, innovative professionals.

As an early childhood educator, I know the importance and research behind the psychology of meeting the specific needs of my students.  If our students' physiological needs are not being met(food, water, sleep, clothing), it is extremely difficult for students to focus on learning division.  Next comes their safety.  Students must have a sense of safety and security before being tasked with reading a text with difficult vocabulary.  This is not only true of our students but also true for the professional educators and support staff within our school building.  If an educator does not feel safe, is the academic rigor and quality of instruction provided to students on a daily basis what it should be?

I believe the end goal for all educators, administrators, and parents alike, is to get our students back into their physical classrooms to learn, be challenged and grow socially.  However, I believe it is negligent to return without some new protective measures in place.  I fear that just waiting to just see what happens will cause more disruption in student learning long term.  I strongly desire to meet my students face to face in the fall, spend more than just a few weeks together and keep everyone as safe as possible.  Our students and educational staff deserve the same careful considerations being made globally during this pandemic.