I write to share my concerns about the Anchorage School District’s decision to reopen schools to in-person classes. I am the parent of four children enrolled in the Anchorage School District, at Huffman Elementary, Goldenview Middle School, South High School and the Alaska Middle College.
Current Centers for Disease Control guidelines recommend maintaining 6 feet of distance between students and staff, yet ASD is only committed to maintaining three feet of distance. Enforcing even the three-foot rule and strict handwashing and hygiene practices places an undue burden on teachers and staff, particularly in the elementary school setting, where children naturally have less spatial awareness and are still learning proper hygiene habits. As for secondary students, expecting that an entire building full of teenagers will keep their masks on all day and maintain three feet of distance from each other is laughable. It is simply unfair and unreasonable to expect our children to shoulder the burden of preventing the spread of a highly contagious and deadly disease. We are their parents and teachers. It is our job to protect them.
ASD has placed parents in the impossible position of choosing between their children’s education and their health and the health of their families and community. I am a single parent managing a full-time job from home while caring for my children. I know many others are in a similar position. I simply do not have the 3-5 hours each day ASD recommends to guide my daughter through the ASD virtual curriculum. If I choose to keep her at home, she will no doubt fall behind. To continue to protect my children’s health, ASD is forcing me to sacrifice their education.
Throughout this past year, we have all made sacrifices to protect the vulnerable in our community. We are all experiencing the grief and monotony of social isolation. But we are finally starting to see the benefits of those sacrifices: Daily COVID-19 case numbers are falling and hospital capacity is increasing. The vaccines are coming. Now is not the time to abandon the strategies we know are working.
I urge the school board and Superintendent Deena Bishop to reconsider the decision to reopen the schools. When it’s time, our children deserve to return to an educational environment they and their families can trust is safe.
— Amanda Eklund
Anchorage
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