Dear MERSD School Committee Members,

We petition that MERSD School Committee vote to start grades K through 3rd grade in-person at the start of 2020 school year.

We feel that the local school committee is failing the parents and the children in our community -- they are failing to follow CDC, state and federal guidance and have recently voted to start our year fully remote - without clear rationale for our K-3 group.  

MERSD School Committee is a 9 person representative body, with 7 voting members, that has been entrusted with the complex task of how to prioritize in-person learning for the students of MERSD from ages pre-K through 12th grade (which includes over 500 Elementary-aged children.)    DESE & Governor Baker request that we prioritize in-person learning.  Dr. Anthony Fauci, in a recent interview, stated that if local numbers are low, we should be able to safely send our kids “back to school” (in-person.)

On Friday, August 14, 2020, Manchester Cricket listed this as the 5th week in a row with NO NEW COVID cases in Manchester and 4th week in a row of NO NEW COVID cases in Essex.  There is a lower risk for Covid-19 infection & transmission of children aged 0-9 due to their decreased number of ACE-2 receptors and therefore a lower risk to teachers/staff of this age group.  This is the easiest age group to cohort, and this age group will have the lowest risk of compromise to the core curriculum that MERSD provides – and most importantly, this is the age group that would MOST BENEFIT academically/socially/emotionally by in-person learning.  

How can a 7 person school committee deny our little children access to an in-person education?  Please don't stand by and watch this happen.  The children ages 0-9 are scientifically less likely to get and spread COVID-19 and will most benefit by in person learning.  Please help our K-3rd graders because our local school committee won't. Our children need our help!

We petition that MERSD School Committee vote to start grades K through 3rd grade in-person at the start of 2020 school year.

Respectfully submitted, 

Tamar Lipof, MD

(Who I am -- I am a concerned parent in Manchester, MA and a practicing physician in this community. I'm the mother of 5 yo and 7 yo girls starting kindergarten and 2nd grade next month at Manchester Memorial Elementary School.) 

HELPFUL LINKS:

https://www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/conditions/COVID-19/Pages/Return-to-School-During-COVID-19.aspx (Return to school during covid-19 information -- from the American Academy of Pediatrics)

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/k-12-testing.html ---  [Universal SARS-CoV-2 testing of all students and staff in school settings has not been systematically studied. It is not known if testing in school settings provides any additional reduction in person-to-person transmission of the virus beyond what would be expected with implementation of other infection preventive measures (e.g., social distancing, mask, hand washing, enhanced cleaning and disinfecting). Therefore, CDC does not recommend universal testing of all students and staff.]

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/indicators.html   (The CDC recently published new school reopening guidelines with color coded scale.  Our district/towns meet all the metrics for reopening, including the secondary indicators.)

https://www.chop.edu/news/journals-susceptibility-children-covid-19  (ACE-2 receptors in children)

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2769878?guestAccessKey=ed1f6dd1-6195-4583-8491-3486aa08c9a3&utm_source=silverchair&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=article_alert-jamapediatrics&utm_content=olf&utm_term=082520 [These findings suggest a low pooled prevalence of positive SARS-CoV-2 test results among children who were asymptomatic and presenting for surgical or medical care.  ----  The strong association between prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in children who are asymptomatic and contemporaneous weekly incidence of COVID-19 in the general population (quantified by the best-fit equation in Figure 2A) provides a simple means for institutions to estimate local pediatric asymptomatic prevalence from the publicly available Johns Hopkins University database.3 This prevalence can be used to guide policy on institutional settings for children within that community and estimate pretest probability for SARS-CoV-2 screening. Ongoing estimates of the prevalence of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection in children may be updated as the COVID-19 pandemic evolves (Figure 2B).]

https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/covid19/87883 (pediatric infectious disease doctor discusses ages 10 & over are like adults with regards to viral spread of covid-19) 

https://www.generalsurgerynews.com/Web-Only/Article/08-20/Should-You-Send-Your-Kid-to-School-/59335?sub=5B657DBAA7BA71BA1662517E28F7AAC3E81A17A4E8A97EFD034487C70633C&enl=true&dgid=U080060283&utm_source=enl&utm_content=2&utm_campaign=20200819&utm_medium=button (overview with expert medical advice on how to reopen safely and factors to consider)

For schools to reopen, CDC Director Robert R. Redfield, MD, said communities have to get the virus under control by practicing the mitigation strategies: social distancing and masking. “We owe it to our nation’s children to take personal responsibility to do everything we can to lower the levels of COVID-19 so that they can go back to school safely,” he said. 

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/08/06/897295450/how-safe-is-your-schools-reopening-plan-here-s-what-to-look-for (NPR synopsis on what steps are needed for safe in person learning and future directions likely) 

https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/covid19/88065  (Dr. Anthony Fauci speaks to Rhode Island Governor)

https://www.salemnews.com/opinion/columns/should-schools-reopen/article_938542f4-89bf-5782-94a8-5c7468f2b82e.html (Dr. Ian Sklaver, local pediatrician on why schools should open in-person)

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/08/our-city-flattened-the-curve-our-kids-belong-in-school/615274/?utm_campaign=the-atlantic&utm_term=2020-08-14T10%3A00%3A02&utm_content=edit-promo&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social (child psychiatrist perspective)

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2769435?guestAccessKey=672bf598-3257-4874-9255-52063dafbefc&utm_source=silverchair&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=article_alert-jamapediatrics&utm_content=olf&utm_term=081120 (JAMA article from 8.11.20 -- Operational Considerations on the American Academy of Pediatrics Guidance for K-12 School Reentry)

https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/03/us/fauci-schools-reopening-coronavirus/index.html  (june 4, 2020 Fauci comments on opening schools in Fall 2020)

https://www.wcvb.com/article/gov-baker-cant-imagine-a-reason-not-to-go-back-to-school-in-most-communities-based-on-covid-19-case-rate/33575490 (Governor Baker on Returning to School)

https://www.npr.org/2020/07/02/886845449/massachusetts-education-commissioner-on-states-plan-to-reopen-schools-in-the-fal  (DESE Commissioner Riley prioritizing in-person learning)