Amend the Minot Public Schools Reintegration Plan

Minot Public Schools Administration

The 2020-21 school year is an uncertain time, to say the least. While we are confident that the Minot Public Schools administration has the best interests of students and staff in mind, many parents, students, and staff feel that the current plan is lacking in a number of areas.

Minot Safe School Reopen is a coalition of Minot parents, students, and staff seeking safe conditions for the start of the 2020-2021 school year. We are unaffiliated with any outside organization. And on behalf of concerned Minot citizens, we demand the following four amendments to the current plan before returning to in-person instruction:

  1. Enact mask-required social distancing in all classrooms via hybrid learning, class size reduction, and/or cohort grouping.
  2. Ensure adequate and safe ventilation in all classrooms.
  3. Maintain distance restrictions until Ward County and/or Minot is free of new COVID-19 cases for 14 days.
  4. Prevent the use of teacher leave for COVID-19 related absences.

We all agree that it is important to get students and staff back into school buildings, but nothing is worth sacrificing the safety of all involved. In his address to the MPS School Board last week, Dr. Vollmer stressed that the Reintegration Plan would be revised as new information became available. Right now, children account for 14% of total COVID-19 positive cases in North Dakota. As we learn that children are capable of spreading the COVID-19 virus to others and schools around the country are being forced into quarantine within the first few days, we are asking the Minot Public Schools administration and school board to amend their plan so that we can keep our schools safely open for as long as possible.

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Minot Safe School Reopen
, ND

To: Minot Public Schools Administration
From: [Your Name]

The 2020-21 school year is an uncertain time, to say the least. While we are confident that the Minot Public Schools administration had the best interests of students and staff in mind, we feel that the current plan is lacking in a number of areas.

Minot Safe School Reopen is a coalition of Minot parents, students, and staff, seeking safe conditions for the start of the 2020-2021 school year. We are unaffiliated with any outside organization. And on behalf of concerned Minot citizens, we demand the following four amendments to the current plan before returning to in-person instruction:

1. Enact mask-required social distancing in all classrooms via hybrid learning, class size reduction, and/or cohort grouping.

2. Ensure adequate and safe ventilation in all classrooms.

3. Maintain distance restrictions until Ward County and/or Minot is free of new COVID-19 cases for 14 days.

4. Prevent the use of teacher leave for COVID-19 related absences.

We all agree that it is important to get students and staff back into school buildings, but nothing is worth sacrificing the safety of all involved. In his address to the MPS School Board last week, Dr. Vollmer stressed that the Reintegration plan would be revised as new information became available. Right now, in North Dakota, children account for 14% of total COVID-19 positive cases.​ As we learn that children are capable of spreading the COVID-19 virus to others​ and schools around the country are being forced into quarantine within the first few days, we are asking the Minot Public Schools administration and school board to amend their plan so that we can keep our schools safely open for as long as possible.

Thank you for your concern.

Signed,
The concerned parents, students, and staff of Minot Public Schools

Citations:
1. American Academy of Pediatrics: https://downloads.aap.org/AAP/PDF/AAP%20and%20CHA%20-%20Children%20and%20COVID-19%20State%20Data%20Report%207.30.20%20FINAL.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3HmOC8pP2Q9zWZy_CofFQAGhav869hpo4bQKXmTSuoAE6D5giJc3mxaSs

2. NPR News: https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/08/11/900861372/at-least-97-000-children-tested-positive-for-coronavirus-in-last-2-weeks-of-july