To the Editor,
As a Swarthmore resident for 15 years, the mother of two children in the Wallingford-Swarthmore School District, a former school board member, and a public health professional, I am writing to applaud the enormous courage of our school board members who voted to do the right thing and keep education virtual till October 2 (or longer) in an effort to protect the health and well-being of our children, teachers, and larger community. Protecting our children’s well-being (physical and socio-emotional) is at the center of the mission of the school district and public education.
The decision to keep school virtual for now was made using public health expertise drawn from local, regional and national levels — from people who have devoted their entire careers and life’s work to improving and safeguarding children’s well-being — as well as gold standard tracking data used by leading public health institutions across the globe. I am not sure why the owners of the Swarthmorean (Publishers’ Comment, August 21) feel more prepared to interpret this data and related trends and make policy decisions with it than well trained, globally recognized epidemiologists, infectious disease experts, educators and public health practitioners. To be honest, I am baffled at how many of my friends and neighbors are also willing to eschew this expertise to promote an idea that our schools can safely open at this moment in history. In doing so they are asking the school board to knowingly disregard the very advice of the Chester County Health Department (which oversees Delaware County’s COVID-19 response) and experts at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and other renowned institutions.
I understand that this situation is not easy or optimal, and is much harder for some than others. And I too am frustrated that many in our society are not social distancing appropriately and that other businesses that have driven COVID-19 rates up, such as bars, have been allowed to open, while schools cannot. I also wish my children could have a normal school year (or at least one that starts in person). With all of that said, I do not want that at the expense of the health of my community.
The difficult situation we face is not the fault of the school board or administration. As a public health professional, I feel lucky my kids go to school in a district where the school board and administration model the use of expert advice and data to make decisions in difficult times and are working hard to help make virtual education in the fall a positive, high quality experience.
Again, I applaud the school board members who are doing the hard work and making decisions using evidence, even when it is not popular to do so. This is what good leadership looks like.
Wendy Voet
Swarthmore