School district follows common-sense precautions

Bravo, Hamtramck Public Schools.
That is, bravo for requiring students and staff to wear masks when school returns in a few weeks.
You’d think that decision would be a no-brainer, but there are other districts where this has become not only controversial, but also physically confrontational.
Some school board meetings in the country have erupted into shouting matches — and worse — by those opposed to requiring mask wearing in schools.
And it should be mentioned that, unlike other districts across the country, there has been no pushback from parents – as far as we can tell. Hamtramck parents are aware of the danger posed by not taking a common-sense health approach to safeguard our students and teachers.
The Covid crisis is still with us, and we could see another spike in cases as variants begin to appear and infect people. We won’t be surprised if the district has to once again suspend in-person learning, if the new strains of Covid continue to spread like wildfire.
Worse, these new strains appear to be targeting kids. As of now, you have to be at least 12 years old to get a vaccination – which means many younger students are left vulnerable.
Parents who choose to keep their students home and continue to learn via online can stick with that option.
But the district is requiring a commitment from parents to make sure their students actually participate in their daily lessons. Last year, a number of parents complained that their students could not focus on their virtual lessons.
The district also became concerned about a number of students who seemed to drop away from logging in for lessons.
We can understand why.
Teaching and learning require being in a classroom. Why? Because that forces students to focus on their lessons.
Overall, though, the district and the students rose to the challenge last year, as this Covid pandemic crippled a lot of our normal routines.
Posted Aug. 20, 2021