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Letter

Schools Depend on Us

We can all help to get through this surge of cases without having to close schools, lose teachers, and stress our healthcare community to the breaking point

By Katie Sako

Recently the Whitefish School Board discussed the significant negative impact of COVID on students and staff safety. They listened to the administration and community members, considered data showing 25 positive cases and 226 close contacts in the first week of January (by far the highest numbers to date), and then voted to stay the course, including no masking requirements. The administration then took steps within the current policies to report to parents the worrisome impact the increase in cases is having on the staff, and to reiterate requests for masking (now highly recommended), staying home when sick, physically distancing when possible, and testing. The best part, though, is that it appears the front offices at the schools immediately increased their own mask wearing. This is an awesome step as it models behavior that anyone can do to reduce community spread. The School Board and administration believe our families and students can and will do their part to reduce the spread of the virus at school. Regardless of what students and staff do outside of school, they can help protect the school community with proper mask wearing at school. As a parent, I am asking other parents to do what the School Board and administration know we can do – have your students wear masks! We can all help to get through this surge of cases without having to close schools, lose teachers, and stress our healthcare community to the breaking point. Thank you!

Katie Sako
Whitefish