In-person schooling

It’s time for the Virginia Beach City Public Schools administration and School Board to send option 1 students — those who chose face-to-face education in July — back to school. At the Dec. 1 School Board meeting, the board stuck to the metrics and plan it approved months ago in July, despite a motion by Board Member Victoria Manning to update plan metrics.

The current data coming out consistently tells us several things:

Kids are safe in school. In recent weeks, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield and Dr. Anthony Fauci have both stated that all attempts should be made to keep schools open as children pose a low risk of serious infection and of transmission of the disease.

Numerous recent studies, including one from UNICEF using data collected from 191 countries, have shown that schools are not a vector of community spread.

The mitigation in place at schools that are open is working; this includes VBCPS when students were present, according to VBCPS Superintendent Aaron Spence.

Recent news out of districts such as Fairfax County have shown students are failing in virtual learning, and for the most vulnerable students the achievement gap is widening.

Students are struggling from serious mental health decline and isolation.

Area private schools have successfully remained open and are engaging in meaningful face-to-face instruction. The School Board in Chesapeake voted to continue its face-to-face instruction a few weeks ago.

Hopefully, the VBCPS School Board members will soon utilize current facts and data and send our students back to school.

Becky Hay, Virginia Beach