Safety is a priority for schools

The Daily Local News’ front-page story about protests presented a very onesided view of choice.

To be clear, I agree with the protestors on two major points. I believe that inperson instruction is the best and that the hybrid model will be challenging enough that it may be even worse than fully remote learning.

The protestors represented in the article yesterday believe that districts should be providing a choice for fulltime, in-person instruction for those who want it, the article goes so far as to (incorrectly) cite the guarantee of the “pursuit of happiness” in the Bill of Rights (that phrase is in the Declaration of Independence, not the Constitution).

What the protestors seem to be missing is that life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are not ideals reserved for students and their parents. Offering parents a choice of fulltime, in-person instruction directly infringes on the freedom of choice of at least two other groups. While the article points out that most of the deaths in Chester County have been seniors (a fact in which no one should take solace), it fails to mention that 70% of the COVID-19 cases in Chester County have been in the age groups from 20-69, the very age groups that include almost all the faculty and staff at any school.

The faculty and staff will be interfacing in close, enclosed spaces for up to six-and-a-half hours a day with children. The only choice left to educators who may find this risk too great is the choice to quit or use leave. In other words, the protestors are asking for the choice to abrogate someone else’s right to a healthy, safe work environment (never mind pursuing happiness).

Leave aside, for a moment, the chaos that would be created by even a modest, partial walk-out of faculty and staff, let’s look at the other group whose choice would be diminished.

Children do get COVID-19 and they can spread it even if their own symptoms are relatively minor. While some argue that students do not often interact with those most at risk in our community, think of all the healthcare professionals, first responders, and essential workers that have children in our public schools. That is one short step from a student to the most vulnerable population among us.

According to the West Chester district, there is not enough space in the schools to accommodate all the students every day while following the health department’s guidelines. Therefore, providing the parents with a choice comes with the real possibility that the schools will have to forego safety measures or turn away students, yet the protestors demand this opportunity be given to them now, without a plan, and in spite of the guidelines.

The protestors—who represent a very small fraction of the district’s residents—say that all they want is a choice, but the choice they are demanding will put others in the community at risk without having a say in the matter, which is no choice at all.

Will Wood West Chester