Plainfield Parents, Students Rally For In-Person Classes

PLAINFIELD, IL — Several Plainfield students and parents gathered along Lincoln Highway, outside the Plainfield School District 202 headquarters on Monday, demanding that schools reopen for in-person classes. Despite the looming concerns regarding the coronavirus pandemic, parents are worried that remote learning is actually harming children more than the virus itself.

Jean Perle, who is the grandparents of students attending D202 schools, said "the constant fear has paralyzed logical thinking."

"I just couldn't imagine going through e-learning when my 3 boys were in school. My granddaughter had meltdowns and wanted to go to school to be with schoolmates. As a result she is getting remote schooling (but inside a PSD 202 school) through the YMCA," Perle said. "Nothing makes sense to me. If we put the kids learning first, maybe we can think more clearly. Fears of kids bringing home COVID-19 to those at home isn't about the kids learning. The fearful should be able to remote and those who will be cautious and non fearful should get in person schooling."

While the Will-Kankee region had new restrictions imposed on them due to a rise in the COVID-19 numbers, as of Friday, Will County has been seeing a decrease in its positivity rate. However, the test positivity rate is currently 7.5 percent, which is still well above the target of below 5 percent, a metric that health professionals use to determine whether kids should be back in school.

The Association of Plainfield Teachers President Dawn Bullock told Patch that she understands the need for normalcy, organization and control, "but at what cost?"

"Is it good enough to hope that your child socially distances and wears his mask while in the hallway changing classrooms or on a bus? Are you comfortable with your child being exposed to those not wearing masks on a school bus, in a hallway during a passing period or even in their classrooms?" she said. "The CDC says that wearing masks and keeping our distance is important, yet far too often we as a society fail to investigate further."

She said that if they had taken the time to educate the masses on viral load, they would clearly understand that at full capacity, middle and high school staff and students encounter at least 150 students a day, impacting their viral load "beyond that of our health care workers."

Bullock said it is also important to understand the difference between a medical grade versus a non-medical grade cloth mask. While cloth masks are good for that grocery store trip, they are not effective in prolonged source control, meaning in a school setting, they are less effective at preventing the virus from spreading.

"Parents and teachers alike demand a high-quality education in a safe learning environment. Our foremost concern is safety, so in addition to wearing high-quality masks, we also need to examine the systems of ventilation, filtration, and cleaning of the physical spaces," she said. "What happens if one system fails: we don’t get a touchpoint or room wiped down, a room lacks windows or proper ventilation? A building becomes contaminated. Each person has increased their viral load and is taking it with them to the bus, their homes, and, often, extended families. Is this risk worth rushing students back to school buildings?"

She also mentions underlying conditions that the schools or guradians might not even know about.

"Our heart screenings at the high schools have discovered many cases that parents weren’t even aware of," Bullock said. "The uncertainty of knowing who will contract COVID-19 coupled with who will survive is why this is a pandemic and why we insist on high standards coupled with strong policies. As community members, it is our responsibility to get all of our questions answered before sending our cherished students and teachers into a building."

According to ABC 7 Chicago reporting, Plainfield school officials said they also want students and teachers back in schools, but there are various considerations including staffing issues, substitute teacher issues as the pool of sub teachers, logistics issues and being able to procure the appropriate amount of PPEs.

For more news and information like this, subscribe to the Plainfield Patch for free. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here. Don't forget to like us on Facebook!