CambridgeToday received the following letter to the editor from the Waterloo Chapter of Clean Air For All regarding the upcoming return to school for area students.
Dear Chair Weston, Chair Redman, and Honourable MPPs of Waterloo Region,
I write to you today as a representative of Clean Air For All - Waterloo Chapter, all our group members are part of your constituencies. Our members are parents, grandparents, caregivers of students in WRDSB, education workers, union members, and community members of Waterloo Region. We came together over this past summer as we wanted to have a voice and address the many challenges that our local schools and communities face, our concerns span many jurisdictions yet are all interconnected. We would like to meet with you all individually as well as meet as a collaborative team to address our concerns.
The challenges we are concerned about include low attendance/high absences, deteriorating mental and physical health, lack of attention to air quality, unmitigated spread of COVID-19 and other viruses, as well, more frequent climate-related public health issues such as pollution, wildfire smoke, extreme heat and weather. These issues are compounded by the discontinuation of local wastewater surveillance, the alarming recent findings on Long COVID in children and the effect misinformation and disinformation is having in our schools and on our communities. We are also greatly concerned about the WRDSB's punitive attendance policies that risk the health of students and education workers. We are facing systemic issues and thus the solutions cannot be put on the backs of individuals alone, it is called public health for a reason. At the same time, individuals require transparent information so that they make informed decisions for themselves and their families; a public health education campaign in accessible language is desperately needed.
We have written an open letter and have shared it with the community, we currently have 56 supporters who have signed our letter. In addition we have 12 education workers and nine parents who support the letter but will not sign as they fear potential reprisals. We ask that you read our letter in full which includes questions we are asking to the WRDSB concerning our children and sources to our claims.
We all share the same goal: safe and healthy schools where our students and education workers can thrive. Our asks are simple, in summary, we respectfully request that the WRDSB:
- Launch a public health education campaign in collaboration with public health and the community.
- Communicate their plans for a healthy school year.
- An equitable approach to attendance policies that considers the needs of all.
- Provide detailed answers to the attached questions. (which can be found in our open letter)
The start of the school year is just around the corner and we are disappointed that there have been no communications from the WRDSB as of yet in regards to their plans for a healthy school year. Our immediate ask is that the WRDSB provide a clear, transparent and accessible communication regarding their plans for a healthy school year prior to the first day of school on September 03, 2024 with a more detailed response as soon as feasible.
Thank you for your time and our group looks forward to speaking with you,
Amanda Tyler
Waterloo
Parent and Waterloo Region Contact for Clean Air For All - Waterloo Chapter
