Tacoma parents launch petition calling for stronger COVID-19 measures in schools

A group of Tacoma parents concerned about keeping students safe this school year has launched a petition asking for stronger actions to protect against the spread of COVID-19 and better communication between parents and the district.

The petition, posted online Wednesday, addresses the Tacoma School Board, Tacoma Public Schools superintendent Joshua Garcia and Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department director Dr. Anthony Chen.

“We are parents, caregivers and community members in the Tacoma Public School District asking for Covid-19 and Delta variant specific protections and responses from the district, with support and guidance from the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department (TPCHD),” the petition states.

“With cases currently at their highest levels during the pandemic, full hospitals, and the more virulent Delta variant spreading rapidly, more robust plans and swift action is needed. We call on Tacoma Public Schools to take action on these issues at the district level rather than taking a school-by-school approach that will further exacerbate inequities or overburden school staff or families.”

The petition was formed by a group of about 10 parents after Emily Kalteich, a mother of two Tacoma elementary students, made a Facebook post on the Tacoma Community Page asking if parents would be interested in signing one. Kalteich said that 102 people had signed the petition as of Thursday morning.

The parent petition lists five requests, including eating meals outside, providing COVID-19 screening tests, sharing how students will learn in the event of an outbreak or classes return to virtual, prioritizing ventilation of buildings, and informing families of positive COVID-19 cases in classrooms.

Leah Coakley, parent of a Tacoma elementary student, was one of the parents who helped organize the petition. She said parents have been talking about their concerns for a while through social media, particularly about the inability for younger students to get vaccinated.

Coakley said she and other parents want the petition to be an invitation to the district to open the lines of communication when it comes to COVID-19 safety. Everyone’s goals are the same: to keep students safe while they are in school.

“I wanted us to become a connected force rather than us all working separately,” she said.

Kathryn McCarthy, spokesperson for Tacoma Public Schools, provided a written response on behalf of the district on Wednesday after The News Tribune asked for comment about the petition.

“We understand that families have a deep desire to protect their children and do everything they can to keep them in good health,” the statement said. “As a school district, we feel the same way, and we want families to know how we’re working to provide healthy and safe learning environments during this pandemic. TPS continues to follow the guidance and recommendations of our state and local health authorities, which includes allowing students to participate in full-time, in-person instruction.”

Meals

The petition states concerns about students eating inside and frequently having to remove their masks. Parents suggest following in the footsteps of Portland Public Schools, which prioritizes eating outside, at least for the first six weeks of school.

“Federal Covid-19 funds can be used in part for rental or purchase of supplies and for hiring support staff to implement outdoor lunches,” the petition states. “We ask for special attention to equity issues and schools with highest needs receiving additional resources.”

In response, the district said that “every school and district office has a COVID supervisor in place to ensure health and safety protocols are followed and to assist with COVID questions and concerns,” and that “each building has its own COVID safety plan to address any unique building needs.”

That also goes for school lunches.

“Many schools added an additional lunch period to meet physical distancing needs,” according to the district’s statement. “Schools are using the cafeteria and in some cases the gym and classrooms. Most of our high schools have an option for students to eat outside. We continue to look for ways to adjust and adapt meal plans to maximize social distancing.”

Coakley said that some parents do not know who their building’s COVID-19 supervisor is and want to be introduced to them.

“We want better communication — we want to know who to go to for concerns,” she said.

Ventilation

Parents want the district to prioritize ventilation.

“While some schools have state-of-the-art ventilation, others have significantly outdated infrastructure. The District should share information about ventilation at each school and should work to decrease inequities between school buildings by investing in solutions like outdoor learning spaces, portable air purifiers, and additional screening tests at schools with less robust ventilation,” the petition states.

The district says staff “conducts routine tests to ensure classrooms have the amount of air flow required by the state Department of Health,” and that the local health department inspects all TPS sites every other year.

“The district has met and continues to meet or surpass state air quality requirements,” the district said.

The district also changes air filters at least three times per year, increased fresh air in structures and purchased two air monitoring devices.

TPS said that all school sites will be updated to meet higher air quality HVAC system standards as recommended (not required) by the state health department.

Parents said they’d like to see more specific information about each school more easily available.

Screening, outbreaks

The petition also asks for regular screening of students, even those without symptoms, as recommended in the Washington state Department of Health’s guidance from August.

Through a partnership with the Washington state Department of Health, Tacoma Public Schools offers free COVID-19 testing in schools to students showing symptoms of the virus.

The petition asks for clearer communication from the district on a number of things, including how students will learn amid an outbreak or quarantine and what might trigger a return to virtual learning.

They also want to be alerted if someone in their student’s classroom tests positive for COVID-19, and not just if they’re within close contact.

“We’ve been told that we will not be informed if there’s a positive case in our child’s classroom unless our child is deemed a close contact,” the petition states.

That’s not the case, according to the district, which said that it works with the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department for contract tracing and communication.

“We notify each individual who is deemed a close contact and give instructions for isolation or quarantining. We provide staff and families notification when there is a case in their classroom or workspace. Additionally, we publish information on our website each time there is a COVID positive case in a school or district office,” the district said.

TPS said it is also creating a plan to provide detailed guidance to teachers whose classrooms may experience single or multiple COVID-19 positive cases, including “tiered system for teaching isolated or quarantined students individually or by class.” That guidance will be classroom-specific, the district said.