What will school look like come September? That’s a question many Michiganders have been asking.
The Vice President of the State Board of Education spoke Wednesday about the plans.
This is something on many minds as we inch closer to the first day of school.
We are more than six weeks away from Labor Day, and many schools districts — like Grosse Pointe — start the day after the holiday, while some start the week before.
Many schools have rolled out initial plans to reopen, most continuing to offer a virtual learning option.
Parents are stressing over the decision to send their kids in person or do virtual.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer said last week that it’s is important to be vigilant and stay safe during this short time left before the summer break ends.
“Whether our kids get into school depends on what we do today," said Gov. Whitmer.
In a press conference last week, the governor spoke about the importance of wearing masks today in order to bring the number of COVID-19 cases down in Michigan.
Lower numbers mean safer plans to reopen schools, something that’s being talked about across the nation.
Dr. Pamela Pugh, the Vice President of the Michigan state board of education, is holding a virtual press event Wednesday.
She wants “exposure risks” addressed prior to schools opening such as:
- Ventilation
- Indoor air
- Plumbing
- On-going cleaning
- Monitoring
- Maintenance Plans
- Racial disparities in Black & brown communities.
She said in a statement:
"Many of our schools have long been sacrifice zones and I cannot stand by idly and watch our children be the subjects of another failed experiment as this state rushes to reopen its economy”.
Governor Whitmer believes if everyone does their part by wearing masks and practice social distancing — the numbers can decline faster.
We have less than 55 days until the start of school, and she says a lot of can change by then.
“Can dramatically show a huge increase or decrease, depending on what we all do. Fifty-five days after we discussed our first cases of COVID-19 in Michigan, we went from two cases to 40,000," said Gov. Whitmer.
Watch the press conference below:
Additional Coronavirus information and resources:
Click here for a page with resources including a COVID-19 overview from the CDC, details on cases in Michigan, a timeline of Governor Gretchen Whitmer's orders since the outbreak, coronavirus' impact on Southeast Michigan, and links to more information from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, the CDC and the WHO.
View a global coronavirus tracker with data from Johns Hopkins University.
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