Bas Brukx

Please see our statement in response to the CDC's shift to 3 ft. We expect school systems to now rapidly move to providing fulltime options, leaving recalcitrant districts in an embarrassingly small club, subject to increased national scrutiny. @FCPSSupt @RachnaHeizer

Chief pediatrician at Weill Cornell Medicine notes he has observed trends that signal potentially irreversible damage to children, including a "tidal wave of children requiring hospitalization for mental health crises." amp.newsobserver.com/article…

When given the choice between traditional in-person versus remote learning, most families (including majorities of Black & Latinx families) take in-person with the disparity even larger for parents w bachelor's degrees.

Update: COVID numbers continue to plummet, both nationally & in FFX county as vaccinations pick up. Most(~90%) of FCPS teachers & staff will be fully vaccinated by the end of the month. The health situation this Spring will support a full time option w precautions. #fightforfive

Since the new narrative being pushed is that schools can only safely reopen if every safeguard is ironclad & millions are spent, it's worth noting that the recent CDC study of WI schools was of schools that had no special air filtration system & didnt perfectly follow safeguards.

COVID numbers in Fairfax County & across the country continue their steady decline as vaccinations pick up. Positivity is now below 10%. It is well past time that we open our schools for hybrid and pull out all the stops to plan for a 5-day option in the weeks ahead.