Kevin Pocovi
Camila Gonzalez 
Dear School Administrator,
The past 1.5 years have been challenging. No one knows that better than you. I do not envy your position and the decisions you need to make to balance education, health (both physical and mental), and government recommendations or mandates. The feelings I express here should not be misinterpreted for a lack of appreciation. The schools in our community put the Public School system to shame. Our schools are proof that children could learn safely in-person despite all the challenges.
However, as a parent of young children I can’t remain silent and risk the wellbeing of my children and thousands of others. I can’t be silent when children as young as two years old are forced to mask themselves or even worse, be injected with a vaccine that has almost no long-term research especially for adolescents.
As parents, we trust you with our children. Not just to educate them, but to help them grow, mature, and to keep them safe. The same way you would never allow a dangerous individual to enter your school, I ask that you not allow dangerous policies to enter your building either.
Sadly, the issue of safety has been replaced with public policy, mandates, overbearing guidelines, and politics. The rules and challenges we face today are hardly connected to safety. As it relates to the vaccine, we know that children have little risk to Covid-19, but they could spread the virus to other vulnerable populations. Today, the vulnerable populations are vaccinated, or have the choice to be vaccinated and chose not to. Furthermore, both the CDC and Dr. Fauci have publicly stated that vaccinated people can still spread the virus. With this information I see no conceivable reason to vaccinate children. They do not need the protection that the vaccine provides, and the vaccine does not prevent them from spreading the virus to others.
Regarding masks, there has yet to be a single study that supports or proves that masks prevent the spread of Covid-19. Not one. This is further highlighted when those wearing masks are wearing non-medical grade fabric from a local gift shop or Old Navy as most children are. Despite the bright and warm styles of unicorns or baseballs, these masks are not medical grade PPE nor fitted to prevent the spread of a virus that is 1/600th the size of a strand of hair. In contrast, many studies have shown that masks have led to heightened anxiety, isolation and inhaling increased levels of Carbon Dioxide.
Now is your chance to stand up. You can stand up to the guidelines and mandates and protect our children. Vaccines have potentially dangerous outcomes and masks are a source of discomfort and stress for many students. But more significantly, they are a reminder of all the restrictions our children have endured the past 17 months. All the playdates they weren’t allowed to have, the canceled Bar/Bas mitzvahs, the grandparents waving through windows, the 9+ hours per day spend on a screen and so much more. Today, I ask you to stand up.
