Hundreds of physicians, psychologists call for Ann Arbor Public Schools to reopen
ANN ARBOR โ More than 350 local physicians and psychologists have signed an open letter and petition to the Ann Arbor Board of Education and Ann Arbor Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Jeanice Kerr Swift, urging them to reopen schools for students who choose to learn in-person by Gov. โThe scientific, health and psychological consensus is clear: It is possible for children and teachers to safely return to school with proper mitigation measures. AdโMy own experience of seeing the devastation caused by school closure among Ann Arborโs children has been eye-opening and heartbreaking. โItโs time for Ann Arbor to make the rational decision to allow students and families a choice of in-person schooling. AAPS students deserve better.โThis is the third letter that Ann Arbor healthcare providers has sent to AAPS and coincides with efforts by parents to reopen the schools due to negative impacts their children are facing during the closures.
WATCH: U-M Mott Childrenโs experts discuss returning to in-person learning
Screenshot from the live Q&A session by experts at C.S. Mott Children's Hospital on Jan. 28, 2021. Mott Childrenโs Hospital hosted a live Q&A session for parents who have questions and concerns about returning to face-to-face learning during the coronavirus pandemic. โSchools do need to keep kids from congregating,โ said Tribble, who said that talking in close groups does raise the risk of transmission. โMask wearing remains number one for population spread,โ said Terry Bravender, chief of adolescent medicine at Mott.
Doctors at Mott Childrenโs hosting live Q&A on returning to school
Pupils arrive at Manor Park School and Nursery in Knutsford, England, as schools across England return after the Christmas break, Monday, Jan. 4, 2021. (Martin Rickett/PA via AP)ANN ARBOR โ After months of remote learning, some students are returning to schools as districts begin to reopen. Returning to school may bring social, emotional and behavioral challenges for some children and teens as they readjust to classes during a pandemic. Mott Childrenโs Hospital will host a live Q&A session with its experts to answer familiesโ top questions about undergoing these changes at noon on Thursday. โParents may have questions about everything from COVID-19 exposure risks to supporting their child or teenโs emotional, social and mental health.
Parent group to rally for safe return to schools in Ann Arbor Saturday
A sign for Ann Arbor Reasonable Return is posted next to the Ann Arbor Farmers Market on Dec. 9, 2020. ANN ARBOR โ Ann Arbor Reasonable Return, a grassroots organization founded by local parents, will be holding a rally on Saturday in downtown Ann Arbor in support of Gov. The group, which also goes by A2R2, is made up of parents and medical professionals. The rally will begin at noon at the Ann Arbor Post Office at 200 E. Liberty St.โThe community is urging Ann Arbor Public Schools to follow state guidance and finally offer the safe in-person option they advertised to the community at the start of the year,โ read a press release. More than 500 parents have already petitioned the district, and the advocacy group presented a letter from more than 130 area doctors and pediatric nurses recommending a safe return to in-person learning.
DTE delivers another 80,000 N95 masks to Oakland County for medical professionals, first responders
OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. โ This week, DTE Energy donated another 80,000 much-needed N95 masks to Oakland Countyโs Homeland Security Division to help fight the spread of the coronavirus. Oakland County Executive David Coulter was on hand to accept the donation. DTE has now given a total of 130,000 N95 masks. Oakland County is accepting donations at the Oakland County Farmers Market, 2350 Pontiac Lake Road, in Waterford from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The Homeland Security Division will pick up donations for those unable to deliver them.