Good Afternoon. My name is Lakesha Davis and I live in Culpeper, VA. I have 4 kids, 2 who have already graduated and I am an active volunteer within 3 of the schools in the area.  I am writing today to voice a few concerns in regards to the past few weeks. My son was recently sent home from school with what I thought was a sore throat, but it ended up being COVID. We have done everything right for the past 18 months, and he goes back to school for 8 days and ends up sick. The whole house has to quarantine and he is missing 2 weeks of instruction and his brother is missing 3 weeks of instruction. My husband and I luckily have jobs where we can still work from home, but what happens to the family that can't?  The COVID symptoms are showing up completely different in kids as they are in adults and it is making it very hard for the school nurses to make a determination of when to send the kids home and require a test to return. This is much bigger than we think and I am only reaching out because I have seen it personally. 

I think while the mitigation plan may work, there are so many other variables that are coming in to place. I think that the School Board and Administration need to take a closer look. I know that some board members have been pushing for parents to submit the Religion Exemptions and even taking it a step forward to go in to schools and strongly encourage staff members to submit the same email, who is this really benefiting? These same kids who aren't wearing a mask could unknowingly be carrying the virus. I urge you to step in to encourage the local school board to reconsider and make masks wearing mandatory unless you can prove your medical or religious exemption. 

Finally, I have to say how disappointed I am to see a school board member publish emails, post things indirectly about teachers pursuing their Masters who they have an issue with, or calling out certain staff members only to get their constituents to go after them publicly. This is completely unprofessional and it causes a huge divide within the community. While they say that teachers have a voice, when they try to voice their opinions (whether good or bad), school board members publicly humiliate them. I have heard from 100's of teachers and they are all ready to leave the county. When teachers feel degraded, unappreciated, and defeated they will leave. In these positions, school board members have to have a thick skin and be able to take criticism. I would hope that they would show everyone respect regardless of their opinions. I think it is unfair that they go in to schools and try to intimidate staff and silence them. There has to be a way for everyone to work together to try to continue to build a great school community. The individual schools are doing a fantastic job keeping the staff motivated and kids safe and are working within the guidance given. The issue is some school board members making the safety of our children and staff political. 

In my full time position, I go to recruiting events often at some of the best schools around. I have the opportunity to speak to a lot of people about my job and Culpeper. One of the questions that is always asked is "how are the schools?". I can honestly say that I would not recommend them coming to Culpeper to teach or live because while Central Office supports the staff, some of the school board members who have a lot of influence in the community tend to degrade teachers. I fear that there will be a mass exodus of staff from the area next year and I am not sure what we will be left with. We are even considering moving because of how political all of the decisions in regards to the safety of my children have been. 

I have sent this email to all school board members and central office staff so they are aware instead of voicing my concerns on FB and to get silenced. I have also posted information to parents on other sites, so they are aware that a cold symptom may indeed be COVID and so everyone do their due diligence. If you have any additional questions, I would love to talk to you further. I can be reached at the number below.