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Part of my responsibilities as a reporter includes our local school board meetings.
One of the things that stands out to me the most when covering them is this: we are all doing the best we can with the information we have.
While there may be differences and disagreements, I will have to say that each person representing our community as a school board member has a perspective. Each perspective matters, and adds important context to a conversation.
Local school boards are discussing the upcoming school year protocol in terms of health and safety for their community. It is safe to say that healthy and safety remain the primary concerns for students, faculty and parents alike.
With that said, multiple things can be true at the same. While we have many people taking the vaccination for their personal reasons, we also have people who are still hesitant to receive theirs, for their personal reasons as well.
We all agree that we want to get back to seeing more people, getting back to school, or to what our lives were like pre COVID. I also acknowledge that there are some that are happy with some of the new changes that have been brought forth by the pandemic (I mean me personally? I love Zoom, and I know that some may be sick of it by now).
We also have to consider that we didn't have the variant strains, that we have now, a year ago. Because of this, I acknowledge that there are people that are frustrated that protocols are still in place, and there are people that are grateful.
Whatever your perspective may be, I think we can all agree that these last 18 months have not been easy for anyone. The pandemic has affected our globe and the way that we live.
I am grateful that there is light at the end of the tunnel, and I also acknowledge that we are not yet out of the woods.