Wanted: A few 14 year olds & a teacher for Covid safe school in Galway

Taken from my article in today's Indo👇

https://www.independent.ie/opinion/comment/our-children-are-at-grave-risk-of-covid-as-state-puts-profit-ahead-of-public-health-41893293.html

Read below & if interested, get in touch.

"I’ve been scouring the web to see if any school has managed to prevent outbreaks. I found one – Abrome, in Texas. How did it do it? By ignoring politicians and following the science.

Acknowledging Covid is airborne, mitigations included daily testing, mandatory FFP2/3 masks indoors and outdoors in close contact during surges, distancing, remote learning when cases were extremely high, outdoor learning options, and Hepa filtration in every classroom. If CO2 readings exceeded 800, rooms were evacuated and classes continued in sheltered outdoor spaces, also used for eating. Everyone is vaccinated.

Abrome’s ethos is that of inclusion. A Covid-safe school is accessible to everyone. The sense of collective compassion over mé féinism.

In the same way I would challenge institutional racism, I won’t participate in a system that discriminates against disabled, clinically vulnerable children and those with clinically vulnerable family. Without Covid protections, they are being robbed of their right to in-school education – indefinitely. The Ombudsman for Children told me: “A child rights-based approach needs to inform any decisions in respect of Covid.”

My son never got to know his grandparents because the State put profit before public health. I believe it’s happening again with Covid.

I can’t go to Texas, but I am going to try to create a Covid-safe educational facility here in Galway. All I need is a few 14-year-olds – and a teacher.