On the first day of a new and very different school year, a group of Leon County students was urging their colleagues to learn from home. Among them was
Maddelena Kaji. She is a Leon High senior who lost a family member to COVID 4 months ago. She feared infection and death will spread as students return to their classrooms.
"We are the kids who go into the building to learn everyday and typically as students we don't speak out. We do as we're told most of the time and our voice in this issue is extremely important."
She and other members of the group, Students for Safe Schools, want as many Leon County students as possible to learn online at home. At least for now.
"If there's community spread, people who aren't even affiliated with the school could get infected, sick, or even die."
So far, Kaji said the group's pleas aren't getting much traction at the school district level. The student group plans more activities throughout the week to spread the message, "stay home and stay safe."
