State MCEA Responds to Governor - In a nutshell says, "Nope! Not going back!"
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Anonymous
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My kids would love to be back in school but this letter makes sense to me. There is real risk to teachers without safety measures, and from what I gather, proper safety measures aren't being taken in the degree necessary. I see my kids' teachers (one kid in MS and one in HS) working very hard. Distance learning is awful but it's not because teachers are unreasonable.
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Anonymous
+1 This letter is terrible. |
Anonymous
The Biden administration isn’t advocating opening schools without safety measures. MCPS doesn’t have safety measures in place because they haven’t taken the money they’ve been given and instituted them. They have absolutely no one to blame except for themselves. |
Anonymous
This isn't the fault of teachers though; enough with teacher-bashing already. (And no, I'm not a teacher, just someone who is tired of the constant complaining about them.) |
Anonymous
That was always nonsense. We closed because Trump said to open schools. Probably the only topic he was ever right about. |
Anonymous
No one is bashing teachers in this thread. We are repeatedly asking exactly what mitigation measures the MCEA and other unions are asking for, preferably in writing. This was a public letter written to the Governor and State Superintendent, and therefore, it is fair game to ask that the author is asking for on behalf of teachers. |
Anonymous
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Assign one project manager to each school to take the lead in making sure that school is set up for return to school. The county should provide the initial guidelines (chairs 3 feet apart, sanitation stations at entry points, hvac needs (some classrooms may need portable air sanitizers, etc.)
The project manager will be responsible for making sure their school complies. You have to break it out to each school since each building and population is different across all schools. Make sure each school is stocked with masks, soap and sanitizers. So basically outline the guidelines and assign a staff for each to.school to execute. If MCPS can get kids back on hybrid model in the spring, it will be the only way to get us to full return in the fall. |
Anonymous
Actually they always include references to the CDC guidelines for opening which you can find here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/schools.html Summarized, the teachers would like - plastic screens between teachers and students - adequate spacing for children. If that means PE is outside and classes meet in the gymnasium and closing some hallways and moving some classes into the hallways, so be it - adequate cleaning tools. They need to have approved disinfectant and wipes to clean surfaces regularly throughout the day. They need to have disposable gloves and masks provided for the teachers. Additionally, they need to have extra masks for the children who forget theirs. In some cases, teachers are provided supplies for about 2 weeks of cleaning and then told that any additional supplies they will have to supply for themselves. - many school districts across the country that opened, have provided the misting disinfectant cleaning nightly or between sessions when they have alternating hybrid learning. MD schools have not been offered any such disinfecting between groups or days - vaccinations for educators. We have placed them in category 1B, but there is no reason that you can't have the policy that teachers do not need to return to high exposure classrooms until they have had at least the first dose of vaccine. Supposedly the state has enough vaccines, we just need to place a priority on actually getting them into the arms of educators. I have no idea why you place a higher priority on a 75 year old who can stay at home, than on an educator that is being forced to return to work in a high risk situation. -health screening including temperature checks before entering schools. Sending sick children home rather than letting them enter the building And yet Dr. Salmon has refused to even meet with teachers to discuss any solutions. She just wants to force the teachers back into classrooms with no protections. Salmon and Hogan need to put their money where their mouths are and actually offer to meet and discuss the criteria needed to reopen. But they have no interest in discussing the conditions, they only want to force teachers back into the classrooms for political expediency. If they really wanted to solve the problem, they would meet with the teachers. And no, I am not a teacher. I am an engineer who works for a company that places our health and safety as a primary consideration. We had all of these and more met in our labs and offices before we had to report back to work (other than the vaccines which the company cannot control). We now have shielding, we have used alternate spaces so that we minimize the number of individuals in any work space. We have company offered PPE, cleaners, disinfectants, hand sanitizer. We have health screening before we enter the work site. As a parent, I want the teachers and students to have the same protection I was offered by my employer. But their employer has no interest in discussing the health and safety conditions. |
Anonymous
The masks, soap, distancing etc. aren't the real problem with going back to school. The problem from what I can read and hear about it schools that have stayed open, lies with contact tracing and quarantine. Schools can have very detailed plans about what happens if a student or teacher tests positive. When community spread is low, few students and teachers will test positive. So it is fairly easy to do contact tracing and to quarantine close contacts. But, when community spread is high, kids and teachers and family members are testing positive right and left. Schools are put under a lot of pressure NOT to report cases in that situation. Because you would have whole classes out, and staff out, for multiple weeks. So what is happening throughout the US right now is this: Schools are changing the guidelines for reporting a case. They are changing what counts as a close contact, telling teachers that as long as kids all were wearing masks, no one could be considered a close contact and therefore parents don't need to be notified and kids don't need to be quarantined. Parents assume that there is no problem in school and there is little spread, but in fact they just aren't being told about the spread. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2021/01/27/biden-covid-19-plan-looks-safety-students-teachers-defy-rules/4257689001/
No teachers are shocked by this situation. |
Anonymous
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Serious question: do you (especially teachers) think it is immoral for parents to send kids to hybrid school now? Will you resent the kids for it?
We chose hybrid back in December expecting our district to be much more conservative. They threw out metrics and set a return date. I find the research on school transmission reassuring from a risk perspective, but i am a dues paying member and officer in my union and wonder if sending my kid in is comparable to crossing a picket line or shopping somewhere with unfair labor practices. Thoughts? |
Anonymous
Thank you!! Finally someone who gets it!! We are all doing our jobs and if distance learning isn't working for your child, find an alternative like I did. The issue is that most public schools were over-crowded and filthy before COVID (I had roaches/mice in my building) along with other issues. The issue is cleanliness. I feel for teachers all over the country during this time. America continues to treat teachers a as a doormat and wonders why things are a hot mess now. Our country needs to do deal with the real issue, which is funding/investing in the school buildings and putting a SOLID safety plan in place for a safe return. |
Anonymous
What is the plan you propose? You sound as if you want all school buildings torn down and rebuilt? What SOLID safety plan do you want in place? The districts have plans for cohorting, social distancing (through hybrid plans), eating in classrooms and minimizing unmasked times, isolating any student exhibiting symptoms, working with local health officials to determine quarantines where there are positive cases, placing the highest quality air filters in HVAC, etc. Masks will be required. PPE and cleaning supplies have been purchased and cleaning plans are in place. I agree that teachers should be vaccinated before returning, but that was not a demand until Hogan stated this new mandate. If teachers are vaccinated and all of the safety plans are in place, will that be enough? What else will it take? I'm not arguing with you, but keep honestly asking if the demand is that schools reopen when the pandemic is over, or whether it is realistic to have some in person learning next fall? You can tell people to "adapt," but if we are talking another year of having school closed, adapting for long-term DL can involve major life decisions like leaving jobs, finding other health insurance, moving to other areas, homeschooling or leaving public school, and other life-altering changes. The problems you cite are not temporary problems, so are you arguing for additional years of DL? |
Anonymous
The government kept changing them. |
Anonymous
That is a really good question. I know that at the county level, they were talking about adjusting health metrics once teachers were vaccinated. If you look at the CDC metrics, they don't make reopening decisions contingent on metrics alone. You need to look at the metrics and other factors, including the mitigation measure in place. I don't approve of bullying tactics to force reopening, but meaningful discussion of what mitigation measures will be in place and extent of compliance with those measures cannot be assessed in a vacuum. Part of the problem is how you assess the protocols and mitigation measures without actually trying them. |
Anonymous
I think the state said that now that teachers are getting vaccinated, they are not using metrics anymore. The county claimed they were following the state metrics, so presumably once teachers are vaccinated there will be no metrics to meet. |