Open letter re; reopening of schools.

So, I spent a lot of time today reflecting on my position about schools reopening and decided to write an Open Letter. I am holding off on posting it on FB. I wanted to post it here first and see what you all think.

Thanks!

An open letter regarding "Opening Schools Fall 2020".

I am a teacher. I'm a bit old school and don't like saying I'm an educator because I like being a teacher. When I was a kid, I had teachers. When I first became a teacher I held my favorite teachers near and dear and hoped to reach students the way they reached me: Mrs. Sandstrom, Mrs. Beaver, Mr. Cherrington. For almost 30 years their influence has been with me every day when I work with my own students. I don't consider myself an educator. That's just too fussy of a title for me. I'm a teacher.

Teaching has changed a lot since I first stepped back into a classroom as an adult in 1992. Classroom environments have changed dramatically. There haven't been desks in my classroom for many years. I have couches and tables and other comfortable areas where students work. There is a lot of student collaboration in classwork today. There is far less lecture type of teaching in the elementary classroom and a lot more interactive discussion and hands on learning taking place. School is more comfortable and kid friendly than it was when I was an elementary school kiddo. I like a lot about this 21st century school style.

My favorite part of teaching is being with the students. I don't love faculty meetings. I don't like poring over new mandated curricula and programs every other year. I don't love all the minutia and bureaucracy that lie beyond the classroom. What I love is working with and teaching children. I love figuring out ways to reach the kids who desperately need to be reached. I delight in seeing a struggling student light up because he finally realizes that he CAN when he was sure he COULDN'T. What keeps me in teaching is working with kids. It is the single most rewarding thing I have done in my life.

"Distance Learning" this past spring was HARD. It was hard for everyone - students, parents, teachers, siblings, extended families. It was just plain hard. None of us knew what the hell we were doing and we learned as we went. The lucky ones had districts that dug in and diligently spent days upon days at the administrative level helping teachers with resources and online help desks and Zoom trainings on how to become effective Distance Learning teachers. I was one of those lucky teachers. I had a lot of help getting things up and running, not only from the district level, but from my peers. My teaching partner was instrumental in helping me navigate some of the newer technology that was "Greek" to me. She is also gifted at finding teaching 'hacks' on line and shared them with me. The 5th grade Dream Team never failed to help me figure out all my tech questions no matter what time of night I frantically texted them for help. I think overall my district did the very best it could with the resources we had at hand. I saw my students regularly via Zoom. I made a few "porch" visits as needed and I met virtually with students privately when I could. I believe most of my students left 3rd grade with the necessary math and reading skills they will need to start 4th grade. My district really did rock this Distance Learning thing!

So here's the deal: We all WANT school to start up as normal in August/September. Boy, I sure do. But here's the thing - School can't open up as normal. It just can't. It's not safe yet to take a business as usual attitude. Here are few of the reasons why:

1. Covid19 pandemic has had a profound effect on state revenues. State budgets are being slashed. In California state funding for education is being cut drastically. My little district is trying to figure out how to manage a minimum of a three million dollar cut to next year's budget. When the governor's final budget gets approved, it may be an even larger cut. To have school as normal, districts will need money to support the necessary structural and ongoing maintenance needs that school as normal will require. Betsy DeVos, US Secretary of Education, says we must figure it out or we will be penalized. Not cool Betsy. Put your money where your mouth is. Think about the cleaning and the modifications to HVAC systems that would need to be made so the air quality of a classroom in the dead of winter is safe for students and staff alike! There is tremendous cost involved.
2. Next, I ask that you think of social distancing in a classroom setting. My classroom is roughly 900 sq. feet. Each child would need a 6 foot by 6 foot area for proper social distancing. That's a 36 square foot space for each child's personal 'bubble' space. IF a child stayed exactly in the middle of that 36 sq. foot area all day long, I could fit 24 students in my classroom, plus myself. But we would have to stay smack dab in the middle of our allotted 36 square feet of space. Not going to work with any group of people, no matter what age group. So, let's cut that down to 12 students per classroom, so there is some wiggle room for both me and the students to maintain social distancing. 12 per classroom is doable given the CDC guidelines today. (Betsy DeVos and others have called for a revamp of guidelines so we can fit more students in classrooms. Is this revamp based on current scientific data or simply a desire to return to normal ASAP for whatever reason?)
3. We now have to look at what 12 students per class would mean. The absolute, most ideal situation in my mind would be to have 12 students per classroom 5 days per week for a full school day. That would mean doubling, if not tripling, teaching faculty and salary and benefit costs, not to mention providing the building space for those extra classrooms. Portable Classrooms are not cheap (and really not so portable)! So, given the budgetary reality of today, that's not an option without MAJOR FEDERAL ASSISTANCE. Next best scenario in my mind is having two groups of students, like the old fashioned kindergartens. One group comes in the morning while the other group attends school in the afternoon. There would have to be some mad desk cleaning in between the two groups, but it could be done. Curricula would have to be streamlined, but every student could go to school every day for at least part of the day. Day care could be an issue for working families. The third scenario I can see working, but it is my least favorite, is dividing the groups into Monday/Tuesday and Thursday/Friday cohorts. Students come to school all day on their scheduled days. Wednesdays could be rotated between the two cohorts. Again, cleaning between groups must be considered and curricula would still need stream lining. Also, child care and independent school work need to be considered in this option. I'm sure there are other solid options that might work, but for now those are the ones that make a lot of sense to me.
4. While many people believe that COVID19 does not affect children or young adults, this is simply not true. Yesterday I had a conversation with person I know is generally well read and stays informed. I was appalled that she stated that kids can't (or don't) get Covid19 AND that we should put the younger teachers back in the classroom because people under 30 don't get sick from Covid19. But, if they do, they 'get over it'. I don't even really know how to respond to statements of that nature because they are not based in scientific reality. We need to base school opening on what is known, and sadly we still know very little. Popular trends and beliefs garnered from media and social media have no place in the reopening of schools. No matter what decision is made, it must be made with minimizing Covid19 infection spread as a main priority.
5. What we know is that some people get really sick from Covid19 and others do not. There are some theories as to why that is, but at this point they are merely theories. Theories are NOT FACTS. What we do know is that the main transmission of the virus is done from person to person by the droplets contained in exhaled breath. We know that a six foot distance between people is considered relatively safe. We know that prolonged exposure in an enclosed area is a key factor in the spread of the disease. Limited studies have shown that exposure over time is a significant factor of infection. Classrooms offer that exact recipe for infection: exposure + time.
6. When teachers go back to the classrooms, they will be taking their immediate family members with them. In my school we have staff that are high risk for Covid19 or have family members who are at high risk. Covid19 may infect a teacher mildly and she may carry the disease home. Let's say, that teacher has a young adult daughter at home who has Diabetes type 1. You see where I'm going with this, right? Covid19 goes beyond the walls of the school house. Every classroom represents the transmission of Covid19 to 12-25 families. Every day that school will be in session will also be a calculated risk in spreading Covid19. In the 1980s during the rise of the AIDS epidemic, people used to say that when you sleep with someone you are also sleeping with every one of their past sexual partners. Covid19 offers the same risk idea, but exponentially so. When you go home you bring with you every single person you have made contact with that day and share that contact with your family.

There is so much to consider and really so little time to prepare for the unknown of the upcoming school year. I know that it would be so much easier on so many families, if school could just get back to business. I know that families rely on schools for so much more than just education. The American Association of Pediatrics recently cited that they are concerned about the lack of social interaction, nutritional risks and lack of physical exercise that many students are experiencing because of the pandemic. In years past these concerns did not fall on the schools, but in today's world, schools do fulfill some of these needs. Most schools offer before and after school child care, too - a huge help for working families.

I want school to go back to normal so very, very much. I am also realistic. I know that until the pandemic winds down naturally or through vaccination, business as usual is highly unlikely. This is a time that I ask everyone to be kind with their words when considering and discussing the opening of schools this fall. Schools across our nation are not working to uproot and ruin the American family. On the contrary, American schools are trying to do the best they can for the students, families, school staff, and teachers of our great country. Schools are doing the best they can with what little resources they have and are dealing with an economy that is forcing cut backs. Remember, too, teachers are on the front lines, but they are not creating the battle plan. I know teachers who are broken hearted because they did not finish the school year with "their kids". I know teachers who can't imagine not starting a school year in a physical classroom and are terrified of having to build an on line relationship with new students. I am one of those teachers. Solutions won't be perfect, but hopefully fluid and flexible. Let's agree to be kind about this one topic.

I'd like to end with this idea: If the US government can see its way clear to bail out banks and the auto industry and fund crises aide in other nations, is it not perhaps time, during this pandemic, the federal government set about picking up the torch, helping American families get back to work by funding schools properly so students can return to the safe havens of learning and care they are supposed to be?

Sincerely,

Peps

The argument about kids not getting Covid brought to mind the summer camp in Missouri that just had to close because 82 kids, counselors, and staff came down with Covid. And camp is largely an outdoors experience. I shudder to think what happens in a closed classroom. https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/08/us/missouri-arkansas-summer-c amp-covid-19-trnd/index.html

And then there's Multi-system Inflammatory Syndrome, which is not well understood, but seems to be how some children respond to a Covid infection. Until more is known, I don't think sending millions of children back into classrooms is safe. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/i n-depth/mis-c-in-children-covid-19/art-20486809

It feels like the current administration feels like if they say it'll go away enough times it will become truth. That's not the way viruses work.

Thank you Devon. I cried many times over leaving my classroom last March. I still long to see my students, if only to tell them I miss you and I hope you're okay. I so want to return to the job/life I had in February. But nothing points to being able to do that safely. The average age of new Covid infections is 19 years old in some states. It's not too big a leap to imagine high school kids, with their young adult selves, becoming infected at astronomical rates if they sit in classrooms with 30 plus students. We have to use science to determine how we will return to school, not a wishful desire to be normal again. There is no normal now.

The enormity and complexity of this challenge are astounding ! Your words reminded me of what I loved about working with students, teachers, and families AND why I retired. The passion everyone feels around this topic and the diversity of beliefs and needs make it impossible to find a resolution that pleases everyone. As I was contemplating retirement, I could feel my light and heart slowly squeezed and drained. As teachers and administrators, we are constantly trying to look for compromise and a win-win while enormous demands are placed on us from above and below. Add to the mix irrational expectations and complete ignorance... your thoughts evoked such feelings of loss at the vast gap between what we need to do and what we will be told to do. It is physically and emotionally exhausting to constantly seek and negotiate plausible solutions to challenges we have little or no control over. The damage being done to our educational system is significant. I only hope our teachers, parents and administrators have the stamina and resilience needed to focus on how to best support our children, because the decision makers sure don't.

Very powerful and important points. Well written! As a person who had to present business cases, I would suggest that some people may not read the whole letter due to the length. So make sure the most important points (what would be the summary in a business case) is up front and is a clear and concise as possible. Because that is all some people will read unfortunately.