Listen to Our Teachers or Watch Them Walk Out the Door

By Kaia Beckerman

August 8th, 2020

As the upcoming school year approaches, students, teachers, and parents look towards the future with uncertainty. While no one knows what this year will look like, one thing is certain, whether it takes place online, in person, or a hybrid version of the two, schools cannot reopen in any capacity without teachers, administrators, and support staff.

Yet, current guidelines make these vital team members feel that their voices have gone unheard, and their lives are being viewed as expendable, so they are taking action.

No matter where you fall on the debate about how and if schools should reopen, we can all agree that we need our teachers. However, if we do not start listening to what they have to say about reopening schools, we may be left watching as teachers across the country go on strike. 

Staff members need to be brought into these conversations, and their requests need to be implemented before schools can consider resuming in any capacity. 

Reopening Guidelines

Current guidelines vary widely throughout the United States. Where some states have chosen to require schools to offer in-person instruction, others have left the decision to individual districts with little overarching guidance.

In Michigan, students will not observe social distancing within classrooms, but those above the 5th grade, along with staff members and visitors, will be required to wear face masks. Meanwhile, in Massachusetts, students will be separated by a minimum of 3 feet with staff and students in 2nd grade and above wearing face masks.

While the decision is ultimately up to each state, the federal government and federal institutions have weighed in on the issue. 

In the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) guidance on reopening schools, they emphasize the need to wear face coverings, maintain social distancing, clean frequently touched services, and much more. However, many of these guidelines are being overlooked or are not feasible for overcrowded and underfunded districts, therefore, leading many parents, teachers, and students to question the safety of returning to schools.

On the other hand, President Donald Trump has criticized the guidelines as being too strict and expensive.

While some may argue that these guidelines are sufficient, it is clear that school staff members disagree, stating that they leave major questions unanswered and jeopardize the health of educators, staff members, students, and families alike.

With 1 in 4 teachers considered at risk due to age or underlying health conditions, what will be done to keep these teachers safe? What about at-risk students? What about teachers or students with at-risk family members? 

With new safety measures estimated to cost the average school an additional $1.2 million and many schools chronically underfunded, how will these measures be put in place?

These are among the many questions educators pose when looking for a way to safely reopen schools. 

Response of Education Workers

Over the last few months, teachers across the country have spoken out against these unsafe working conditions and unanswered questions.

In response to current plans for the 2020-2021 school year, teachers, administrators, and support staff are taking action. 

The two largest teachers unions, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the National Education Association (NEA), which represent 90% of public school teachers, have both stated that they would consider strikes or major protests if proper safety measures are not put in place.

Both the AFT and NEA have put out their own sets of guidelines that they would like to see implemented to protect staff members. The two sets of guidelines have many similarities calling for compliance with health experts’ advice, the involvement of educators in decision-making processes, that students and staff must have free access to personal protective equipment (PPE) at all times, that rooms are consistently cleaned, and more. 

After soaring coronavirus cases and deaths in Florida, teachers unions and parents sued Governor Ron DeSantis over his emergency order to fully reopen schools in August, citing that DeSantis is breaking state laws which mandate “safe and secure” schools.

Even private school teachers are speaking up. 

Despite not being union members, hundreds of teachers have anonymously signed a statement calling on private schools to reopen virtually. While the idea that private schools are better equipped for in-person learning due to their larger campuses and already smaller class sizes is circling, teachers fear that they will be left without protections were they not to feel comfortable returning to schools and believe that administrators are choosing to reopen despite health risks as to not lose tuition payments and draw in more paying parents.

Evolving Policy

Policy is constantly evolving and as democrats and republicans have touted different stimulus packages emphasizing education funding people have looked to legislation such as the Reopen Schools Safely Act, the Health, Economic Assistance Liability Protection & Schools (HEALS) Act, and many more as beacons of hope and proof that schools can reopen safely. 

Despite current guidelines and pending legislation, without listening to our educational staff members and implementing policies to address their concerns, it may not be enough.

Just as states that reopened without strong health regulations in place are seeing surging COVID-19 cases, teachers fear the same outcome as schools reopen without such measures in place.