Covid-19: Teachers From Westchester Express Concerns About Schools Reopening

Earlier this month, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state health officials announced that due to low COVID-19 infection rates statewide, all schools would be permitted to resume in-person learning, albeit with certain restrictions in place.

All 749 New York school districts were instructed to provide the state with guidance on how they planned to reopen and handle potential remote learning, testing, and contact tracing for teachers and students.

Though the metrics remain positive throughout New York and the infection rate has stayed under 1 percent for nearly two weeks, some educators in the Hudson Valley have expressed their concerns about returning to in-person learning.

In an open letter, teachers from Westchester, Putnam, Rockland and Orange counties detailed those concerns, stating that a hybrid-learning model would be preferable to in-person education.

"To create truly safe re-entry plans, districts would require more time, direction, and resources. It is telling that neither the state nor federal governments have provided additional resources to help ensure a safe re-entry; districts have been on their own," the letter states.

“The hybrid model is the most popular one for re-entry this September, but it poses significant risks,” the teachers wrote. “The hybrid model requirement gained traction in the state early on, but unfortunately, most of what we have recently learned about COVID-19 and children calls the safety of this model into question.

“These risks are not a reflection of inadequate efforts by any district or administrative team in protecting the children and staff in their schools,” they continued. “Rather, they are inherent inadequacies when a system designed around instructing students is tasked with creating learning environments that will protect children and teachers during a viral pandemic.”

In their letter, the teachers made demands before they would feel comfortable getting back into the classroom:

• All building-wide HVAC systems must be upgraded to a minimum of MERV-13 filtration, and if existing systems cannot be upgraded, portable units with HEPA filtration must be available for all indoor spaces;
• There must be uniform standards for COVID testing that help monitor asymptomatic spread. COVID testing must provide accurate and reliable results within 24 hours in order to monitor asymptomatic spread. The current wait time can be as high as 12 days, which is not adequate to help prevent the spread of COVID by asymptomatic individuals infected with COVID in our schools;
• Supply lines for PPE must be prioritized to deliver all necessary PPE to schools in a timely fashion. All schools must have an adequate supply of PPE at all times, including enhanced PPE for students and employees who require it;
• School districts must be able to guarantee that there is sufficient staff to supervise students and provide instruction, even as individual staff members are absent for illness or quarantine, child-care, or personal leaves;
• There must be a 100 percent virtual option for teachers and students who are medically compromised;
• Plans should require a minimum 14-day shutdown once closed for COVID-19 issues.

“Last year was the most challenging instructional year any teacher experienced,” the teachers said. “There is no teacher who looks forward to beginning the year using remote instruction. Everything about teaching virtually is more complicated. 

“For educators, their classroom is their space,” they said. “It is where they conjure children’s dreams and give them the tools to fulfill them. Computers are sterile imposters that rob the experience of the richness of our relationships with our students. 

“Educators and students need to not only feel safe but must actually be safe in their working and learning environments,” they concluded. “Districts and governments need to strive to meet these expectations.  There is too much at stake to fall short of the safest possible model.”

The complete letter from the Hudson Valley teachers can be found here.

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