Safety should dictate school reopening plans
The most important issue is the health of students and staff. Everything else, especially politics, needs to take a back seat
Four months ago, when Gov. Ralph Northam ordered public school buildings closed, Virginia had 220 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and there was real hope that we would “flatten the curve” and enter this fall with a sharply declining rate of new cases.
Instead, Virginia has now endured more than 2,000 deaths and 71,000 confirmed cases, and the infection trendline is tipping upward again. What we hoped for has not come to pass.
That’s why members of the Virginia Education Association are so troubled by politicized calls to rush to all in-person learning at every Virginia public school within the next seven weeks.
When President Donald Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos threaten to cut off funding for schools that do not open their doors to all students this fall, they are, quite literally, risking the lives of students and the teachers and bus drivers who work with them, not to mention the other members of their families.
Our top priority has not changed at all since the stunning arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic and the shutdown of in-person lessons. The most important issue as we move ahead is the health and safety of our students and staff. Everything else — especially politics — needs to take a back seat.
No one wants to be back in school working with our students more than we do. We’re in it for the kids, and for months, we’ve found ways to stay in touch with them, check on them and make sure they haven’t been missing meals — all while doing everything we can to keep them on track academically.
For many educators, that’s meant learning new ways of teaching and communicating on the fly. As a music teacher in Accomack and the incoming VEA president, I could not be prouder of the ways our teachers and support professionals have risen to the challenges of the coronavirus. Their work has been nothing short of heroic.
It hasn’t been without cost. This spring, we lost two of our members to COVID-19, one in Alexandria and one in Emporia. While we can’t say for sure where they contracted the virus, both had been working in their school jobs just before being diagnosed, and we mourn their deaths as ones who gave their lives in service to our young people.
In addition, I can’t tell you how many of our more than 40,000 members have tested positive for the coronavirus but have, thankfully, recovered. We learned this week of the death of an elementary school teacher in Arizona, who was teaching summer school and contracted COVID-19 despite taking the precautions of wearing a mask and maintaining social distance.
So, it’s completely understandable that many educators are worried, or flat-out scared, at the prospect of returning to school buildings filled with students and colleagues. We think their concerns are justified.
In just recent days, we’ve seen the number of COVID cases climbing dangerously in states such as Florida and Texas, which were among the first to loosen restrictions. It’s indisputable that we’re dealing with a previously unknown virus that is killing people of all ages — and for which there is currently no vaccine.
This is why when we talk about reopening schools, we have to be as sure as we possibly can be that we’re doing it right. We absolutely must, in every locality in Virginia, proceed with extreme caution to ensure the health and safety of everyone in our buildings. In some localities, limited in-person instruction, with provisions for students and staff with health issues or concerns, may be possible. In others, partial or fully virtual instruction is warranted.
For all these reasons, we insist that school divisions take the time to properly address the questions and concerns of staff members. Return-to-school plans must not be imposed without input from teachers and support professionals, as well as from parents and community members. We must not rush the process because of economic and childcare concerns.
There are many priorities, but none as important as saving lives.
Dr. James J. Fedderman, of Accomack County, takes office as Virginia Education Association president on Aug.1.