Coronavirus outlook in schools made me leave teaching
Is it safe for your student to return to Texas schools for faceto-face instruction?
Until recently, I was a teacher with the Uvalde County Independent School District. I resigned for several reasons, but mostly because of health concerns. I must share them with the community so it can consider how reopening schools could exacerbate the spread of COVID-19.
According to the Academy of Pediatrics, just two weeks before Texas schools reopened, 70,630 new coronavirus cases were reported among children in the United States. In Uvalde, football games and Labor Day celebrations took place a week before people went to face-to-face instruction in schools.
In Texas, of about 5.5 million public school students, more than 1.1million have returned to school in person or participate in activities on campus grounds. At least 2,344 of those reported testing positive for COVID-19 as of Sept. 13, according to data from the Texas Education Agency.
Data also show that 2,175 school employees who have come back to school in person reported testing positive as of Sept. 13. It's been widely reported that in several states, young teachers without underlying health conditions have died from coronavirus after school reopenings. In my observation as someone in the profession, we are not ready to reopen schools safely.
The total number of infections that school districts are reporting is likely an undercount. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says children are tested at lower rates. It also estimates about 40 percent of cases are asymptomatic, according to a report by the Texas Tribune.
Parents are under a false impression that since children infected with COVID-19 have fewer severe symptoms than adults, it is OK to send them back to school. An infected and asymptomatic student has the potential to infect everyone that child has comes into close contact with. Since children are in school for most of the day, this could include other students and employees. How would you know if your child was exposed at school if he or she has no symptoms? How would you know if your child was a silent carrier?
According to the CDC, we can reduce the spread of coronavirus by socially distancing, washing hands often, staying 6 feet apart, wearing a mask and disinfecting surfaces.
My classroom no longer had a proper hand sink, just a waterrefill station. There was no space for students to stay 6 feet apart from each other. Masks are not required for children younger than 10 under the governor's executive order.
While considering the decision to school your children online or in person, please ask yourself if returning to school is worth risking the health of the entire community.
I had the pleasure of working with some amazing teachers and staff in Uvalde. I can tell you what a lot of these teachers can't say to you directly: They are scared, but they don't want to jeopardize their careers by speaking up. Teachers can't strike in Texas, and some of them have underlying health conditions. When you send your child to school with a runny nose, please pause and consider the community that serves you and loves your children.
Ask the school some essential questions before sending your child back to in-person learning. What can you do as a parent to help your child and others stay safe? What is the shutdown plan for the school when COVID-19 is present on the campus?
Let's encourage the entire community to make intelligent decisions now for the safety of us all so we don't have to shut down and reopen repeatedly because of exposure. I pray human life is always valued and that compromises are never made.