A CHALLENGING YEAR

Come September, there is no place I would rather be than in school with my students, but I don’t know how that will happen safely. The American Academy of Pediatrics “strongly” advocated last month that “all policy considerations for the coming school year should start with a goal of having students physically present in school.” As a teacher, I have concerns about how that can be managed while prioritizing the safety of both children and the adults who make schools function.

I accept that teaching is only one aspect of the job I love. I’ve accepted that I spend hundreds of dollars of my own money every year to buy books, supplies and other classroom materials because schools are chronically underfunded. I’ve accepted that in the absence of humane paid-leave policies, parents often choose between sending sick children to school or risking their jobs. I’ve accepted that I ask friends at least twice a year to donate food to our “snack closet” because ending childhood poverty and the many hardships that encompass it seem to be beyond our society. I’ve accepted that I might have to lock my students in that snack closet one day because reasonable gun control seems to be beyond our society.

Now educators are being asked to accept returning to our classrooms during a pandemic. Many U.S. classrooms are in aging, neglected buildings. Some classrooms have no windows; others, no windows that open. Some support staff — occupational therapists, physical therapists, speech therapists — work in actual closets. Some school buildings have questionable HVAC systems. Even before the pandemic, the basic supplies in many classrooms, including hand sanitizer, disinfecting wipes and tissues, were donated by parents. In many places, class sizes would need to be halved or cut by two-thirds to enforce safe distancing.

We’ve all seen how a lack of a coordinated federal response affected hospitals and essential workers. Reopening schools will not mean a return to the school experience we remember. It’s unclear what school looks like going forward. What happens when a student or teacher gets sick, or when one of their family members gets sick? How do we help parents when their child is sick yet they still must go to work? How will inevitable staff absences be dealt with when substitute teachers are hard to find in ordinary conditions? What steps are being taken now to ensure that instruction is meaningful if and when districts have to return to distance learning? How do we better support parents when that day comes? What does recess look like? What do school breakfast and lunch look like? How can movement be safely incorporated into classrooms — not just for activities but because kids rarely hold still for long — while maintaining safe distances?

I’m worried for my students. I want them in school. They need social interaction; they need to learn. School has always been about more than academics, a fact painfully hammered home this spring. We would all like to get back to normal, and going back to school offers a glimpse of the existence we miss.

Educators need to make time and space for children dealing with trauma.

Whether schooling takes place in person or at a distance, though, this academic year will be unlike previous years. Children will be dealing with layer upon layer of trauma; educators need to make time and space for that. Most U.S. schools closed for some portion of the spring. If students are behind, they’re behind some arbitrary lines that educators and administrators drew that might need to be amended to reflect today’s reality. We need to meet kids where they are. I don’t want to hear one word about testing, unless it involves a nasal or throat swab. Not. One. Word.

Teachers might be expected to teach more content in less time to more students. Parents will be juggling work and children who might be distancelearning or participating in a hybrid schedule. We need policies that reflect that we all want what’s best for our children. Teachers and families need to offer each other grace.

The American Academy of Pediatrics said this month: “The pandemic has reminded so many ... that educators are invaluable in children’s lives and that attending school in person offers children a wide array of health and educational benefits. For our country to truly value children, elected leaders must come together to appropriately support schools in safely returning students to the classroom and reopening schools.”

Teachers, custodians, bus drivers, instructional assistants and other school staff need the public to help us open schools safely in the coming months. That means wear a mask. Stay home. Support favorite restaurants by continuing to order takeout. Be intentional about when and why you go out. People who don’t do those things but want me in class in September are asking me to make far bigger sacrifices than the ones they’ve been willing to make so far.

teaches third- and fourth-graders in Charlottesville, Virginia. This originally appeared in The Washington Post.