Teachers union denounces Palm Beach County plan to bring students back.
Palm Beach teachers blast district’s proposal
Palm Beach County’s teachers are denouncing the school district’s plan to bring students back, saying risks to educators are being dismissed as schools prepare to reopen campuses “weeks before it is medically advisable.”
Classrooms have been shut down since March, when the coronavirus pandemic began its relentless spread across the country. For the current school year, Palm Beach County students began learning at home on Aug. 31. School buildings are set to reopen Sept. 21. The Classroom Teachers Association says the district has shown it is unprepared twoweeks before this momentous date.
The union asserts that:
■ Teachers have received inadequate information about their responsibilities.
■ Teachers are being forced to teach students in person and online at the same time.
■ The options for teachers to remain at home are unclear.
■ Procedures for dispensing protective supplies have not been explained.
“We are being thrown out into the dark and told to find our way,” Justin Katz, union president, said Tuesday. “We’re at a breaking point. We have no confidence such a difficult, complicated task will be enacted in a fair manner.”
School board member Karen Brill agreed that communication with employees about their responsibilities when school opens has been insufficient.
“It’s a hot mess,” she said. “Everyone is stressed out. Teachers don’t know the plan. Not only teachers, all the different employees. I am very disappointed.”
In a letter to school district officials, Katz said there aremy riad points of contention, including a plan for teachers to teach students online and in the classroom at the same time.
Students have a choice about whether to return to classrooms in two weeks, and many are expected to keep learning online. The school district has explored assigning some instructors to teach online only and some to teach in classrooms, but has not announced a plan.
School district officials said Tuesday that teachers will be well-equipped to handle the simultaneous lessons.
“For students continuing with distance learning, classrooms have been equipped with web cameras, which can bemoved around the roomto effectively show instruction,” according to a statement from the district. “Teachers will use audio enhancement microphones. SMART panels will enable students who
are attending class through Google Meet to participate.”
Katz said the district should engage in a “fullthroated effort” to pair teachers who want to teach online with students who are remaining home instead of forcing teachers to do double duty.
That way, he said, teachers willing to return to the classroom can focus on the students in front of them. Teaching to two groups at once is only one source of anxiety for the district’s 13,000 instructors. Jerry O’Donnell, a science teacher at Eagle’s Landing Middle Schoolwest of Boca Raton, said teachers are also concerned about social distancing and bringing coronavirus home to their families.
“Will the district guarantee 6 feet social distance in my class limiting the number of students or will my classes swell when parents want their kids in school? I have a lot of questions,” O’Donnell said. “I’m very anxious being 64 and 9 months. Can I teach remotely until this quiets down? My wife is 76 and has other health issues too. I don’t want to bring it home to her.”
The issue of who can teach from home remains a sore spot. Katz called for the firing of Gonzalo La Cava, the school district’s human resources chief, for a “shameful and intentional refusal to create policy and procedures for employees with legitimate medical needs towork remotely.”
After getting criticism from school board members last week, La Cava announced on Tuesday the opening of an application process for teachers who say their health conditions require them to teach students online instead of in the classroom.
“As a former teacher and principal, and the father of two middle school students, I know this is a stressful time especially for the teachers of Palm Beach County,” La Cava said in a letter to teachers. “I assure you that the Department of Human Resources has been working around the clock to develop a potential path for teachers who may be eligible for remote instruction. Please know that it is my No. 1 priority to ensure that every teacher, especially those with medical needs, receives the support and guidance they deserve.”
Although the application portal has been set up, Katz said teachers still want La Cava to leave.
“He has proven unfit and unqualified for the job at the worst possible time,” Katz said.
Katz flagged several other teacher concerns, including little discussion about how much soap and other protective products each teacher will be given by the school district.
The school district’s budget shows officials plan to spend $12 million on protective equipment and school cleaning, including $1.6 million for more than 2 million masks and face shields, $131,000 for plexiglass partitions, $171,000 for soap, $2 million for wipes and $110,000 for gloves.
But Katz said it’s not clear how the district will make sure teachers get their share.
“The least the district could have done is properly prepare and communicate this information to employees so they would have confidence they would be safe and the proper supplies would be abundantly available upon their return,” Katz said.