Teachers should have a say, union says
As school districts across Colorado announce plans for reopening, the state’s largest teachers union is making it clear its members deserve a seat at the table when decisions about health and safety are being made — or some might reconsider returning to the classroom.
On Wednesday, the Colorado Education Association announced what president Amie Baca-Oehlert called four “expectations” districts need to meet before faculty and staff return for the fall semester.
The association was planning to host a meeting Thursday evening via Zoom to discuss how local teachers unions can bring these issues up with their respective district leaders.
CEA, which represents 39,000 teachers, counselors, nurses, bus drivers and other support staff across Colorado, surveyed its members about their concerns surrounding the reopening of schools during the COVID-19 pandemic and crafted its expectations based on that feedback, Baca-Oehlert said.
The standards it believes will lead to a safe and healthy return include:
• Involving employee voices in decision making and allowing them to vote on reopening conditions
• Clarifying school safety and health protocols, such as how personal protective equipment will be provided to staff and students
• Maintaining transparency about the disease data that officials are using not only to track sickness and outbreaks, but also to make decisions about reopening • Ensuring equitable access to education tools for students and staff throughout the state
What if those expectations are not met?
“We have educators who are saying anything from that they will leave the profession, they won’t return if it’s not safe to return to school in the fall, to educators saying they’re willing to take collective action,” Baca-Oehlert told The Denver Post. “These four things certainly aren’t pie-in-the-sky expectations. They’re very reasonable things that should be met as standards to return to school.”
Gov. Jared Polis said Thursday he expects most schools will resume “in a more or less normal fashion in the fall.” That worries Aaron Pennington, an English teacher at Cherokee Trail High School in Aurora. It will be “virtually impossible” to practice social distancing under that model, he said, adding that anything short of a mask mandate is putting teachers and students at risk.
“This type of political gamesmanship is contributing to the justifiable anxiety Colorado teachers feel about returning to school in a month,” Pennington said in an email. “A clear directive from the state would go a long way to calming our fears and protecting us and our students.”
Winna Maclaren, spokeswoman for Denver Public Schools, said the state’s largest school district is eager to safely welcome students and teachers back into the classroom and that it will continue to work with educators on plans to do so.
“The educational, emotional, mental and social needs of students depend on opening our doors to full, in-person learning,” Maclaren said in a statement. “We’ve worked with educators, school leaders and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to put a plan in place that will allow us to safely resume in-person classes and minimize the risk to students and staff. We remain in close contact with health officials, and if health guidance or risk factors change, our plans will change accordingly.”
Cameron Bell, executive director of media relations for Jeffco Public Schools, echoed that the district has been operating in collaboration with educators and staff to devise reopening protocols, including symptom screening, class configurations, building use and more.
“We believe our plan covers topics mentioned in CEA’s points,” Bell said in a statement. “We will continue to work with our employee groups and our entire staff to develop and affirm operational issues, procedures, and protocols for start-of-school this August.”
Rob Gould, vice president of the Denver Classroom Teachers Association, said a lack of clarity and communication is leading to increased worry about the fall. Denver Public Schools is planning to host in-person classes five days a week for all students, unless they opt to attend 100% online.
By Gould’s understanding, teachers may not be able to choose which option they prefer; instead those who want to teach online must qualify based on their health risks.
“To be honest, that’s a little scary for a lot of our members,” said Gould, who has asthma.
His wife works as a third grade teacher and they have two kids in the district. Right now, the Goulds also are caring for their elderly parents, who are at high risk of contracting the coronavirus.
“Knowing we have to go back in person, that we don’t have that choice, means we won’t be able to see our family members for months,” Gould said. “We’re looking at anything we can do to lend a hand, keep everyone safe and be flexible, but not at the expense of our own and our colleagues’ health and safety.”
Maclaren said DPS is currently working to determine the needs of staff members who may be older, have a chronic lung disease, serious heart conditions, are immunocomprised or pregnant.
“We are making every effort to accommodate remote work requests by our staff who are vulnerable individuals and refrain from requiring them to report to a work site,” she said.
Gould, who also serves as the lead negotiator on the union’s bargaining committee, expects to meet next week with Denver Public Schools officials, who he believes are committed to creating a safe school environment.
The announcement comes as the Trump administration is pushing schools to fully reopen even as parents and staff raise health concerns. This week, union leaders in Texas’ Austin Independent School District urged teachers to refuse going back for in-person learning this fall, as confirmed cases of COVID-19 skyrocketed in that state.