To: Detroit/Seattle
Workers' Voice mailing list
September 29, 2020
Re: Lack of sufficient COVID safety measures and school funding enflames the fight over in-person vs online schooling
by Pete Brown, Detroit
Workers'
Voice
Trump’s authoritarian dictate to open up the schools for in-person learning has flopped. After looking at school districts in various parts of the country including right-wing areas and Red states, I found only schools in South Dakota opening completely in-person. I did find a widespread interest in supporting science and health and rejection of Trumpism. Even in South Dakota, teachers and parents are very active trying to get accurate reportage so they can argue for closing and quarantining a school as soon as any cases of COVID arise. Parental activity and local school districts’ rejection of Trump’s dictates show limits to Trump’s attempts at dictatorship.
On the other hand, it also shows that in various parts of the
country some parents have launched vigorous demonstrations demanding
in-person education. Some of these demonstrations (not all) have a
considerable number of supporters who should not all be written off as
Trumpists. There are legitimate reasons for preferring in-person
education. And the transition to online learning will no doubt favor
students in the richer districts. A comprehensive view, trying to deal
with the COVID crisis, would address these concerns while also
supporting demands for health and safety. Trump’s stupid demand to
simply “Open up!” never took account of the planning and resources
needed to open up safely, and Trump still stands in the way of
providing these. Trump and his minion DeVos have been working to
destroy public education, to defund and privatize it, and the COVID
crisis has brought out the consequences of years of underfunding and
resegregation.
Local school administrators must first of all take account of the COVID levels in their local area. These differ by locality and from one time to another. Right now COVID is increasing across the nation – 33 states are experiencing a rise in the number of new cases and a rise in positivity rates, which is above 5% in the majority of states. This article (1) notes that the U.S. is going backward right now, with an apocalyptic autumn looming because of schools reopening and especially colleges and universities, which have been hungrily trying to attract tuition-paying students and trying to ignore COVID-crisis warnings. The rapid rise in cases in university towns causes a rise throughout surrounding counties and their public school systems. Colder weather, the return of flu season and people staying indoors will accelerate the COVID threat. Recent studies as reported by NBC News on Sept. 26th show the number of daily deaths from COVID may quadruple by January. The virus is not going away anytime soon even if a vaccine becomes available in the next year or so, and everyone must prepare.
Following are some news reports about the larger school districts.
NYC’s planned reopening of in-person schooling was delayed one week until Sept. 29th because they just weren’t ready with testing and sanitation. They’re in the process of hiring 4,500 new teachers but still need another week at least to work on ventilation upgrades and other sanitation procedures. The latest report says 42% of students have opted to continue completely online education; two weeks ago it was 33%, so more parents are growing apprehensive about in-school education. This article (2) from the NY Times blames de Blasio for confusion and missteps, that he was told the city would need thousands more teachers weeks ago, but he insisted on moving ahead with an earlier start date. Now, at the last minute, teachers and principals told him forcefully it would be a disaster. So he’s delayed reopening another week. The schools need another 10-12,000 teachers because of the teachers’ demand that no teacher be required to teach both online and in-person. The more students sign up for online only, the more teachers are required, and the more uncertainty is created about planning. De Blasio has hired 2,000 additional teachers, and now will hire another 2,500 while reopening is delayed one week. That is still less than half of what the unions insist is needed, but de Blasio says “make it work”, just like Trump. Meanwhile, schools for the disabled and pre-K opened on Sept. 21st.
New York illustrates the need for massive additional funding. Hiring
another 10,000 teachers would cost at least half a billion dollars a
year, and testing alone is going to cost tens of millions. No one
mentions the problem of finding thousands of unemployed, certified and
able teachers willing to enter a classroom in this crisis. This is not
to mention the need to train thousands of sanitation workers. These
massive problems show how stupid Trump’s call to “Just open up!” was.
This article (3) about southern California says inequities will be deepened by school closings because districts in poorer areas will postpone in-person education longer due to their rates of infection being higher. Largely Latino districts close to Mexico have high infection rates, so their schools must remain online only, while wealthier districts like Capistrano Unified may reopen in-person sooner. Also, the wealthier districts usually can afford laptops and other devices more easily, and students have more access to Wifi. This is a good description of the situation that prevails nationally. Parents in poorer districts have a greater need to work every day and work at jobs requiring frontline presence; they cannot work from home on their laptops, as more prosperous workers often can. This opens them up to infections and multiplies the need for childcare; someone must be home with the kids while they get online education.
In one online panel discussion about Chicago public schools, one
panelist – a member of the school board – says we need to get back to
in-person schooling as soon as possible. He exemplifies the attitude of
many administrators, that the COVID crisis is very temporary and we can
soon forget about it. Another panelist, with the Edison Institute (a
private community group), says the district needs a long-term plan, as
the virus is going to continue for a long time. She stresses the need
to adapt to this situation and get students connected and get ESL
(English as a Second Language) education. The school board member says
20 schools have been opened for childcare for children whose parents
are both working. That sounds like a pathetically small number, and he
didn’t say what facilities they have – internet connection?
supervision? He did say that since spring CPS has distributed 60,000
devices to students, but these were loaned, not given, and no one knows
if this number is sufficient.
This article (4) says that virtual learning in Houston is exacerbating inequities, as in the Los Angeles area. Meanwhile, rural districts in North Texas, some of which opened in-person, are now experiencing outbreaks of the virus.
This article (5) reports on a demonstration by teachers
against the lack of preparation and resources. On the first day of
school, a training day for teachers, they got frustrated and walked
out, saying they had not gotten enough training, that the district was
not prepared for in-person education and also not prepared for online
technology. The article gives further interesting details: parents in
that district held a demonstration of their own demanding full-day
in-person instruction for elementary school students, and they signed a
petition to this effect with 1,000 signatures. When a statement from
the school board indicated that the impediment to this was resistance
from the teachers and their union, the union leader’s car was
vandalized the next night. So tensions are mounting as Trump continues
his vicious attacks on public school systems, threatening to cut off
funds and opposing science -- discouraging mask-wearing, humiliating
health authorities and actually overriding their recommendations. In
his superspreader rallies Trump whips up anger and incites violence
against those who don’t believe the COVID crisis is only a thing in the
past.
This article (6) is about ESL students in Salt Lake City. They attend in-person classes, but they have difficulty learning English from their teacher who is wearing a mask. They speak Spanish, Arabic, or Somali (among others) as their native tongue. Learning is difficult when they can’t see the teacher’s mouth. This article shows, again, the importance of preparation and resources. Why not transparent masks, which are common in some Asian countries?
Salt Lake schools opened mostly online, but they were short 6,000
laptops for students. Hundreds are being donated by a local community
group, but the district doesn’t expect to have the full amount needed
until sometime in October. Meanwhile administrators are still hoping to
go back to full-time in-person schooling by the end of September; this
sounds overly optimistic.
This article (7) notes the drop-off in participation last spring. In one school district, Granite, 20% of students never logged in a single time, and another 20% only did sporadic work. The district has decided it must return to in-person education full-time as a result; but of course this increases the risk of spreading COVID.
This article (8) is about parents demonstrating at a school board meeting in St. Louis, MO demanding schools should reopen in-person learning soon and should allow some sports.
A TV news report on the local FOX channel reports on a demonstration
in Paradise Valley demanding a complete reopening of schools for
in-person education. The demo looks pathetically small, a few parents
with a bunch of kids holding signs. But it indicates that this “reopen
schools” movement is widespread. Teachers are wary about reopening,
saying social distancing does not work indoors.
This article (9) says that the inner-city school district in Phoenix will remain completely online through the end of 2020. The school board says the inner city of Phoenix was hard hit by the virus and should not reopen for months. Meanwhile some other districts – Mesa, Gilbert, Queen Creek – are reopening at least some. This will deepen the gap between more and less affluent, more white and more black, districts. Queen Creek’s district is 70% white while Phoenix’s PUHS district is 80% Latino. PUHS parents are largely low-wage people who work full time at frontline jobs. This sounds like the city and district are just completely giving up on students, making no effort to ensure they get online or in-person instruction.
Scottsdale is reopening in phases. Youngest students, pre-K and disabled, will begin in early September; then up to 2nd grade; then 5th; and finally middle school and high school after October 12th. Tempe is also reopening in phases, but critics say it’s too early, as Tempe is home to Arizona State University, where thousands of college students are milling around, partying and spreading the virus. Mesa has had some demonstrations of parents demanding reopening.
What’s clear is that parents and teachers all want their kids safe; safe from COVID but also looked after during the day while parents work, and want the kids educated. It’s no solution for a district to just throw up their hands and say, "We can’t do anything during the COVID crisis!" The MORE teachers’ union caucus in New York has pointed out the lack of imagination in New York’s planning – there are actually plenty of empty buildings in New York that could be utilized for large, spread-out classrooms with room for social distancing. There’s also plenty of room for outdoor instruction; the city closes down city blocks during festivals, why not during school hours? Many districts wasted the time they had during the summer, time that could have been used to plan for new, different ways to educate. Instead they kept hoping and assuming the virus would be gone by fall. This was a vain hope. Another big problem was the lack of national leadership. The House of Representatives did pass the HEROES Act months ago which would provide more resources for schools and teachers, but the Trump administration and reactionaries in the Senate have refused to take action.
Classes began on Aug. 17 completely online. The plan was to transition to hybrid learning after four weeks. But I can’t find any recent articles to see if they are still going through with that.
School began completely online. The district plans to reopen gradually from mid-October through mid-November, beginning with lower elementary and high-needs students. The Anchorage district says hybrid systems are too complicated and so they don’t plan to do that; instead they will eventually go to completely in-person, but students will go to school shorter hours per day. All plans are tentative, however. For now they’re completely online.
This article (10)] indicates (without saying) that the previous agreement with teachers has been tweaked.
Detroit still has a hybrid model, and teachers can choose to teach
either online or in-person, but now those who teach in-person will be
given a bonus of $750/month. And now it says teachers can choose online
education only until Nov. 9th. So it looks like the district is forcing
teachers back to work in the classroom only. The leftist group BAMN,
which has had considerable strength in the teachers union in the past,
is organizing protests against this and against the union’s agreement
with it. They say teachers voted 91% against reopening in-person, and
the union president undemocratically blocked a strike vote at a union
meeting last week. There’s also mention that the first week of school
only 78% of students logged in.
In Warren’s Van Dyke district, schools opened completely online. During summer the district had been working toward a hybrid model, but polls of parents showed 65% favored online education, frightened off from schools by the threat of COVID. So the schools opened online for now. The district completed distribution of laptops the first week and dealt with connectivity issues for the first two weeks. Teachers themselves had issues logging in to school programs, much less teaching students how to do it. There are some negative reports of parents interfering, and a couple reports of students arguing with parents while online. Hours of sitting at a computer without real interaction with fellow students is beginning to take a psychological toll on some children and their families. But districts are beginning to break up the day and try to provide more personal interaction. Teachers now expect online education to continue for some time and are getting used to it. Student participation is high in Warren and approaching in-person normal.
Van Dyke has been able to achieve a fairly high level of student participation because the district took pains to involve parents and teachers. Surveys were sent out, special Zoom consultative meetings were arranged, and, most important, the district paid attention to what parents and teachers told them. Results of the consultations were made public in a transparent process. Many teachers spend time at schools even though they can work from home, and parents often come to the school to pick up schoolwork for their kids. Food distribution at the schools has continued.
This doesn’t mean there are no problems with online education, especially for younger children who are forced to learn a lot of things about technology that previously kids could ignore. For example: how to mute and unmute the program during class; worrying about scheduling and break time; how to carry out art projects without teacher supervision; being conscientious about gym and music without being surrounded by fellow students; avoiding household stress in the middle of class. All this is tough for kids five and six years old, not to mention older ones. Younger students need adult supervision, and this is an extra problem in a district like Van Dyke where both parents work full-time jobs. Adult supervision often falls on older siblings, who do their own schoolwork online late at night. So there are problems, but so far the district has been making it work.
Local newspaper Woodward Talk for Sept. 9 interviews teachers in Berkley who also say things are getting better. Negative features of online: teachers cannot simply reach out and show students what button on the keyboard to push in order to log in; teachers can’t walk around the classroom to keep students engaged; science students cannot do experiments. One chemistry teacher says he performs the experiments live online according to students’ directions.
A similar interview with Ferndale teachers says lower-grade teachers have been hosting meet-and-greets at school so they at least get to see their students live. The get-togethers are socially distanced but give kids a chance to see their teacher and one another. One teacher says she thinks online learning actually helps students to be more independent, to think of things without social pressure. It’s also nice not to have kids poking one another. A high school Special Ed teacher says they will go over to a part-time hybrid model in October because it’s important for Special Ed students to have some live contact. Berkley uses the Schoology program, while Ferndale uses GoogleMeet.
Four of the worst states for COVID right now are Iowa, Wisconsin, South Dakota and Idaho.
Des Moines: this article (11) describes a still unresolved situation in Des Moines, Iowa, where the local school board is defying the governor’s order to open in-person education. The Republican governor, Kim Reynolds, is trying to implement Pres. Trump’s order to open in-person instruction. She has ordered that all school districts must open if the local positivity rate is 15% or less. This is three times the limit recognized by health experts around the world of 5%. The positivity rate in Des Moines is 8%. The school district opened completely online, defying the governor’s order and opening the school administrators to possibly being fired and losing their license. Administrators cite a shortage of teachers and bus drivers (three quit because of COVID concerns) as reasons for not opening.
The article quotes two parents on different sides of the issue. One says high school classes are large – 40 students – and even with staggered classes and only half the students present, there still could not be room for social distancing. Another parent says why don’t they utilize unused buildings – movie theaters, for example -- to spread out? The governor argues that there must be in-person education for special ed students. OK, then why not have classes just for them – very small classes, with special ed teachers wearing masks and gloves? This is done in other districts. As a diehard Trumpist, Reynolds thinks the solution to everything is to just ignore the problems, ignore science, and make unsafe demands on the teachers and students. Public health systems everywhere say positivity rates must go below 5% before schools open up, and states in the Northeast have gone down around 1% before reopening. Insisting that students gather together in large classes with local positivity rates two and three times the recommended 5% shows Reynolds doesn’t give a damn about the health of working class students and their families.
Latest reports show a significant dropoff in support for Reynolds as COVID cases rise and more and more students are quarantined. This article (12) notes that one high school has gone completely online due to an absentee rate of nearly 25%. In Iowa City, the number of positive tests has been going up even though the school district opened up completely online. But still, administrators insist on reopening in-person classes Sept. 28th in accordance with Reynolds’ orders.
Districts in Florida and Arkansas are also faced with defying governor’s orders. In Little Rock, Arkansas, this article (13) contains a letter from teachers to Gov. Asa Hutchinson saying things cannot continue as they are. It’s something of a threat, although not explicit. Apparently the teachers expect the governor to respond in some manner, and then they will decide what to do. The principal of one Little Rock high school has announced that, beginning Sept. 21st, the school will be completely closed due to a number of COVID cases.
This article (14)] describes the situation in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Schools opened online, but the school board proposes moving over to a hybrid plan in early October. Students who opt for in-person education will have that available to them, and teachers will not be required to teach both online and in-person classes. The Republican governor says that 51% of parents have opted for in-person education. The board of education has not made a final decision until after listening to comments. Sounds democratic, but these comments are 18 hours of recorded videos which play constantly overnight with no board members required to be present.
This article (15) gives news from all over the state and has links to a lot of interesting local articles. It illustrates the diversity of responses to COVID. Lots of testing is going on, and when a few students and/or staff test positive, the school shuts down for awhile. Some schools shut down while others reopen as they come out of quarantine. There’s a report on one school district that is allowing fall sports – football and volleyball – but with spectators restricted to families only. Some schools in Milwaukee are experimenting with outdoor instruction; tents and shelters are popping up around Milwaukee for this. Some districts have some in-person instruction (hybrid model); there’s a creepy picture of one classroom with students sitting far apart, all wearing masks; they look like prisoners in some concentration camp. It’s inspiring to see people – students and teachers – trying to maintain education, but it brings home what a difficult situation we’re in.
Boise: school began on August 17th completely online. In early September the school board drafted a plan to return to full-time in-person education gradually, being completed by November 9th. The school board says it’s being guided by decisions of the local public health agency. They say COVID is decreasing inside Boise but don’t say exactly what the numbers and positivity rates are.
This article (16) from a local NBC channel illustrates some of the problems of opening schools to in-person education. South Dakota has opened all schools statewide. To address health concerns, local health departments develop very complex plans for how to organize classrooms to allow social distancing, rules for when students are required to wear masks, under what conditions a school should close, etc. Students are allowed to remove their mask inside some classrooms, sometimes, but must mask up when passing in hallways. Students can remove their mask temporarily outside but must wear it on the bus. Students are told to avoid excess use of washrooms but also told to wash their hands many times a day. Administrators are worried about being liable for illness and deaths in their schools and are lobbying the legislature for an exemption. South Dakota teachers, it seems, are concentrating their efforts on getting transparent reportage of COVID outbreaks.
This article (17) from a local CBS outlet in late July describes Republican Governor Kristi Noem’s attitude. She’s a Trumpist, through-and-through, disparaging masks and demanding schools open up. She uses some negative facts about online education (30% drop-off last spring, inequities between rich and poor areas) to argue that schools must reopen and not require masks. The state’s NEA leader gives a very weak reply, agreeing with the governor but pleading for more money to hire counselors “to help students with the trauma.” In response, the governor did throw a few million more dollars at schools to help them prepare. Of course it never occurs to governors like Noem to actually overcome the inequities between rich and poor areas.
Besides the backwardness of the Trumpists, the South Dakota example also shows the weak response of the teachers’ unions. They criticize the Trump administration for a lack of leadership, which is certainly true, but are slow about providing that leadership themselves. And where are the other union leaders of AFL-CIO and Change to Win during this crisis? Is the future of education the concern of teachers’ unions alone?
A look at school districts around the country shows a lot of imagination by local parents and teachers as they try to deal with the COVID crisis. It also shows a lot of firm resilience by students as they work to continue their education. But it also brings out problems with the system that existed before the pandemic. Schools have suffered from underfunding and resegregation for decades. Teachers have fought against this and launched a national wave of strikes before the COVID crisis hit. But the difficulties of the crisis, and the roadblocks to proper planning by the Trump administration, have set back public school districts and increased previously existing inequities. Districts in black and brown localities have greater problems than more affluent white districts just as black and brown people suffer from higher rates of disease and death from COVID. Wealthier districts find ways to provide education to their students despite the problems, while poorer districts scramble for help, oftentimes against the Trumpist dictates of state governors and some local politicians. Much more planning and financial support is needed to make the transition to online learning successful. Districts need to stop hoping the virus will end suddenly this fall and plan for a difficult winter at least.
[1]: Holly Yan and Madeline Holcombe, "US coronavirus: As doctors worry about an 'apocalyptic fall,' the CDC retracts Covid-19 info", CNN, September 21, 2020.
[2]: Emma G. Fitzsimmons, Jeffery C. Mays, and Eliza Shapiro, "How N.Y.C.’s Mayor Ignored Warnings and Mishandled Reopening Schools", New York Times, September 18, 2020.
[3]: Paloma Esquivel, Howard Blume, snf Andrew J. Campa, "School campuses in affluent areas plan to open quicker than those in poor Latino ones", Los Angeles Times, September 14, 2020.
[4]: Ted Oberg and Sarah Rafigue, "Single mom gives Houston ISD harsh grade for poor prep", abc13 Eyewitness News, September 15, 2020.
[5]: Rose Weldon, "Schreiber High teachers walk out on training day in event not sanctioned by teachers' union", Manhasset Times, September 8, 2020.
[6]: Ginna Roe, "ESL students overcome obstacles learning English with masks", Channel 2 KUTV, September 16, 2020.
[7]: Chris Jones & Nadia Pflaum, "Utah schools experienced dramatic academic drop-off at end of last year", Channel 2 KUTV, September 11, 2020".
[8]: Chris Regnier,"St. Louis County Council hears resolution to reopen schools and start fall sports", Fox2now, September 15, 2020.
[9]: Lily Altavena, "Phoenix school district, in area 'among the hardest hit by COVID,' says no to in-person classes through December", Arizona Republic, September 14, 2020.
[10]: John Wisely, "What Detroit teachers negotiated under new deal with school district", Detroit Free Press, August 28, 2020.
[11]: Dan Levin and Kate Taylor, " 'Science Versus Politics': School District Defies Governor's Reopening Order:
In one of the nation's sharpest clashes over school reopening,
officials in Des Moines say Iowa's Republican governor is pushing them
to risk public safety", New York Times, September 10, 2020.
[12]: "Dozens of Iowa students quarantine as virus cases rise", Associated Press, September 24, 2020.
[13]: "Little Rock teachers' union expresses ongoing concern over LRSD COVID-19 response", KARK, September 7, 2020.
[14]: Colleen Wright, "Miami schools could start opening Sept. 30, but 18 hours of public comments delay vote", Miami Herald, September 21, 2020.
[15]: Association of Wisconsin School Administrators.
[16]: "Education groups in South Dakota say containing coronavirus a 'nightmare'", Associated Press, September 17, 2020.
[17]: "South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem disparages face mask requirements for students", *CBS News*, July 29, 2020. <>
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