Name: ‘It was 50 pages of fluff’: From wearing masks to no temperature checks some Connecticut educators concerned about school reopening the fall amid coronavirus
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‘It was 50 pages of fluff’: From wearing masks to no temperature checks some Connecticut educators concerned about school reopening the fall amid coronavirus

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AdvertisementBy Hartford CourantJul 04, 2020 at 6:00 amWhen Shellye Davis, a para-educator in Hartford, saw that Gov. Ned Lamont planned to reopen schools at the end of August, she was excited. But that excitement over seeing her students and colleagues in the fall quickly dissipated once she saw the guidelines for reopening presented by the governor.“I thought we’d come up with a plan and once we proceeded I realized the governor’s plan had just passed the buck to schools and our board of educations,” she said.AdvertisementConcerns from both parents and teachers came swiftly last week when Lamont announced a return to the classroom this fall. Parents and teachers alike wondered what COVID-19 safe schools would look like, who would pay for the changes and how feasible it would be to send students to school in masks and require them to maintain distance from one another.“It was 50 pages of fluff,” David Hayes, a fifth grade teacher at Edgewood Elementary School in Bristol, said. “It was non-specific in so many ways. It feels a little bit like a letdown and a betrayal that they would go ahead and throw this plan out there.”AdvertisementEarlier this week, Lamont released a more specific plan with guidelines for reopening but for many teachers it still wasn’t enough. Since then, teacher’s unions like the American Federation of Teachers and the Connecticut Education Association have criticized Lamont’s plan for what they say provides little guidance and for “passing the buck” onto cash-strapped school districts.Lamont and state education commissioner Miguel Cardona have said the state will be allocating $99 million in federal CARES Act funds to school districts, but school districts were quick to point out that with millions of expenses and over 170 school districts, that funding barely addresses the need. State officials have said they will do their best to help districts fund the changes.“We are looking forward to continuing the partnership with our teachers to make sure the plan not only is safe for students and staff to re-enter, but also is one that build confidence,” Cardona said in response to questions about criticism from the teachers unions.Lamont’s plan to reopen schools in the fall aligns with guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics which strongly encouraged school districts to bring students back into the classroom to avoid the lasting impacts of social isolation. And though teachers are eager to return to their classrooms and engage with their students in person, some have concerns about how safe it is to bring students back in August.“Getting back to the classroom is the optimal thing for us to do because it’s where we do our best work. We need to be in the classroom and kids need to be in the classroom,” Mike Wight, a fourth grade teacher at Hawley Elementary School in Newtown said.At the forefront of their concerns is how the plan to reopen schools will impact their ability to teach and connect with their students. Under the state’s guidelines, teachers and students will need to wear a mask in the school building at all times and maintain six feet of distance, among other safety measures.“It’s not the way we teach anymore,” Wight said. “We’re together, we’re playing, we’re teaching and learning. The question we keep asking ourselves as teachers as we wrap our heads around this is “how are we going to teach?”Hayes echoed Wight’s concerns and said the current style of teaching is to have students collaborate in small groups and work together on assignments and lessons.Advertisement“That’s completely out the window,” he said. “How do you have kids work together if you have to stay six feet away from each other?”To comply with the guidelines districts are already anticipating spending millions of dollars hiring new teachers and staff to keep class sizes small enough to maintain social distancing. Lamont has not set a standard for class sizes, saying districts should take stock of their space and make their own determination.For teachers, this raises another concern — how will they find the space within school buildings to keep everyone safe? Many Connecticut schools are older buildings and lack the flexibility in design and sophisticated ventilation systems of more modern structures.“First of all, none of our schools are designed for social distancing,” Davis said. We’re going to need extra teachers, paras, bus monitors. Social distancing is going to require more than just work spaces. You’re talking about redesigning schools.”Davis said she doesn’t know why Lamont pushed to get kids back in schools so early, while acknowledging that the best place for students to be learning is in the classroom if it is safe to do so.“The safety and health should come first. I don’t know why we’re going back to school. There is no plan,” she said. “I don’t have the confidence in going back to school. One of my questions is why don’t we test all students and staff like they have in other countries? And there’s been no response.”AdvertisementHayes said he’s also confused why testing and temperature checks aren’t a part of Lamont’s plan.“If I went to a doctor’s office today, I would have to get a temperature check before I go in, but here we are saying we don’t need to temperature check students?” he said.DailyWe're providing the latest coronavirus coverage in Connecticut each weekday morning. &gt; Other teachers are worried that returning to the classroom might mean catching COVID-19 and passing it onto a vulnerable family members. There has been no clear guidance about what teachers with preexisting health conditions or family members at risk should plan to do. At Monday’s briefing, Cardona said the state would be sending out a survey soon to see how many students and teachers won’t feel comfortable returning in the fall.“What’s scary to me is we hear is that kids are not as susceptible to this as adults are,” Wight said. “Yet they may be asymptomatic and carrying it. Bringing it home to our families or our parents is a real concern.”Davis said she thinks it would have been wiser if Lamont extended distance learning for a few more months or pivoted to a hybrid model where students went to school some days and did virtual learning other days.“We’ve gotten the key to distance learning,” Davis said. “Is it the best thing? No. Is it the safest thing? Yes. I think doing distance learning a little longer until we have a grip on COVID would have been better for everyone.”AdvertisementAt the very least, they say they had hoped to see a plan that was more directive and didn’t leave school districts to foot the bill on their own.“I think we wanted to see a plan that funds our future and doesn’t leave schools to fund it on their own,” Wight said. “We had all kinds of hope that people would listen to us. We were let down.”Kathleen McWilliams can be reached at kmcwilliams@courant.com. Advertisement

AdvertisementBy Hartford CourantJul 04, 2020 at 6:00 amWhen Shellye Davis, a para-educator in Hartford, saw that Gov. Ned Lamont planned to reopen schools at the end of August, she was excited. But that excitement over seeing her students and colleagues in the fall quickly dissipated once she saw the guidelines for reopening presented by the governor.“I thought we’d come up with a plan and once we proceeded I realized the governor’s plan had just passed the buck to schools and our board of educations,” she said.AdvertisementConcerns from both parents and teachers came swiftly last week when...

‘It was 50 pages of fluff’: From wearing masks to no temperature checks some Connecticut educators concerned about school reopening the fall amid coronavirus

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