Teachers have solutions

The NAACP is having a return to school zoom meeting on Monday. I like a lot of the people who are going to participate, but you know isn't in the line-up? Not one teacher.

https://www.facebook.com/tameka.gaines.7/posts/10223831816608095

Teachers are one of the most marginalized and ignored groups out there, especially when it comes to education. The powers-that-be generally don't ask teachers what they think or how they feel and that is one of the reasons we aren't where we could and should be.

Well, friends that hasn't stopped teachers from coming up with solutions.

One of the common and disingenuous complaints leaders use to send teachers back into danger is ESE students don't get their services. Now I do this isn't an area of genuine concern, I just don't think people like Corcoran and DeSantis have any.

I think we need to be honest and admit that distance learning did not work for a lot of our kids, especially our ESE kids, but that doesn't mean it can't be made to work better for more. It also shouldn't mean they can't get their services.

So brainstorming with teachers this is what we came up with.

ESE students,

One concern I have repeatedly heard is ESE students are not receiving their services. OT, PT, Speech etc.

While I don’t think our service providers should be forced to risk their lives either. There is a way for ESE students to get services  They could provide the services at schools. Parents would be given appointment times for their students to be seen and then be expected to bring their students in. Those families without transportation could be brought in on busses.

The student would receive their service and then return home. There would be ample time in between appointments so cleaning could occur.

Now once again I am not thrilled with service providers going into school but where I don't think we can keep hundreds maybe thousands of students and staff safe, I do think we can keep a handful.

I also briefly wanted to talk about children that may fall through the cracks.

This is a real concern, schools shouldn't be open for every student but maybe it could be opened up for a handful of targeted students. Those we are concerned will fall through the cracks.

The district said people should volunteer to do Duval Homeroom. That is a backward plan. The district should have asked for volunteers to work in the school. There they would work with our most fragile children. 

The district could micro-target those students who they are concerned will fall through the cracks through distance learning, the ESOL, ESE and just those students and invite them to school where they would be divided into small groups and taught by volunteer teachers willing to go into the buildings. Despite the district’s efforts, we all know with the current plan that people will get sick or exposed and schools will close.

Nobody believes the district will be able to keep the hundreds or thousands in each school safe, but you may be able to keep 50

You could also open it up for a limited number of working parents.

This is the thing however, we should endeavor to keep as many students and teachers out of schools as possible, whether they want to go in or not. Schools even with precautions will be a breeding ground for the virus.

Keeping people safe, whether they want to be or not should be our priority.