As the pandemic gets worse, DCPS gets more and more reckless.

It’s unconscionable how reckless DCPS has gotten as Duval hits unprecedented numbers in the pandemic. Cajoling families to return their kids to school, class sizes rising, and a lack of deep cleaning is all going to lead to more people getting sick or worse.   

On Facebook, somebody asked, are your rooms cleaned between classes. The response was an overwhelming no. I am not blaming our custodial staff either, they can only do what they can do, and DCPS, with a wink and a nod and a shrug of their shoulders, pretends all is well. Remember when they swore we would have deep cleanings and cleanings between classes, that cleaning was a priority? Now like treating teachers fairly, that is an afterthought. 

Then there are class sizes that make social distancing impossible. 

Yesterday I had a student sprung on me, which I think is ridiculous, especially since the previous day was a planning day. So I asked on Facebook if this happened to others, and I received over a hundred responses and spoiler it had. Now I think it’s a poor way of doing things, and where it can happen from time to time, it shouldn’t happen on the scale it occurs in DCPS, but that’s for another blog. 

What really concerned me was teacher after teacher told me how huge their classes have become, sometimes larger than even in normal years. So much for social distancing right. Already for many classes, it was impossible, but as you can imagine, it has been made even worse for more than a few. 

Then what blew me away was some teachers have been told to make groups to create more space, which again totally obliterates the concept of social distancing. Oh, not enough room, just slide those desks together. Who cares about the pandemic? This is both ridiculous and reckless but gets another shrug of the shoulders by the district. 

How is pushing more kids back into classes, not properly cleaning, and making classes huge going to keep people safe? The answer is it is not; it is going to do the opposite. 

Now I get it, these are tough, and these are trying times, but where are the board and super during all this? Locked in their bunker at the ivory tower is where. Instead of fighting for more resources, instead of insisting we do things the right way and Tallahassee pay for it, they have shrugged their collective shoulders and crossed their fingers, and that is unacceptable. 

Teachers get that things are tough, but can’t the district at least give them a chance?