In a September 21 letter sent to Wake County Superintendent Cathy Moore and her core team, the Wake County Division of Principals and Assistant Principals expressed serious reservations about the feasibility of returning to in-person instruction on October 26.
A whopping 90.9% of administrators surveyed preferred a second semester return.
Even those who indicated they felt a late October return could be accomplished felt that additional supports needed to be put in place before it happened.
Those advocating for a delay until the end of the first semester felt the additional time would allow for COVID numbers to further decrease and for schools to better adapt instruction to a challenging hybrid model.
Below are some comments from the survey.
The entire letter is posted at the end of this article.
Teachers, students, and families need stability. For high schools, it is extremely challenging for teachers to re-design their curriculum multiple times to adjust from a brick and mortar to an online setting. If we transition again in the middle of a semester, teachers will need to navigate their curriculum again and figure out how to teach in both worlds (VA and in-person setting). I am highly concerned that this change will push them over the edge. Please allow high schools to remain online for the Fall semester.
I am very worried about what to do when we need a sub and do not have a sub. Have you collected data on how many staff members at each school have quarantine themselves because of an exposure? I lost count. Child care is also a big issue with our staff.
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I believe returning in January would give Fall VA families and potentially full-time VA families an opportunity to return to F2F with confidence. It also provides a smoother transition for staffing, as I need the Fall VA teachers to be in whatever F2F rotation or full return we have. I simply cannot staff any form of F2F without the return of Fall VA teachers to a F2F model. Teacher assignment changes will definitely occur if we return prior to January, and we really don’t have the allotments needed to do this sooner. Stability for families should be considered as important as Safety.
I imagine YR schools would also fare better because returning to assigned tracks is more feasible at the end of first semester.
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I think that returning to school during the month of October is too soon. I don’t believe that we will have enough time to properly prepare for our students to return. We have not received specific guidelines on what school will look like and what the safety measures truly consist of. Teachers will have to replan and adjust many lessons in order for them to provide instruction in person as well as online. I am also very concerned that transportation services needs will not be at the forefront. I can foresee many delays and lots of confusion. There are always hiccups and the beginning of the school year and due to the circumstances and student cohorts, I worry about safety and efficiency.
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WCDPAP-Core-Team-LetterI think that the biggest issues are going to be transportation and substitutes. I do not believe that social distancing is going to be possible on buses. Also, when teachers get Covid (which they will- either from school or from the community) what are we going to do about substitutes?) We have a teacher out right now with Covid- but she can teach from her house because of remote learning- that won’t be possible if students are in school unless there is additional supervision.
There is yet another point people are failing to mention.
We are entering the COVID-19 and FLU season. What’s going to happen when schools are a turnstyle of 2 week quarantines, 3 wk f2f, close down because of hot spots, 30% of kids and teachers out with the flu, and back to virtual learning we go again. But instead of a well-oiled machine of consistency, it will be total chaos…FOR EVERYBODY, including parents.
Because we all know KIDS COME TO SCHOOL SICK
Welcome to Spring 2020, only worse.
I do not by any means think that we should come back to in person teaching there is no evidence that the spread is stopping or there is any cure or solution to this problem. The only reason number are going down is because we are wearing masks, socially distancing, and STAYING HOME, none of which my students would do. Please value my life and the life of my students and their families over money and profit it’s the only humane thing to do. We are just asking to wait until there is an actual solution to this problem that the whole world is working on.
The school system is about establishing routines and possibly structure. How can this be obtained, if a sudden change in routine and structure is suddenly brought to the front. Is the student, that I’ve finally tracked and traced to come into the google meet or zoom , finally moving with a routine and structure, must now get lost in shuffle? The masses want the schools open, however, is there any thought of the massive inter person interaction is going to be taking place? Let’s not think masses, but lives that could be potentially taken away in masses!!! Is not about emotion and sentimentality, or a run for office; it’s about who would educate, and train the students; if half of the population (teacher and student) are sick or worse?
Please listen to teachers bc without them they will not be in person or VA. They are to the job so they get the say. Thank you
Parent
As a year round specialst teacher, I would be teaching VA, F2F and any at home for a cohort everyday or every week. Too many different lessons to prepare for, teach and grade at the same time.
Also, if the school board is not going to be meeting in person, how is it safe for me with up to 27 F2F in the same small space? And central off staff too?
I am in full agreement that we should NOT be considering going back to school in person at this point. We are just now entering cold and flu season. All other countries that contacted COVID-19 prior to the US are now beginning to witness the second wave. It would be irresponsible on the part of our education system to open the entire community to the possible onset of a second wave…
In addition, I agree that bussing is not an option right now. That there will be a huge gap in substitutes that are willing to put themselves and their families as such a huge risk, and I for one cannot accept this consideration. Give it more time.
As much as I, as a teacher and a parent, understand the importance of one-on-one in person instruction as a learning platform, I also feel that if we cannot ensure the safety of our staff, there will be on in-person instruction.
Please keep schools closed.
Too soon to reopen this year maybe in spring semester but if it open it only take one case and the school will be shut bk down
In person instruction sounds good but it should be done in a safe environment. My daughter can’t wait to meet her teachers and friends but as a nurse, I know how tough it can be to be around a sick person. We have vaccines for the flu yet we lose a lot of lives to the flu. Nobody knows how the flu season is going to impact the current situation. Waiting to reopen in the Spring will give us time to assess the impact of flu/covid combo. As a single parent working night shift, There’s no easy solution for the situation but we can at least wait until we see how the flu season is going go before we turn around and shut schools down again.
Has anyone thought of how special ed teachers and related service providers are going to manage a hybrid approach schedule? It took a lot of time and effort to establish the all online schedules. Now that we have the schedule, we’re then going to be expected to do yet another possibly totally different schedule for the hybrid approach if that is what the plan will be.Then when kids return to in-person only, that’s another schedule. I feel like this is all going to be a nightmare with scheduling. It’s hard enough to do our jobs without adding these logistically difficult situations. I appreciate all the hard work that the school board has done and is doing. I’m just asking that special education is strongly considered in the big picture.
I am a bus driver, and i think that bussing will be a problem. i think that safety is more important, the weather is changing, flu season is approaching and we all know that people will get sick, i think that wcpss should wait until July 2021 to return to school and we can start with year round schedule and tradition can come back in Aug 2021.
Students have the option of staying home. Those that need/want to come to school have to follow safety rules. Teachers have option to remote teach? I am a bus driver and feel one masked child per seat is ok. cleaning bus after each run is a must. Having an aid on bus to take temp and watch kids to make sure they are distancing and wearing masks. Maybe temp taken by aid before they get on bus should be considered. If kids keep 6 foot distance, wash hands, and wear mask , life can go on?