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BREAKING: Educator, Parent Voices Essential to School Reopening
School Reopening Must Be Guided by Health and Safety
Educator, Parent Voices Essential to Any Resumption of In-Person Instruction
MONTPELIER – In the wake of the governor’s announcement that schools will reopen in the fall, educators and parents must have a lead role in hashing out the complex details required for a safe and effective resumption of in-person instruction, according to the state’s largest union.
“Nobody wants to be back in school more than the educators of Vermont,” said Don Tinney, a high school English teacher who serves as the elected president of the 13,000-member Vermont-NEA. “We understand the economic and political pressure to reopen our schools, but we have to make sure the decision is made with the best, most up-to-date public health science. For schools to reopen, they must be safe for students, parents, and educators.”
As school reopenings happen slowly in other countries, it is clear that doing so safely and effectively takes the collaboration of many. Educators, parents, administrators, and health experts must work together to map out a statewide plan to reopen schools. The array of factors that must be considered to safely resume in-person instruction is enormous and requires a tremendous amount of work to ensure a safe and effective environment for students, parents, and educators.
“It is unfortunate that Gov. Phil Scott and Education Secretary Dan French chose to make this announcement before the real hard work of planning and preparation has been completed,” Tinney said. “We have one chance to get this right, and to get it right takes time. Again, there is no place where educators would rather be than in school, teaching and caring for students. But without concrete, health- and science-based protocols that must be followed by every school district, today’s announcement adds even more pressure to folks doing this critical planning.”
Tinney said that the union has assembled a task force of educators to begin exploring how to safely and effectively return to in-person instruction. A preliminary summary of what educators see as imperative to reopening will be released tomorrow.
“Our message is simple: we want schools to reopen,” Tinney said. “But only after the hard work with all stakeholders – parents, educators, and health experts – can we realistically and safely ask our students and educators to resume in-person instruction.”
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