Vermont-NEA News

BREAKING: President Tinney's Statement on School Closures

Fellow members,

By now you have probably heard that Governor Phil Scott has ordered that all students in public K-12 schools be dismissed on Tuesday until at least April 6, perhaps even longer. In his announcement, the governor said that no student is required to attend school this Monday or Tuesday while educators, administrators, and other staff prepare for the orderly closure of schools to students.

As I said yesterday, the closure of schools must be orderly, planned, and based on the best-practices of medicine, public health, and disease containment. The governor’s order today makes it clear that closing schools is vital to “keep us ahead of the curve in terms of preventing and reducing the spread of COVID-19.” Your beloved students will undoubtedly be experiencing stress and anxiety with the impending prolonged dismissal, so I can not emphasize enough the need for a calm, orderly approach on Monday and Tuesday.

The governor and his team obviously heard from many of you, as well as hundreds of concerned parents and community members. Many people have reached out to me, as well; and let me assure you that as we continue down this untrod path, Vermont-NEA will be guided by what’s best for the health and safety of our students, our schools, our communities, and each other. I also want to assure you that in the days ahead, we will be clarifying exactly what the governor’s order means for educators, specifically when they will be reporting to work in their school buildings and their roles in  developing and maintaining their school’s “Continuity of Education Plans.”  Our members will be creative and flexible as they work with their administrators and colleagues, figuring out how to best meet the ongoing needs of their students, knowing that all of this entire approach is a work in progress.

As an organization, we will continue to insist that any actions related to school closures must put the health and safety of students, educators, and parents first, must ensure that children who rely on school meals will still have access to food, and must guarantee that school employees will not suffer financial hardship and lost paychecks.

Your local leaders and chief negotiators have already been alerted by their UniServ directors about the need to contact superintendents about ensuring continuity of pay and benefits during this public health emergency. We also are encouraging the superintendents to proactively and publicly promise to maintain the pay and benefits of their dedicated public school employees.

While schools are being closed to students, I want to let you know what Vermont-NEA is doing to encourage social distancing and to flatten the curve of the pandemic:

Starting Wednesday, through at least April 2, Vermont-NEA offices will be closed to the public, with all business being conducted remotely. During that time, all onsite in-person meetings will be canceled or conducted virtually. Our phone system will be fully operational, so do not hesitate to call if you have questions or concerns.

Our upcoming Vermont-NEA Education Support Professional Conference has been canceled.

Our April 4 Representative Assembly has been turned into a virtual meeting.

I know that you may be confused, anxious, and unclear about the path ahead. In the coming days, we will be sharing a comprehensive package of information about what this means to you and your students.

We will get through this together.

In solidarity,

Don Tinney

Vermont-NEA President

Darren Allen Mar 15 2020
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