“We know that it is not safe to return to in-person learning at this time.”
That is a sentence in the document, “Reopening our Schools and Campuses Safely,” penned and endorsed by more than 30 Massachusetts teachers unions that are pushing for a “phased-in” approach for returning students to school.
The letter, which comes at a time when school districts are grappling with how to provide education during the COVID-19 pandemic this fall, is endorsed by the public school districts in Marblehead, Nahant, Revere, and Swampscott, and other North Shore districts including Beverly, Danvers, and Gloucester, and Salem State University.
Rebecca Bucklin, president of the Swampscott Education Association, said the statement represents thousands of educators across the region, and was drafted by the newly formed North of Boston Educator Action Network (NoBEAN), and other Greater Boston teachers unions.
“Educators continue to grapple with weighing the benefits of in-person instruction versus the
health and safety standards needed to return to classrooms and campuses,” the statement reads. “Faced with a pandemic that is actively spreading to children, teens, and adults, we know that it is not safe to return to in-person learning at this time.”
The document specifies that a “phased-in approach that is tied to public health and safety measures” should be used this coming school year, and calls upon public school districts to begin the year with “comprehensive distance learning” that initially keeps students at home, but has the “potential to graduate to a hybrid learning model.”
“The safe return to learning in September must be guided by science — not by school calendar,” Bucklin said.
Bucklin said educators “cannot risk a premature return to in-person learning that will result in educators, students, or their families getting sick and dying.” Instead, energy should be directed at creating “high-quality distance learning,” and decisions should be made at the local and state levels with input from public school teachers.
As far as specifics, there is much that is uncertain right now, Bucklin said, but one thing is for certain: more educators will be needed when students do return to school.
Having more teachers is necessary so schools can have a smaller student-to-teacher ratio, enabling students’ “social-emotional and educational needs.
“Now, more than ever, the Commonwealth must commit to fully funding public schools so that local school districts can recover from this public health crisis by funding the schools their communities need,” Bucklin said. “As educators, we are advocating for a return to in-person learning that is guided by science, educational best practice, and the health and safety of our students and educators. The stakes have never been higher. Not one single person should get sick or die because we opened our doors prematurely. The only acceptable death count is zero.”
