Seeing a lot of plans for schools reopening and there seems to be a focus on what parents think, what students need but almost no mention that staff are a part of this process. Here are some of the things that @GwinnettSchools is doing from the biased perspective of a teacher 1/

First, there is no good plan to open schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. The failure of national and state governments have created a situation where schools and districts are working in an environment where they are forced to create “solutions” to cover for these failures. 2/

What @GwinnettSchools is attempting is an impossible challenge and it was clear that there had been a significant amount of thought put into the reopening plan presented Tuesday night. There was, however, no time allowed for voices beyond the BOE to address concerns. 3/

I would have asked questions in that public forum so I will place some thoughts/concerns through this thread. I teach my Ss that participation in government is a responsibility and modeling the behavior is important. 4/

@GwinnettSchools created a choice option that it announced a few weeks ago allowing parents to opt-in to in-person instruction or opt-in to digital instruction. They must commit to the choice for the first semester. (There will be a reevaluation after the first 9 weeks) 5/

This is a good idea! It will allow worried parents to keep their kids safe at home while still learning and allow other parents the option of sending their kids to school if that is how they learn best. There are some concerns with this plan. 6/

Chromebooks will be made available to families based on need, meaning families with multiple children may need to share technology. With a requirement that students attend live instruction at times chosen by the teacher, this disadvantages families who lack technology. 7/

There was no discussion of providing internet access to families that may be concerned about their children’s safety but don’t have quality access. The lower-income families are further harmed by this policy. 8/

If local schools must use their own stock of technology to support families for online learning this will further diminish the technology available at the schools, harming those who opted for in-person instruction. 9/

Lunch for those who opt-in to digital learning will be pick-up only and not provided by busses. So students who want/need to stay safe at home but qualify for free/reduced lunch would need a ride to the school or would go hungry. 10/

For in-person instruction, students will fill the busses. This means as many as 45 students shoulder-to-shoulder. This is understandable because of budget and time concerns. But like technology, families that need busses most are the families in our low-income schools. 11/

Thankfully masks are now mandated and will be provided to teachers and some will be available to students! There was no discussion of numbers of masks that will be provided for those that need them or what will be done if a student does not have a mask. 12/

We still don’t know about class sizes because that is dependent on how many opt-in or opt-out, so the possibility of social distancing in classrooms could not really be addressed. Previous guidelines said all students should face on direction and sit spaced out 13/

There will be no testing provided for staff or students. If a student/staff does get a test and tests positive there will be some contact tracing and notification but that was not defined and no questions were asked about the process. “Contact” was not defined. 14/

None of this is ideal and there is no plan that is perfect. @GwinnettSchools and the Board of Education seems to be operating in good faith with parents and families and students in mind. The one group mostly absent from discussion during the meeting was school staff. 15/

Yes, we had a survey about our feelings and concerns. The most recent was one question. There are no guidelines about if staff are sick or become infected. Will we be required to use our sick days for a 10 to 14-day quarantine? Will staff be tested for free? 16/

Staff is more than teachers, it’s bus drivers, cafeteria, custodial, administration, and support staff. Would you be willing to be a substitute in a classroom knowing the teacher may be out because they are infected and could have infected a student sitting in the room? 17/

These are just some of the takeaways from the most recent reopening plan. Many of the questions are ones the BOE and @GwinnettSchools should not need to make but are forced to because of failed leadership beyond their control. 18/

We are all trying our best and, at least for me, want to get back to teaching. I already know that I won’t be able to see any extended family once in-person school begins because I won’t be tested and will be exposing myself to a harmful disease daily. 19/

My biggest concern is not for me rather for my students (those that can’t afford to opt-out of in-person learning) and our at-risk staff (those that could die if they contract the disease but have bills to pay). It’s an impossible situation. XXX