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This will be the longest thread of my Twitter career -- in my attempt to explain why the re-opening decision is so damn hard for school administrators
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In my area, cases are increasing. They are not, however, at a dangerous level. As such, we are doing everything we can to have in-person schooling as much as possible, but here is a quick example of the mental gymnastics we are currently all playing.
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1)I am of the strong belief that the best place for kids is in schools. Those people who state that the flu is more dangerous (strictly in terms of mortality) than COVID for kids – particularly young students – are correct.
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2)I have spent over 500,000 dollars to attempt to make re-opening schools as safe as possible.
3)I know teachers did not sign up for working in an environment that may literally kill them, but neither did bartenders, grocery store employees, flight attendants, etc.
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3)I know teachers did not sign up for working in an environment that may literally kill them, but neither did bartenders, grocery store employees, flight attendants, etc.
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4)None of us know the extent of the mental and psychological toll this entire pandemic will have on our students and getting back to a semblance of normalcy cannot hurt.
5)Remote learning was not effective in the crisis format used
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5)Remote learning was not effective in the crisis format used
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6)A number of our constituents are sincerely convinced masks are the enemy and ineffective and are bold in showing their limited studies and memes to this accord.
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All of the above is true, but so is. . .
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1)I do not think being in classrooms is the safest or best place for my staff and I did not sign up for this job to weigh the cost-benefit analysis of someone’s (potential) life vs being an economic driver for the country and making sure kids can read and do math on time
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2)Remote learning will be a decidedly better product the next time it is deployed, but yes, still not as good as in-person learning.
3)I already have people telling me they should receive a refund on their taxes if we are not in-person this year.
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3)I already have people telling me they should receive a refund on their taxes if we are not in-person this year.
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4)Our liability insurance will not cover COVID related claims – imagine the blowback when taxes go up as a result of this.
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5)If we attempt to follow guidance by social distancing, not allowing a 5 year old to hug their teacher, and eliminating PE, band, and choir as we know it (just to name a few) then we effectively extinguished many of the parts of school that kids and adults love.
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6)I cannot do in-person school safely and by paying any attention to the guidelines provided if we are at full capacity.
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7)36 students tested positive 70 miles from my district after sports camps where safety precautions were in place.
8)An AD in Georgia died today from COVID
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8)An AD in Georgia died today from COVID
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9)I can reconcile that the death rate per recent CDC publications is around 0.5% and that makes me feel better until I remember I have over 200 staff and that would mean if we pass this around that one of us may not be back in 2021.
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I could go on and on, but this is why this decision is the absolute worst.
(DONE)
(DONE)
