Educators make pitch for Wellesley COVID-19 testing program

Comments

1. WHS parent says

   September 1, 2020 at 7:39 am

   Teachers should be able to work remotely if they feel unsafe in their workplace. Only the at-risk students should return to the school buildings. Everyone else should be remote until Spring.

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   • AQ says

     September 1, 2020 at 12:58 pm

     How do you expect Kindergarteners to learn remotely?

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2. matthew Santoro says

   September 1, 2020 at 9:52 am

   Teachers continue to move the bar for what they consider to be a safe environment for returning to the classroom. Do you know what other school districts are asking for a viral testing program??? No one! What other essential workers are be giving access to a viral test program?? None. You’re asking a community that has been unable to work on a regular schedule since March to now donate to an unnecessary test program. If the teachers union is so sure this is necessary for their well being they should be funding the program themselves.

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   • WPS Parent says

     September 1, 2020 at 9:24 pm

     Actually Newton teachers are pushing for the same program…

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3. AQ says

   September 1, 2020 at 12:57 pm

   Most private schools are not implementing testing. Where are they getting this information?

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4. Ridiculous says

   September 1, 2020 at 1:21 pm

   Teachers have taken a 7 month vacation on our dime. Enough is enough. Now they are afraid of teaching in empty buildings?? Do the walls carry Covid??

   They ask who will watch their kids. Maybe the same magical work force that has been watching the rest of our kids for the past 7 months. It seems none of them made any plans or arrangements because they were planning on a second surge having taken place by now and providing them with another year of paid vacation. Now they demand viral testing, another delay tactic while they wait for MA numbers to go up, and inevitably when the time comes to actually teach our children again, they will point to the increase in MA cases to demand more time off.

   This has forever stained the reputation of teachers in the mind of the general public, and they have no one but themselves to blame. I hope no one ever asks me to donate to an end of the year gift or teachers appreciation luncheon again. We see now how much the teachers care about their jobs and our children.

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5. Elementary Parent says

   September 1, 2020 at 2:20 pm

   Assurances of safety? How about our levels are as low as can be, public health experts have deemed us able to reopen, and camps/activities/sports/dining/retail, etc are operating. Not to mention many schools around us began opening this week, without any sort of mass testing program. Is it because we live in a wealthy community that teachers think they can demand that parents pay $1.5m for extra-extra-extra assurances? I applaud the efforts of those organizing the testing program and think it would be wonderful, and I have pledged to contribute- but it should be an add-on, supplemental, exceptional bonus we can deliver, NOT a requirement to reopen. Public health experts, of which we in Mass. are blessed with the best of the best, have established standards alongside the governor’s office, and we’ve satisfied those. End stop. Our kids are suffering and those of us who send our kids to WPS are effectively ‘on hold’ while the rest of society has adjusted to the new normal, except teachers. The profession has changed. This is going to be the new normal for awhile, unfortunately, and those unprepared to return in these most favorable of unfavorable circumstances (again, in a situation where our levels are incredibly low and we’ve been given the green light by public health experts) should step aside. They act as if we’re throwing them into the lions’ den in asking them to return- when we are sending OUR CHILDREN to the same buildings, assured, again, by the public health experts and science and many protocols approved by the School Department. Protections for those with medical conditions are already in place, and I’m sure there are incredibly strict procedures in place in the event our numbers rise. Enough already. Trust the science and experts and please return to our children!

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6. Parent says

   September 1, 2020 at 8:31 pm

   couldn’t agree more with…. “Teachers should be able to work remotely if they feel unsafe in their workplace. Only the at-risk students should return to the school buildings. Everyone else should be remote until Spring.”

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7. WPS Parent says

   September 1, 2020 at 8:40 pm

   I do support the proposed testing program for WPS teachers and students and encourage the community to financially support this program, to the extent they are able. Educators are an important part of the Wellesley community. I encourage all WPS teachers and school support staff and our local current and former educators to make voluntary pledges to this important cause, in any amount that is meaningful to them, in order to help our teachers feel safer returning to classroom.

   I do not support the position that this testing program must be funded and implemented prior to a return to in-school teaching this fall. A community-funded testing program should not be a requirement for educators to return to in-person teaching in Wellesley. It should be viewed as a beneficial, additional, safety protocol to those that have already been put in place by the Town and approved by the Board of Health and an element that will help keep schools open on a regular basis by keeping potential COVID outbreaks isolated and manageable.

   WPS teachers have asked for certain safety measures to help them feel safe returning to the classroom. I do not think that is unreasonable or demanding. To date, Wellesley has upgraded school ventilation systems, obtained sufficient PPE for educators, procured tents for outdoor learning, limited in-person learning in all schools to a number of students that allows for 6 feet of spacing between students in the classroom, issued a mask mandate for all staff and students, allowed for a half day of all-remote learning for all students on Wednesdays so educators have more time for planning and to adapt to the hybrid curriculum, shortened the school year to 170 days to allow for adequate training before the start of school, and pushed back the start of the school year to mid-September for remote learning and early October for in-person learning. All of this should make our educators feel safe and supported by the Wellesley community, whether or not a unique, one-of-a-kind testing program can be funded and implemented in the next 30 days.

   It is disheartening as a member of the community to see what feel like continual, insurmountable roadblocks to getting our kids back to school in-person. The Mass Teachers Association has yet to support any school district in the state that has put forward a hybrid in-person learning approach for the fall term. Instead, it vocally supports each town’s union and the teachers’ refusal to enter schools for training or teaching and it supports threats to strike rather than teach in-person. The state has put out guidance that clarifies which towns should be returning to school in-person, in some capacity this fall. Wellesley is one of those towns. Comments have even been made on social media that parents who are in favor of in-person learning this fall are “looking for babysitters” for their kids. I can assure you, that is the last thing I want. I want the highly qualified educators to return to the classroom to teach our students in the only way they know how to teach and the only way our kids know how to learn – in person.

   Many students will have challenges this year. Some will have safety concerns about returning to in-person learning. Some will have challenges in a hybrid learning structure. All have already lost months of learning, social engagement, and emotional connections that will be hard to make up for. The sooner educators start return-to-school training in the school buildings; learn and get comfortable with new safety protocols and raise reasonable concerns about them; reconnect with colleagues in-person (at a 6 foot distance, but in-person); collaborate on how to structure learning in the new hybrid world; support each other; brainstorm on how to best teach and support the students; and laugh and struggle and find creative ways to work through the bumps -the sooner we can get to the new normal of in-person teaching. Administrators, teachers, and support staff need their passion for working in education and be willing to work together for the students more than ever this year in order to teach and inspire students during these challenging times.

   90% of WPS parents/guardians feel it is safe to send their students back to school in-person this fall. 90% of us trust the administrators, teachers and support staff to keep students safe in school with the protocols already put in place by WPS and based on the current Wellesley COVID statistics. I ask the teachers to trust the majority of their WPS community by returning to in-person education for all students, all grades, no later than the current October 1 date proposed by the WPS administration, with or without the funding and implementation of a testing program.

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   • Wellesley Dad says

     September 2, 2020 at 1:49 pm

     Couldn’t have said this better myself. This is a very well-written and thoughtful comment, and encapsulates everything our household is feeling (and I would imagine others are feeling, as well). Yet another concession by parents is disappointing, but I will certainly support it and do whatever it takes to get our kids back to school. I wish I felt that same urgency and problem-solving efforts from the WEA.

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8. WPS Parent says

   September 8, 2020 at 4:46 pm

   I would like to better understand which of the requests included in this letter are not being met by the school district and the community. This way we can address the legitimate safety concerns of our teachers so that they can get back into the classroom full time – developing our students and helping them safely learn. My understanding is that, as requested, the schools are being fitted with high quality filters on the HVAC systems, that the testing program is planned and current seeking full funding, and that PPE will be provided to the staff. If the testing program is fully funded, will that, along with the changes to the HVAC systems and the PPE, provide an environment where our teachers feel safe enough to return, not just in a hybrid model, but full time?

   While the schools have not published (and likely cannot) the list of teachers taking a one year leave of absence, it is apparent which teachers are not returning this year based on the self-organized lists pulled together by families. In our school, I’ve noted that the four teachers who were at the school last year but have no student names listed with them for this year, all signed on to this letter.

   As it stands right now, at least four classes at our school have no teachers. With school starting in a week, this creates further anxiety and uncertainty for our community’s families and puts the WPS Principals in a real pinch to find qualified educators on very short notice.

   What additional steps can we implement to create an environment where our teachers feel safe enough to teach in the classroom with our children? I would love to see all our our great teachers back in the classroom this year.

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   • WPS parent says

     September 8, 2020 at 7:55 pm

     I admire your optimistic view of our teachers. However, the superintendent has said that teachers with childcare issues are being paid to take a year of leave also under the federal Covid guidelines. So, unfortunately the cynic in me thinks it likely that many of the teachers who are able to make this claim have done so. Nothing we as a community can do about that. No amount of PPE, HVAC, or distancing can change the fact that some teachers are using this as an opportunity to take a year off at our children’s expense.

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