More masks. More tests. The option to go remote — just for a few weeks until the Covid-19 Omicron-variant surge passes.
Teachers are pressing those requests at a statewide “wear-black” event planned for Wednesday. Some students and board members joined in those requests at Monday night’s New Haven Board of Education meeting. And New Haven teachers union President Leslie Blatteau went into depth on the issue — and its place in the current national political dialogue — during a Tuesday radio appearance.
Teachers throughout the state, organized by Connecticut’s American Federation of Teachers chapter, plan to raise awareness about those concerns during Wednesday’s action by wearing black clothing to school.
“If the state wants us to remain in person,” it needs to provide the full complement of promised face masks and rapid tests to help make that happen, Blatteau argued during the radio appearance, on WNHH FM’s “Dateline New Haven program. She also argued that with so many teachers absent due to Covid-19 (more than 600 at times), students often suffer in terms of the quality of learning in the classroom, while remaining teachers face potential burnout while doubling up on duties.
“Teachers are really feeling the stress of this,” both those sick and “stuck at home” and those “who are doing their job plus two other people’s jobs,” Blatteau said. “Of course, there’s a spirit of ’Let’s pitch in.’ But we can’t keep doing this” long term.
“People are just feeling uncertain of when they can get back to doing the job they were hired to do. Principals are feeling it [too]. Paraprofessionals have always felt it.”
“If the state wants us to remain in person — we’re holding up our end,” but the state hasn’t, Blatteau argued.
At Monday night’s ed board meeting, Blatteau encouraged the district and community to “keep up the pressure on the state” to get a remote learning option for the school to count toward the annual 180-day minimum calendar, and to “deliver more resources to our city” including test kits, masks, access to vaccine in school buildings, and full-time nurses in all school buildings.
ESUMS teacher and new Local 933 e‑board member Kirsten Hopes-McFadden added that the state of schools has become more like “babysitting” rather than an educational setting for students.
“I understand that the city is really depending on what the state does. But I just don’t want that to be to the point where we’re just not using common sense and causing unnecessary illness in the community,” Hopes-McFadden said.
Board student representatives chimed in to Monday’s conversation about the desire for remote learning options despite understanding it is not the board’s call to make.
“I personally want carry out my last year of high school physically, but knowing what’s really happening, I think it would be better to go back to digital learning,” said Anthony Fiore said. “The students are advocating for some form of intervention to get online learning back.”
Ma’Shai Roman added that the district should push to temporarily require remote learning.
“It’s not something that we want long lasting like how it was last year We want this to be very temporary because we care about everyone’s safety,” she said.
Fiore suggested a remote requirement be made for only a two-week period and not for the full remainder of the school year.
Board member Edward Joyner also expressed concern for the lack of remote learning options.
“I think that the people that are in the best position to make decisions about the conduct of schools are the people that are closest to the problem, and that would be teachers, students, aides, parents, school staff, and the mayor of the particular city that we’re in,” he said.
While being an advocate for schools to operate in person, Joyner said, he also believes schools should be provided with “as many tools that we can give them” like those that Blatteau mentioned.
“We cannot take remote learning off the table. Period. When you’re in a war you have to use all the weapons at your disposal,” he said. “I think the governor should rethink this whole notion of no remote learning because quite frankly the problem will take care of itself because you’re not going to have staff.”
Superintendent Iline Tracey reminded the school community that the district cannot offer remote learning until the option is set by the governor. She added that although academic learning is not happening in some cases due to staff shortages, the schools remain open to be a safe place for students to socialize and get daily meals.
On “Dateline New Haven,” Blatteau was asked by efforts by Republicans to pin Democrats to teachers unions looking to move to remote learning — and by Democrats (like Mayors Lori Lightfoot of Chicago and Eric Adams of New York and Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont) to avoid blowback at the polls by seeking to keeps schools open with in-person learning.
“The Democrats need to shift the conversation if they want to win the election,” Blatteau argued. Rather than making the issue about remote versus in-person learning, she said, the Democrats should posit the question about whether or not to invest in “working families” — by, for instance, raising the minimum wage, funding public schools more to afford more teachers, protecting voting rights.
Click on the video at the top of this article to watch the full interview with Leslie Blatteau on WNHH FM’s “Dateline New Haven.”
Thanks for this great piece but please do try to mask-up, even on a zoom meeting. Lots of us have FUF (fear of unmasked faces) and it would be really appreciated if you did your part.
[Paul: Leslie and I were each sitting alone in otherwise empty rooms. Not sure what public purpose is served by masking in that situation.]