This is different. This is very different.I've been in education for almost a quarter century and I've seen a lot of weird, bizarre, strange and bad things. But this, the world we are currently in is unlike anything any of us have experienced before. This is the greatest crisis JeffCo Schools have faced since the election of the Bad Board in 2013. But this crisis is much different than that time. This time around there is are not really any "bad guys". The enemy is not anything tangible. During the Troubled Times, there was no doubt who the enemy was. We could see them, we could hear them and they seemed to say and do things weekly, if not daily, to stoke the flames of passion and anger against them. It was easy to focus our energies and anger, there was a focal point and, in 2015, there was an end date- Election Day. If we were able to win at least three seats during that election, education as we knew it in JeffCo would be saved. If we failed, we knew the consequences; JCEA would cease to exist as an official body in JeffCo Schools come the summer of 2016, and then there would probably be a bloodbath of firings and dismissals of those who were deemed "problematic" which was what was currently happening in the Douglas County School District. Either way, we knew the end date was that fateful November day of 2015. Of course we all know the outcome. JeffCo Schools won not just three board seats, all five seats. For all intents and purposes the Reign of Terror was over. Teachers, students and JeffCo Schools were victorious. In this crisis there was a definite, tangible enemy and there was an identifiable end date. This is different.
This time the enemy is a virus. You can't see with the naked eye. It doesn't say or do things on a regular basis that we can easily turn into a rallying point. There is nothing you can look and say, 'There is the bad guy. That's who we are against.' There are not any supporters who are favored and protected or detractors who can be labeled as "Rebels", "Fear-Mongers", or "Troublemakers". No this enemy is invisible, it is silent, and it is more insidious. It is indiscriminate. It will target some, it will strike without reason or warning, for many it will be miserable for a few weeks, for some it will be deadly. Even more frustrating, there is not any end date to which we can point knowing that on that date we will know the end. We don't know. It may be late Fall, it may be early 2021, it may not be until September of 2021, maybe it will linger until 2024. We just don't know. And our response to COVID-19 becomes more complicated by the day.
Presently we are in the middle of the summer. A time when most educators begin thinking about and planning for the coming school year. However, instead of planning for the upcoming year, the issue is now how to restart the school year. District management have changed their plan multiple times since the end of the 19/20 school year. Initially we were told to be prepared to begin the 20/21 school year online. Soon afterwards we were told that the district was considering some sort of hybrid plan with students rotating between in-person and virtual learning. Currently the plan is 100% in-school or 100% virtual. Uuuuugggghhhhhh! As we know, the reaction to this announcement was swift, direct and colored with frustration. COVID cases in Colorado and in Jefferson County are currently rising. Indeed there are more new cases now than there were in mid-March when we ended the school year online. How is this even an logical response? Teachers were sent a survey from the district asking if they their intention was to return to the classroom or if they wanted to teach online. Many, if not most teachers are saying they want to begin the year teaching virtually. If there are enough students who are going to learn online to match up with the number of teachers who want to teach online, everything will work out great. However, the chances of this happening is highly unlikely. There probably will be more teachers wanting to teach online than there will be students who are going to learn online. When this happens, Human Resources and building principals will be saddled with the unenviable task of determining who gets to teach online and who does not. Nothing good can come from this process. The only outcome here is anger, division, rage, and heartbreak. (Despite this current plan from the district, there are ways to influence changes in this plan, continuing reading to find out how) In the interests of full-disclosure, I chose to return to the classroom full time. I do not like nor do I approve of the current plan. But then I don't know I would be enthused about any decision that could be possibly made at this point. I will certainly be worried everyday in the classroom in front of 100+ students. My reasons are varied. I absolutely hated the end of the past school year. For the first time in my entire teaching career, I felt as though I had failed as a teacher. Also I am reasonably healthy. I am not immunocompromised, I am not taking any prescription medications, no one in my house has any chronic health problems, therefore, I think I should choose to go back to the classroom so that someone whose health is in jeopardy if they return to the classroom should be able to teach online. Now this is my choice. You should make your choice. I can't, I shouldn't, and I won't make any judgments on your choice any more than you should on my choice.
While I disagree with the district's current plan, I also understand, to some degree, their decision. Looking at the results from the community survey, 90% of the respondents stated that they wanted students back in the classroom full-time. Furthermore, any instruction that would be delivered online to students who are at home, inequity becomes a real concern. There is a sizable portion of our student population for whom any online, at home learning will become no learning at all. For many of our students they either do not have access to a device, they do not have access to the internet, or they do not have enough bandwidth to access online learning. For many of our students coming to school is the only time during the day that they will be able to have a hot meal and a warm, relatively safe environment. For many of the parents in JeffCo Schools, they have job that does not or will not allow them to be able to stay at home with their children while they are learning online. The end result of these problems is this; either these students just don't receive any education or they are withdrawn and enrolled elsewhere that will allow them in person learning. This is a no win situation in a battle with a treacherous, invisible enemy.
So, the question becomes this: What can be done to change to the current plan? BE ENGAGED! JCEA is hosting a Town Hall on July 16th at 1:00 to discuss actions that you can take to pressure the district for changes. Write to your school board members and express your concerns. Talk with your neighbors and friends about the dangers and your fears of returning full time. Join one of the many JCEA Restart Committees to work on actions and solutions to address the problems with returning as well as the inherent inequities of not returning. Tell non-members to join their professional associations. There is greater strength of many speaking as one than there is in speaking alone. We are month away from start of the 20/21 school year, there still many questions and concerns that need and must be addressed and answered before August 24th. Things can, and I fully believe will, change between now and then. What it will take is your efforts and voice to cause that change. Stay informed. Stay vigilant. Stay engaged. We will get through this and we will be better and stronger when we get to the other side. Remember, day always follows night and light always chases dark. Stay Strong JeffCo.
