If Dr. William J. Hite, the leader of The School District of Philadelphia, which oversees our public schools, has his way, schools will reopen to grade school children come February 22. In Tuesday’s print edition, I wrote about the Philadelphia Home and School Council and their concerns about possibly opening public schools too soon, what with COVID-19 still in the air and everyone not having the benefit of the COVID vaccine.
When you look at overall plans for who gets the vaccine and when, of course, “frontline workers” are expected to be first in line for the vaccine. However, there can be a debate about who all should be considered frontline workers. In my head, right off the top, I would suggest that medical staff, (including people who work for nursing homes and personal care homes), EMT’s, Fire and Police department staff, people who work for transportation systems such as airlines, Amtrak, SEPTA, New Jersey Transit, Educators, Funeral Directors, USA Armed forces of all branches and food workers. After all those people are taken care of, I guess the rest of us need to get in line, for those who want the vaccine.
Why would anyone think that teachers are acting as if they “don’t care about children in Philadelphia Public Schools if they speak up and say they have concerns about going back into the schools without first being vaccinated?
As of Monday, February 8, 2021, it seems that the concern about public school teachers getting vaccinated before being forced back into the classrooms might just be resolved. The latest development announced on February 8 on 6ABC News and media outlets is that Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, (CHOP), has an agreement with the Philadelphia Health Department to take the lead on administering COVID-19 vaccines to schoolteachers, principals and staff beginning at the end of February.
This vaccine effort will cover all-district, charter, parochial and independent schools in the city. Officials previously confirmed that educators who live outside Philadelphia but work in city schools will be eligible to receive vaccines from the city.
By the end of the month, the initiative will get underway at several locations and will expand to pop-up events at school buildings throughout the city. Operational details for the program are still being developed, but at least now there’s a plan, which is better than the way things were on Friday, February 5, when during the Laborer’s Live radio program on WURD, Dr. Robin Cooper, President of Teamsters Local 502, Commonwealth Association of School Administrators, (CASA), the special guest expressed great concern that teachers were being told they had to report back to the classrooms this week, without vaccinations.
Dr. Cooper stated, “President Biden coming into office asked the American public to give him 100 days to have schools reopened. We’re saying let’s use the 100 days wisely. I need for folk to understand, we’ve been back. My members have been back inside the public schools since the end of August. They call us essential employees. School District officials say, “We need you to do your jobs, you must be there.” We think we’re essential enough to receive the vaccine. We’re getting ready to reopen schools and having all these people, adult staff and students returning to the schools, with that large number of people in the various buildings, without having had the vaccine, we don’t think that is the best plan for the safety of children or workers. I’m working for any and all employees who work with children.”
Dr. Cooper added, “It’s always our stance to partner with the District. I represent administrators and others. But the administrators, we have to get the schools open and be ready for families. We like to partner with the school district. But when we veer away from the school district on opinions, when there’s something that we believe is colossally wrong, then our concerns seem to fall on deaf ears. The mere fact that the vaccine is just coming out, we’re saying let’s slow down and make certain that when we open, we open for good. When we open and we’ve done everything in our power and within our control to make certain that everybody is safe, then we’ll feel better. We’re not there yet.
Sam Staten, Jr. leader of Laborers Local 332 and host of the Laborer’s Live radio program commented, “I’m of the train of thought that it is important that all teachers get the vaccine before they return back to the classrooms. It will give a sense of a safe haven so that when children come back to school, at least the teachers will have had the vaccine.”
Dr. Cooper did note that every week, she’s getting reports indicating 3 or 4 newly reported confirmed cases of COVID-19 amongst people who work for the school district, who have been coming in to work. She said, “If that’s occurring already, what happens when we open on Monday.”
Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, (PFT) Union President Jerry Jordan had this to say, “Other than sheer cruelty and a callous disregard for the lives of educators and school staff, I can’t think of another reason to push forward with a reckless plan to reopen unsafe buildings for thousands of staff on Monday. As we await further information from the neutral third party, I have advised my membership that they should continue to work remotely on Monday. In fact, they will be able to provide more time in front of students by doing this. Further, it is important to remember that this half-baked reopening plan means that fewer than 1/3 of eligible students have even chosen the hybrid option.
“A short while ago, I concluded a meeting with nearly 300 Building Representatives and Members of our Executive Board to discuss our next steps and Monday’s actions,” Jerry Jordan said. “Our members, like I am, are outraged and disgusted. They are scared for their lives, and we are all profoundly disturbed by the District’s threat of discipline for members who stand up for their own health and safety. It’s nothing short of bullying, and I won’t stand for it. Again, let me be very clear: our membership wants to be in buildings–when it is safe to do so. The PFT has engaged in months of good faith efforts to develop a plan for reopening safely, and we remain committed to doing just that. I will not allow my members to be vilified for demanding safe conditions for themselves and the students they serve amidst a global pandemic that has claimed the lives of nearly 3,000 Philadelphians.”
As things turned out, public school teachers in Philadelphia did not go back into the classrooms on February 8. As reported earlier in this column, the School District, the City of Philadelphia Health Department and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia are fine-tuning a plan right now on how to expeditiously role out a vaccination plan for all school district employees that will start at the end of Black History Month.
Whether schools will, or will not reopen on February 22, remains unclear. We’ll keep our SCOOP readers posted.
Meanwhile, Chicago Teachers had much the same concern as Philly teachers. Chicago Teacher’s Union leaders are weighing a tentative agreement with Chicago Public Schools that could end the reopening impasse in the nation’s third-largest school district. As of the deadline time for this SCOOP Column, the vote had not been made public. The union said it will go to its members Sunday afternoon. Under the offer, prekindergarten and some special education teachers and students would return on Feb. 11. Kindergarten through fifth-grade teachers would return Feb. 22, with students returning on March 1; and sixth through eighth-grade teachers would return on March 1, with students following on March 8. There is still no return date for high school students. School chief Janice Jackson said Sunday that talks with the union were ongoing and on that point and she hoped to have more information for families “shortly.”
