It’s Been Two Years and There Is Still Zero Consistency on Covid-19 School Policies
It's been two years and there is still no consistency in the school's Covid-19 policies
Omicron numbers are skyrocketing nationwide. Some school districts, like Scott County in Kentucky, require masks, although parent opinions are divided 50/50. Meanwhile, students at Windsor and Severance Schools in Fort Collins, Colorado, can make their own decisions after the school board voted to change the district's policy from mask-requirement to mask-recommendation.
Spend five minutes on #TeacherTwitter and you will see that there is no Covid-19 consistency in schools. It's almost impossible to keep track of where each state stands. teachers are sad. scared. Crazy. And so are the students. This NYC student's viral Reddit thread describes a recent day at school when he spent most of his time in a crowded classroom due to teacher absences. And this week Hundreds of children left Brooklyn Tech to protest in-person learning.
Teachers, students and parents are drained
As a mother of two young children in daycare, I didn't realize the true severity of a Covid-19 exposure until the principal shared a table of when my children could return to school based on tests and symptoms. It's like an if/then game that never ends.
If she tests on day 5 and is negative, she may return on day 7.
If you choose not to test her, she may return on day 10.
And the director needs to track this for each and every child. Talk about exhausting.
Hoping to get the slightest pulse check on Covid-19 protocols in schools across the country, we set out Twitter and Facebook.
We asked: With omicron cases on the rise, what is the current teaching situation at your school?
Spoiler alert, more than two thousand comments later and we're back to square one. zero consistency. See for yourself.
“Out today: 13 of my 8th graders in second grade, 11 in third grade, 5 in 4th grade, 2 in 5th grade, 5 in 6th grade. That's the tip of the iceberg.” —@N8VTeachers62
"I'm in Tennessee. Back to the pre-pandemic logs. We have masks available if they ask. We can't even enforce quarantine. Positive teachers are asked to keep working.” — Heather M.
"From now on, we're returning with weekly in-person testing for all staff and students." —@JayProano
"Personally and I had a discussion with each student yesterday about masks and now I get to be the mask police so they can try to keep the schools open." —@MsGray99448996
“I teach in a county with 90,000 students. Everything in person, unless there was a virtual vote in August. Goes well. The teachers will pick up the kids when they come back!” —@sum_mathteacher
"No masks, in person, no distancing and positive kids and teachers can come back after 5 days." —@whitney421
"I'm in Florida. The plan is, "May the odds ever be in your favor!" - Karen B.
“We are personal with a lot of staff and student absences. Also very few available subs.” —@amto2828
"F2F - temperatures in each period." —@anwtutor
"Just like 2020 and 2021 ... personally from day one. But I teach in the Deep South, so... yeah. Oh, and masks are highly recommended but not required. The same for cleaning. We have stopped receiving materials to disinfect our classrooms.” —@nett_dot
In many schools, teachers have to report to the school despite virtual lessons
And in other schools, teachers are running out of sick days
What happens if you test positive for Covid-19 but are no longer on paid leave? They will be sent home in quarantine and not given a paycheck. Pretty hard when you're just trying to do your job and show up for your kids, but some admins are reluctant to help. And there is no end in sight. Kids are being asked to take their Chromebooks home daily to prepare for virtual learning, and teachers are being asked to make contingency plans in case they need to be quarantined.
Is there a Covid-19 consistency in your schools? How are you? If you would like to learn more about what is happening at other schools and chat with other teachers who are in the thick of it, we invite you to join our Facebook group WeAreTeachers HELPLINE. We're in this together.
