By Dee Longfellow
For The Elmhurst Independent
As the District 205 School Board debates the best way to reopen for the 2020-21 school year, the Elmhurst Teacher’s Council (ETC) has spoken up about the fears that its members face in the attempt to return to a “normal” school environment during the current struggles with COVID-19.
The ETC sent a letter to the School Board on Monday, July 20.
The Independent spoke with Max Schoenberg, president of Teachers Council Union, about those fears. According to Schoenberg, the ETC does not feel comfortable about the response from the District 205 School Board, which was received Friday, July 24.
“The School Board plan calls for bringing all students back to the Early Childhood Center and our elementary schools,” Schoenberg told the Independent. “With the class sizes we could expect, it would be impossible to maintain social distancing. Other districts have tried it but you could only fit maybe seven or eight students in a classroom.”
Another concern, according to Schoenberg, is lunch safety.
“Kids have to take their masks off to eat, so how spaced apart can they be?” he said. “Where are they going to eat? York High School has hundreds of students—1,500 on campus at a time, even at half capacity. Who’s going to supervise them? Who’s going to make sure areas are sanitized?”
In addition, teachers in District 205 pointed out these other conditions in their letter:
• Twenty-four percent (24%) of D205 teachers are over the age of 50. About half of these teachers are due to retire within the next six years.
• Seven percent (7%) of our teachers are pregnant or married to someone who is pregnant.
• Most importantly, fifty-four percent (54%) of Elmhurst teachers either personally have underlying medical conditions that increase risks associated with COVID-19, or are caring for family members with underlying medical conditions.
“If we pause to reflect on that result, a majority of teachers (more than 350 individuals) are at high risk for complications from COVID-19 or have a family member with those higher risks,” the ETC’s letter to District 205 read. “Unless we are prepared to let more than half of our staff work from home, then we are attempting to launch a school year in which a huge proportion of teachers are anxious or downright terrified for their families’ safety. Nothing good can come of that dynamic as we try to move our district forward together. To compound the difficulty, teachers also do not believe that the reopening plan will have structures that can protect student and staff health and safety.”
Eighty-six percent (86%) of teachers are worried about having sufficient sick leave to cover illness or quarantine, according to ETC’s survey.
“Many teachers in District 205 would have their accrued sick leave nearly wiped out with one or two quarantines, unless we find a way to protect teachers and allow them to work remotely while quarantined,” Schoenberg said. “The Elmhurst Teachers’ Council proposed solutions in detail at least two weeks ago, but we have not had an agreement with the district [at the time of this writing].”
Upon receiving the eight-page letter, a reply was sent, dated July 24 and signed by Kara M. Caforio, current president of the District 205 School Board, which acknowledged the concerns of the ETC, but pointed out that little was offered in terms of what the teachers might do to help under these current circumstances.
“Your letter emphasized the many items the Elmhurst Teachers’ Council does not want to do, yet never communicated and committed to what it can and will do to ensure every student is receiving an excellent learning experience in this unique situation,” Cafario’s letter read. “There was no mention of a commitment by the Elmhurst Teachers’ Council or teachers dedicated to ensuring excellence in teaching whether in person, fully remote or in a hybrid model.
“These times are challenging, and we are all faced with unexpected hurdles both personally and professionally. The community has shared their deep frustrations regarding the lack of engagement and seemingly minimal commitment by a significant number of teachers this spring during remote learning.
“In a workforce where we are proud to have over 60% of our teachers hold master’s degrees and compensate them for ongoing professional development, it is our expectation that the community’s investment in our teachers ensures each of our 8,500 students have rich and effective learning experiences in all circumstances.”
The board pointed out in its reply that it was attempting to address details around working conditions and that leadership teams at each of the schools were developing site-specific plans to ensure the safest possible environment.
“We want all want our students and staff to be learning and teaching in a safest and healthy environment,” Cafario’s letter said. “The Board of Education has publicly committed to allocating appropriate resources to support both a safe and healthy reopening of D205 schools following the guidance set forth by the CDC, IDPH, DCDPH, and ISBE and a rich learning experience for all our students no matter which learning environment they are in this year. Additionally, the board has publicly communicated that we are continuing to monitor the ever-changing health landscape and will make adjustments as necessary.”
Disappointed in the board’s reply, the ETC sent another letter dated Saturday, July 25.
“The Elmhurst Teachers’ Council is deeply disappointed by the board’s response received July 25, 2020. Instead of engaging with us on fundamental questions on student and staff safety, the response chooses to brush aside the long, long hours that teachers spent trying to make e-learning successful under unprecedented, emergency conditions,” the reply read. “Our letter to the board of July 20 never addressed how teachers will ensure every student has a successful learning experience, because that is a given. We always have, and always will, put students first.”
Schoenberg said the ETC and its members found the School Board’s response disappointing.
“The School Board response was disheartening. Besides not engaging with us in problem-solving, they criticized what was perceived lack of effort on the teachers’ part,” he said. “We felt that was very uncalled for and unhelpful. What’s going to keep people safe? How do we make the best of this situation, seemingly minimal commitment from certain teachers?
“They even mentioned that ‘people will still get a raise regardless of job performance.’ That raise was negotiated two years ago and passed by a vote of 7-0. It has nothing to do with the subject at hand. They seem to think we’re concerned about getting raises, but keeping everybody safe—that’s our priority.
“It was particularly disappointing because we were very supportive of the referendum. We worked with the School Board to help it pass, we were effective and collaborative. So to see this kind of message, it was really discouraging. But we won’t let it get in the way of solving these safety problems; we will continue to work together as much as possible.”
[Editor’s note: the full text of the ETC’s letter, District 205’s reply and the ETC’s counter reply can be found at the web site at theindependentnewspapers.com.]
