Trump wants schools to reopen this fall. He wants in-person classes. And he doesn't really care about the students and teachers in those classes, nor the other staff members that keep schools functioning.
In fact, Trump wants schools to reopen so badly that, today, he threatened to withhold federal money to schools that don't reopen according to his schedule! And, he instructed the CDC to make school reopening guidelines "easier" for schools because now they are too "tough." What is he really saying? Well, here's what I heard: He wants to pretend COVID-19 is fading into the distance (while a couple dozen states are showing huge increases in positive cases and hospitalizations), so he wants to force students back into schools and to hell with their health and safety. To hell with the health and safety of staff members. He does not care about education one whit ... he wants to look good so he will stand a better chance of winning a second term in office. He needs children back in school so parents can go back to work to help save his disastrous economy.
Trump, of course, has enablers: his unqualified Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos and his ineffective Vice-President, Mike Pence. They smile adoringly as he threatens schools with federal dollars.
Okay, I'm a veteran teacher. And I want schools to reopen, too. But not until it is safe to do so! After talking with a few other teachers, here's what I think would be required to put students back in the classroom safely. My volunteer work as a CASA gave me the opportunity to visit a first grade class many times over a year's time so I'm basing these requirements on a first-grade class of 26 students.
1) REDUCE class size drastically! Public health officials recommend physical distancing in order reduce the chance of infection. There is NO WAY 26 students can achieve physical distancing in the standard sized classroom. There should be no more than 10 students in the classroom at one time. Period. This means scheduling two school sessions per day in order to make sure all students have classroom time. It also means hiring more teachers and teacher's aides, and it may mean moving some portable classrooms onto the campus.
2) Require FACE COVERINGS of all staff and students. Schools will need to provide the masks because many families will not be able to afford disposable masks and there will always be students who will forget to bring them from home.
3) Stagger lunch times or even bring lunches to students so they can eat in the classroom. No way 150 students (or more, depending on the size of the school) should be together at one time in the cafeteria!
4) Stagger recess times and make sure students comply with physical distancing on the playground. No touching each other or any playground equipment. That includes no soccer balls, jump ropes, swings, etc.
5) EVERY student must have his own drawer or box or bin to store his pencils, crayons, glue, etc. NO community storage of any kind. Teachers may not loan any school supplies during the day; everything the student needs has to be in her personal storage bin.
6) Hand sanitizing stations all over the campus and several in each classroom. At specific times during the day, students will need to be escorted to bathrooms for good hand-washing.
7) NO library in the classroom or at the school. Since we really don't know how long COVID-19 can last on surfaces, we can't have students using books that may have been contaminated.
8) Every student and staff member needs to be temperature-checked upon arrival at school and anyone with a fever will be sent home. Substitute teachers must be at the ready to step in when needed so hiring subs on a daily basis is a must. Students will have to go to the nurse's office until a parent comes to pick the child up.
9) Physical distancing will be required on buses. That will mean more buses and on board supervisors to make sure students aren't sitting too close.
10) Each classroom and common area must be cleaned after EACH session! And each bus must be cleaned after every run. More maintenance staff will need to be hired due to the added school session per day and the more rigorous cleaning for the school.
11) No group activities such as exercising, singing, assemblies, or lessons.
Did I forget anything? I'm sure I did so if you think of something else, please let me know and I will add it.
WAIT ... there is something else:
12) INCREASED FUNDING to pay for additional staff, cleaning, supplies, buses, hand sanitizing stations, hand washing soap (yeah, would you believe some school bathrooms don't actually have soap?), thermometers, storage bins for student supplies, portable classrooms, increased energy costs, copy supplies to give students "books" to read and lessons to complete. In other words ... LOTS more funding for education!
And let's say we do all that. Wonderful, huh? I truly believe in-person learning is much more effective than online classes, especially for elementary students. But what happens when the student goes home and Uncle Donny comes over for dinner and, being asymptomatic, manages to spread COVID-19 to the child's family? And then the child goes back to school and possibly infects his classmates and teacher? Then what?
It's clear that our incompetent president, his ineffective VP and his unqualified Secretary of Education don't care. They simply don't care. We know that because they are quite willing to make our children and grandchildren ... and our teachers and support staff (and all their families) ... guinea pigs in their effort to get the Orange Mussolini re-elected.
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