This month millions of children, teenagers, and school staff in Texas have returned to schools for in-person classes for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic struck in early March. Despite major outbreaks throughout the state that have lead to over 13,000 deaths and a positivity rate plateaued at 10 percent, Texas Governor Greg Abbott set the day after Labor Day for the re-opening of schools across the state. As students return to classes only weeks after the peak of the pandemic in their area, much of the burden of keeping them safe, stopping the spread of infection all while keeping up regular classroom education, is falling on teachers.
All over the country schools, state and teachers are debating how to start the school year this fall. From Arkansas to Georgia, where schools open back up in person, Covid-19 cases seem to spike. Texas originally began the fall with virtual classes, in a reversal of Governor Greg Abbott’s original plan. In-person classes were delayed until after Labor Day. Now that the time has come, some of the infection has slowed with a slightly lower positivity rate and decline in deaths. However, as infection is still widespread, many worry schools opening will lead to another spike in cases.
Despite these concerns, most teachers are not being given a choice to stay virtual as classes begin. Even when the year did begin with virtual classes, many districts had their teachers come into classrooms, to teach virtually from their physical classroom in the school. Now that students are entering those classrooms, few teachers across the state are being granted exceptions to continue classes online for personal health concerns. Many more teachers, including those with pre-existing conditions, are being forced out of the classroom entirely either on disability or early retirement.
Districts and administrators seem to be reluctant to give exceptions, in part due to all of the varied safety precautions that are being instituted across the state in order to keep infections down. However, those precautions are proving to be obstacles to classroom teaching in themselves, and it is yet to be seen if they will effectively prevent infection in schools.
With pressure from the administration for schools to open up this fall, but no clear guidance from the CDC on how to do so safely, schools all over the state have implemented a hodge-podge of untested safety measures. These include everything from changing out carpeted surfaces for tile, plexiglass barriers between desks and even placed in front of teachers for their lessons, to temperature checks as students enter classrooms.
In some cases teachers are questioning whether the safety procedures will be effective or practical for their own classrooms. For instance, many special education teachers are being instructed to make sure their children use masks, or replace the soft carpet with tile that will be easier to clean. Teachers of those classrooms point out that their student population cannot be reasonably expected to keep masks on at all times, stay behind glass screens, and may be injured by the introduction of hard surfaces in the classroom. For many teachers whose students require them to be flexible and hands-on, these safety procedures make teaching nearly impossible.
While teachers are not given the privilege to choose the safety of online learning, students and families can still elect to remain virtual and stay out of the classroom. That has created another added burden for teachers. Instead of separating the virtual and in-person students, with different teachers, classroom teachers are expected to teach classes virtually and in-person simultaneously. That means monitoring and responding to zoom students, along with students in the classroom. all while keeping up the safety precautions of ensuring students wear masks and social distance.
Beyond simply teaching multiple classes of virtual and in-person students, teachers are also responsible for the upkeep of most safety procedures. Teachers are the ones performing temperature checks as students come into classrooms. They are posted out front of schools to ensure social distancing and make sure parents don’t enter the school at drop-off. Many schools have also implemented safety checks or contact-tracing for students at homes. In many districts families are required to report any sign of symptoms in the households, large gatherings where students may have been present, or potential contact with anyone who has since tested positive for Covid-19. If family members do not keep up with those checks, it is up to teachers to follow up and check in.
Additionally, teachers are the first resource for students suffering from emotional distress or trauma due to the pandemic. Some teachers have started sharing circles for students to vent about their lock-down experiences. As many public schools lack resources for counselors or mental health, it is up to teachers to help students deal with that trauma. Meanwhile, many educators may be dealing with their own stress or trauma of working through the pandemic. With all of the precautions and requirements for returning to schools, teachers have taken on roles of health workers, contact tracers, and counselors, all while trying to educate our children.
Even with these added burdens, school districts in Texas have not hired any extra support for teachers, nor afforded hazard pay or extra sick days for teachers who do get sick. While the state forces teachers to come back to school, put themselves and their families at risk all while taking on extra responsibility, it seems reluctant to offer any extra resources for those teachers. Concerns about inadequate sick-leave, insufficient safety precautions, and student safety ranked highest in a recent survey of Texas teachers.
Since re-opening schools, Texas has updated a public dashboard of new Covid-19 infections linked to schools. In the first two weeks of school, just over 2,000 new cases have been reported among students and staff, less than 1% of Texans on campus. That number seems promising, however it is likely an under-count. The reports do not include all schools currently open, and rely on self-reporting of students or staff who opt to take tests and test positive. There are likely many more who are non-symptomatic going untested or unreported. Despite calls from teachers and parents. most districts do not require regular testing of students attending school. With the Fall season of school sports, including the state-wide tradition of high school football, just around the corner, many experts believe it is not a matter of if, but when new cases start to rise again.
When these spikes do come, it will be school staff, teachers, and their families on the front-lines. Those teachers who have been forced back to work with no support or recourse will be put at risk. Not only will teachers who are older or have underlying health risks be at greater danger of infection, but all teachers will face financial struggle. With limited sick-leave or virtual options, teachers who are already underpaid may feel the financial strain of being forced out of work to quarantine for the second time this year.
Plans to re-open that were largely political and eschewed medical or scientific advice, will end up hurting our most valuable workers and young children the most. The additional risk and strain placed on teachers is a direct result of the wider anti-teacher sentiment common all over the country, particularly in Texas. The idea that teachers can be the catch-all public servants, feeding, counseling, education, and raising children so that families can get back to work, is still accompanied by the belief that teachers are lazy because (some) get Summers off. This is despite the long hours, stretched by re-arranging classrooms and filling out paperwork to meet new safety guidelines, all without extra compensation. Teachers who are already one of the lowest-paid in the country, are now filling multiple roles on the front lines of fighting a pandemic. For most of them, they will receive nothing but sickness and derision for it.
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