Last Friday, the School Board reversed course and decided to start bringing all students back Monday, February 22. We talked with the kids about the reality of the CDC and DHHS guidance that said this was unsafe and the fact that they would only have one or two other students in the classroom with them. Lunch would be outside and fast--no talking. All of the social elements of school are gone, although that is an argument people try to push schools to reopen. Thankfully, both kids immediately decided to stay virtual. They keep their teachers and schedule; they stay safe.
Monday, though, I wrote the following email to the Board and Superintendent. I'm posting it here as an open letter.
A Broken Trust
Good morning,
I am writing this email as a former teacher and administrator and current OCS parent and education professor and researcher. It is through these lenses that I write.
I was working for another school district when we bought our home in Hillsborough. I knew I wanted our children to attend Orange County Schools. I have always considered OCS to be a district focused on innovation, equity, and leadership. I have shared these beliefs with pride as I work in districts across the state and nation, sharing about a small district doing great things. After the events of the last month culminating in the Board meeting Friday night, however, I can no longer share those beliefs unequivocally. Here are my reasons why:
1. Please interrogate the findings of the ABC Collaborative. The district has put tremendous emphasis on their findings--findings that are problematic at best and dangerous at worst. Research, especially education research, is only generalizable to the extent the contexts match. Our context is very different from the studies from which their recommendations are derived. (The superintendent in the Wisconsin study has been very clear about his concerns about the way that study is being used.) Furthermore, they are using the same data to make different recommendations to each district with whom they consult even though those contexts are much more similar. Why?
2. A commonly cited reason to bring students back to in-person learning is the emphasis on "at-risk" students. Setting the problematic nature of that term aside, we are hearing from teachers and families across districts, including OCS, that these students are not opting to return to the classroom--as is their right. For some, they are particularly vulnerable to the economic and medical ramifications of a potential Covid exposure. For others, systems and policies regarding the return to school, especially transportation and screening, make returning challenging or impossible.
3. While current CDC guidance does suggest bringing elementary students back is possible, it clearly states that middle and high schools in orange and red counties should remain virtual. Furthermore, the same guidelines state that if schools do return to in-person learning, extra-curricular activities, especially indoor sports, must be suspended. OCS is ignoring all of these guidelines.
4. Further guidance from the CDC suggests that all school staff should be vaccinated before reopening buildings. We now have a timeline for those vaccinations--one our original reopening plan would have allowed. When we ignore this guidance, we send a clear message to our most valuable resources--our staff--that they are less important. In districts that are reopening we are seeing waves of early retirements and resignations as teachers make impossible choices. I receive multiple emails daily from principals looking for teachers. I have none. Although our cohorts are larger than they have been in recent history, all of our December grads had jobs before they graduated; many of my May graduates have already been offered and accepted jobs that will begin the day after they finish student teaching. We have to support our current teachers; there are no replacements.
I am keenly aware that most of the recent decisions have been driven by political pressure from Raleigh and the impending bill. However, the increased rapidity and decreased transparency of the decisions raise great concern. I will not speak for others, but I want to unequivocally state that while I have faith in my children's teachers, I no longer have faith or trust in the district leadership.
I would urge you to stop succumbing to political pressure and return to leading.
Respectfully,
Heather A. Bower, MSA, PhD
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