KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — With just over a month before public schools are scheduled to reopen, there is a great divide among educators, lawmakers, parents and teachers over whether or not in-person learning should resume.
Kalamazoo teachers are strongly opposed to plans by the school district to reopen schools on August 31st. In fact, the Kalamazoo Education Association has sent a letter to the Kalamazoo Public Schools Board of Education asking for schools to continue with a remote start for at least the first 12 weeks.
The letter details the following demands for KPS schools:
- All resources should be focused on making the KPS remote experience the best it can be starting on August 31, 2020. Including equitable access to technology, instructional materials, and appropriate internet service.
- KPS will announce to the public, as soon as possible, that school will start in a safe, remote only environment for the initial 12 weeks of school.
- KPS and KEA should follow the recommendations of established, governmental and professional health and science organizations. Only when a consensus to safely reopen is reached, will the KEA consider a return to in-person instruction.
- KPS will NOT outsource our work or our students, as is the current KPS plan.
President of the Kalamazoo Education Association Amanda Miller told trustees during a virtual meeting Thursday evening that it just isn’t safe to reopen yet.
The letter states, “This is not a request we make lightly. In our assessment, the minimum criteria for reopening schools has not been met, nor has the spread of COVID-19 in our community been mitigated or contained. Therefore, our schools cannot be reopened safely under these conditions.”
The Kalamazoo Education Association is made up of over 800 teachers, therapists, librarians, instructional coaches, nurses, and counselors.
During the school board meeting, even some students called in to request that classes remain closed. “I know a lot of people that live with their grandmas and grandpas, including me, who will be in danger if we go to school in person,” one student said.
Dozens of teachers also spoke at the meeting, some even threatening to quit if they are forced back into classrooms. “To return to schools during this time would only provide a breeding ground for this virus,” a KPS teacher explained.
But not everyone wants schools to remain closed. A district survey of parents showed that over two-thirds preferred sending kids back to class for all or part of the week.
One parent explained that virtual learning hurts some of the district’s must vulnerable students. “It includes children who face abuse and neglect in their home or who are homeless, and it cannot be achieved through a screen. It is just not possible.”
KPS Superintendent Dr. Rita Raichoudhuri says not opening could jeopardize state and federal funds.
Their current plan is to give parents options to choose in-person or online learning but Raichoudhuri is also concerned that their plan will not go over well in Lansing. They’re also unsure on if they’ll be reimbursed for masks and for sanitizing schools.
“To date the only funding guidance we have received is unless you start school in person you will not receive any funding,” Raichoudhuri said during their board meeting.
The superintendent will release the district’s fall plans to the public and the board on August 3rd and a board vote is scheduled for August 13th. They must have the plan in Lansing by the 17th.
The first day of school is set for August 31st.
