Tacoma teachers union on starting in-person learning: ‘I do not believe we are ready’
If COVID-19 case numbers in Pierce County continue to stay low, the youngest students at Tacoma Public Schools can return for some in-person learning as soon as Sept. 28.
According to Shannon Ergun, president for the Tacoma Education Association (TEA) teacher union, it’s too soon.
“At this point, I do not believe we are ready with all the systems and protocols in place for students and staff to safely return to in-person learning,” Ergun said by email Thursday.
While the district and TEA have made agreements related to remote learning, leaves of absence and substitutes, they still are negotiating details around the district’s hybrid model, which allows students to split the week with in-person learning and remote learning.
Those negotiations are moving more slowly than anticipated, Ergun said.
“I have had many members reach out to me concerned for the health and safety of students and staff because of the rushed approach TPS has taken to push thousands of students and staff back into classrooms,” she said.
Tacoma Public Schools did not respond prior to deadline to requests from The News Tribune about whether plans to address the union’s concerns would be in place prior to Sept. 28. A district update Friday said school officials would release more detailed information next week, including health and safety requirements targeted to families returning for in-person learning.
On Tuesday, Tacoma Public Schools said it would bring grades K-2 back for in-person learning no sooner than Sept. 28, grades 3-5 no sooner than Oct. 12 and grades 6-12 no sooner than Nov. 2.
That has since changed. On Friday, the district announced it would start with a smaller group of students — only preschool, kindergarten and special education students on Sept. 28.
“As we have worked on implementing a phased-in approach to returning students to in-person learning, we have identified the need to make the plan more gradual in order to have time to observe and adapt to this new environment,” the district wrote in an email to staff on Friday.
Dates to return for older students have not been determined.
One concern Ergun has with returning to school is the size of classrooms.
“To place a full class of students in a teaching space four days per week, some teachers are being moved to cafeteria and gymnasium spaces,” Ergun said.
In some classrooms, teachers removed desks and screen projectors to make more room, increasing capacity from 16 students per class to 20 students, but Ergun said that means teachers might be missing some tools needed to conduct instruction.
Also of concern is the lack of a plan for providing a full day of instruction to students while ensuring teachers have planning time, Ergun said.
“We do not know how to provide free play and recess time, use manipulatives to support academic growth, and enjoy social interaction during lunch while still ensuring social distancing, use of masks and other PPE, and disinfection of materials,” Ergun said. “Overall, we still have far more questions than answers, and negotiations are not complete.”
Nick Brody is the parent of a kindergartner in Tacoma Public Schools.
Brody said he’s concerned current TPS plans don’t address reduced class sizes. He points to Department of Health guidance shared by Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department director Dr. Anthony Chen that recommends returning to in-person learning starting with “small groups of our youngest learners.”
“Yet, the current plan involves having 20+ young students in a classroom for full days, four days per week,” Brody said in an email to The News Tribune on Friday. “The district should implement a plan that includes a cohort model for smaller groups of students attending in-person for shorter time periods. This approach would address the spirit of the health director’s charge and match the strategies of the most successful countries that have returned to in-person learning.”
Brody, who also an associate professor at the University of Puget Sound, added that he found it troubling that parents were told they would be returning to in-person learning before teachers had specific plans.
“Teachers will be charged with managing 20+ students at a time in new, difficult to predict and potentially hazardous conditions,” he said. “Their perspectives should be front-and-center in this decision making process.”
This story was originally published September 19, 2020 at 7:00 AM.
