‘It’s just way too much to take on’: School systems struggle with the politics of reopening
Governors promise to put kids back in class in a matter of weeks, but school officials are largely stuck navigating the messy details.
School superintendents and principals are staring at an impossible equation.
Governors are promising to put kids back in classrooms in a matter of weeks, but it’s mostly school officials stuck navigating the messy details of how to keep students and teachers safe and win over skeptical parents, while dealing with a budget crisis that is forcing layoffs and other cuts.
In California, six major school districts warned state lawmakers that proposed budget cuts could delay the fall semester. And in New Jersey, superintendents are trashing the state’s “inappropriate” guidance for in-person summer programs. The head of the Massachusetts Teachers Association said the governor’s plan to require children to bring their own masks will punish low-income students and communities of color.
“I mean, it’s like it's a lose-lose situation,” said Dan Domenech, who runs AASA, The School Superintendents Association. ”You have parents that are demanding the schools to open. And then you have parents that are saying, we're not going to send our kids to school. You have teachers that are saying we're not going to go back to work. Districts that are saying, with these budget cuts, we're going to have to lay off teachers.
“It's just, this is unbelievable.”
Most principals understand they’ll be opening with a mix of in-person and remote learning, but they don’t have a clear idea of how that will happen, said Bob Farrace, of the National Association of Secondary School Principals. “Right now, principals are flying blind with only very high, top-level guidance on what the reopening of school is going to look like,” he said.
Economic recovery in large part depends on kids returning to school so parents can get back to work. President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he expects a full reopening of schools in the fall, though his Education Secretary Betsy DeVos concedes some classes may have to remain online — even though virtual classes have been a bust in many places.
Other countries don’t offer a clear direction. Austria, Denmark and Germany CONTINUE READING: ‘It’s just way too much to take on’: School systems struggle with the politics of reopening - POLITICO
