AFT president responds to new CDC physical distancing guidelines
American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement Friday after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention altered its physical distancing guidelines for school classrooms:
“No one wants to end remote and hybrid education more than educators, parents and students — just ask anyone who’s had to teach or learn with simultaneous online and in-person instruction.
“While we hope the CDC is right and these new studies convince the community that the most enduring safety standard of this pandemic — the six-foot rule — can be jettisoned if we all wear masks, we will reserve judgement until we review them, especially as they apply in districts with high community spread and older buildings with ventilation challenges.
“Kids need to be in school, and the AFT has advocated consistently for safely reopening in-person learning since last April, but we are concerned this change has been driven by a lack of physical space rather than the hard science on aerosol exposure and transmission.
“Until today, the literature on reducing distancing has been inconclusive at best and misleading at worst. The studies so far have often approached distancing in a vacuum, without measuring the effect of changes to other mitigation strategies, including masking.
“The good news is we’re making progress — the latest data show 80 percent of schools are now offering some in-person CONTINUE READING: AFT president responds to new CDC physical distancing guidelines - The Highland County Press
“No one wants to end remote and hybrid education more than educators, parents and students — just ask anyone who’s had to teach or learn with simultaneous online and in-person instruction.
“While we hope the CDC is right and these new studies convince the community that the most enduring safety standard of this pandemic — the six-foot rule — can be jettisoned if we all wear masks, we will reserve judgement until we review them, especially as they apply in districts with high community spread and older buildings with ventilation challenges.
“Kids need to be in school, and the AFT has advocated consistently for safely reopening in-person learning since last April, but we are concerned this change has been driven by a lack of physical space rather than the hard science on aerosol exposure and transmission.
“Until today, the literature on reducing distancing has been inconclusive at best and misleading at worst. The studies so far have often approached distancing in a vacuum, without measuring the effect of changes to other mitigation strategies, including masking.
“The good news is we’re making progress — the latest data show 80 percent of schools are now offering some in-person CONTINUE READING: AFT president responds to new CDC physical distancing guidelines - The Highland County Press