NANCY BAILEY: Will America Invest in Public School Buildings, Finally?

Will America Invest in Public School Buildings, Finally?

Will America Invest in Public School Buildings, Finally?

How will the Biden administration manage a public school facelift? Is $100 billion enough? Will communities see a windfall of funding dedicated to this purpose? Will corporate partnerships help? Will Americans see it as an equity issue?

Covid-19 showed Americans the importance of public schools, but they still might not understand the crumbling conditions found in many of those buildings. How many teachers and students face substandard classrooms?

Epidemiologists and pediatricians continue to speak about classroom mitigation strategies like they’re easy, while teachers frantically describe sealed windows or classrooms with no windows. Overcrowded classrooms make safe instruction unthinkable. Lousy HVAC systems in schools became a national disgrace.

America’s schools have been allowed to deteriorate for years. Even newer school buildings have depreciated due to deferred maintenance. Powerful people want students to prove they can do well on tests, but they don’t consider how the conditions CONTINUE READING: Will America Invest in Public School Buildings, Finally?

School Buildings are Reopening but Where’s the Data? – Parents United for Public Education

School Buildings are Reopening but Where’s the Data? – Parents United for Public Education

School Buildings are Reopening but Where’s the Data?

The first 53 school buildings are reopening tomorrow for children for the first time in almost a year, despite ongoing concerns about the amount of information and up to date data that is not publicly available for parents to review. Reports on social media of filthy and mold-covered vents and classrooms show that many of the conditions of reopening have not been met.

We’re glad that the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers has provided public information about their “vetting” process, such as this excerpt that shows the criteria used to “clear” classrooms and schools for occupancy by students:

Screenshot of PFT document outlining procedures for “clearing” rooms for re-occupancy with added annotation. Source link: https://www.pft.org/sites/default/files/reoccupancyprocedure.pdf

However, we have not seen clear, up to date evidence that the PFT’s requirements CONTINUE READING: School Buildings are Reopening but Where’s the Data? – Parents United for Public Education

COVID Reopening and Building Safety Questions – Parents United for Public Education

COVID Reopening and Building Safety Questions – Parents United for Public Education

COVID Reopening and Building Safety Questions

During our recent set of webinars about Philadelphia schools’ facility conditions and safety, we had the opportunity to share information and hear questions from many caregivers and educators. (View a video of the Facebook Live recording of the webinar.)

Folks continue to be very concerned about long-term issues such as lead, asbestos, mold, and water quality, while also facing many unanswered immediate questions about safety precautions for reopening buildings in the midst of COVID-19.

Unfortunately, while we were able to gather many of these questions, we ultimately cannot answer most of them. They should be answered, but by district leadership, in public.

We’ve compiled a list below that summarizes the questions that were asked during our webinars. We encourage caregivers to reach out to city council and the school board to continue pushing for answers. It is critical that parent voices are heard!

In addition, please sign up to testify at the City Council hearing “Safely Reopening Schools” on 2/17/21 by emailing Nick.Spiva@phila.gov or calling 215-686-3420. You can also share your questions and concerns about the district’s current hybrid re-opening plan with Councilperson Gym via this form. 

The questions below are lightly edited for clarity and to combine/ remove duplicate topics. They were submitted via the Q&A function during the webinars and do not necessarily reflect the questions or priorities of Parents United as an organization.

Questions About General Facility Safety CONTINUE READING: COVID Reopening and Building Safety Questions – Parents United for Public Education