NC district’s teachers were expected to return to school, but some stayed home in protest
Some Orange County Schools teachers planned to go against a district decision sending them back to campus Monday and instead chose to continue teaching classes remotely from home.
The demonstration was loosely organized in the last few days after Superintendent Monique Felder told all teachers to return to the classroom Dec. 7, including those only teaching students in the all-remote Virtual Academy.
Most of the district’s 7,500 students won’t start returning to part-time, in-person learning until Jan. 25, although the district did bring back its pre-kindergarten students and those in exceptional children’s classes Oct. 27. There have been five positive cases among staff and fewer than 50 students who recently returned to school, district spokeswoman Melany Stowe said.
Teachers were encouraged to participate in Monday’s demonstration by teaching their students from home and posting social media photos of themselves wearing red in “a show of solidarity with our colleagues.”
It is unclear how many teachers chose to stay home Monday instead of teaching from their empty classrooms. Stowe said in an email later Monday that this week is a “transition week,” giving administrators and teachers time to prepare and gradually return to class.
However, a Dec. 3 letter to staff about the move to in-person teaching did not say it would be a gradual transition, noting only that “all staff are returning on December 7.”
Many district staff already work in person, including transportation, nutrition and maintenance workers who have been in their schools since March, Stowe said in a news release Monday afternoon.
“This continues to be a very challenging time for students, staff and our families. And we continue to appreciate the grace and patience extended to the district over the past eight months,” Felder said in the statement.
Christina Clark, president of the Orange County Association of Educators, said teachers are concerned that returning all at once is an unnecessary risk while case numbers are rising and there is a threat of more COVID-19 spread over the holidays.
The group did not organize the demonstration but supported the teachers who participated in it, Clark said in an interview with The News & Observer on Saturday. She and others noted that teachers also were concerned that they did not have enough time to plan or set up their classrooms for the transition, making it potentially disruptive to students.
Teachers can only be effective in an already difficult time if they have stability, said Cedar Ridge High School teacher Kevin Reese.
“Since the county leadership started, as early as late September, to discuss various permutations of bringing teachers and students back to the building, we’ve all had our eyes on the rug under our feet, waiting and wondering when it will again get yanked,” Reese said. “This feeling of constant instability is profoundly disruptive, and it weakens our effectiveness as teachers.”
Many teachers commenting online noted that Wake County has reported more cases in its school system since students started returning Oct. 26. Wake County officials had expected to see more cases as more students returned, and last week, The N&O reported the district had a high of 68 new cases. A total of 219 cases has been reported since the district reopened in late October.
Wake County also has seen clusters of five or more cases at several private schools, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. Data showed Durham County also has reported clusters at private schools.
Like Orange County, the Durham Public Schools and the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools have delayed bringing back students until late January. Chapel Hill-Carrboro brought back roughly 50 to 60 Adapted Curriculum students last week, spokesman Jeff Nash said.
The district’s school board has not decided when teachers should return, he said, but could discuss it at a Dec. 17 meeting.
COVID worries, training
Clark provided a copy of an OCAE teacher survey before Thanksgiving, which found that over 54% of 383 teachers who responded felt “apprehensive about being back in the building.” Another 35% felt moderately or somewhat apprehensive, the survey showed.
Over 17% of 417 teachers who responded to a different question said they expect to resign, retire or take a leave of absence if required to return to class in December or January. Nearly 60% of those teachers said the district had not done enough to make them feel safe.
Clark noted that some teachers were concerned about a reprimand if they did not show up Monday and could take a personal day to teach from home. They also didn’t want to negatively affect their students, teachers said.
“We understand that a lot of people do want to go back in person. We just really want to have better collaboration, have better communication, have more buy-in,” said Clark, a Cedar Ridge High School teacher.
The Orange County School Board approved the early return in September to allow extra time for teachers to practice new COVID-19 procedures. It also will give teachers time to receive “intensive professional development,” according to a Dec. 3 district letter provided to The News & Observer. The letter does not specify what training will be offered.
“And we do not know what the winter may have in store for us regarding inclement weather, therefore we can not wait until January to prepare and practice for a safe return to school for our students,” the letter said.
Teachers contacted by The N&O said they have developed their own teaching techniques since March and don’t understand what else is needed or how much additional time it could take out of their day. Some said students will have to return to class before they can really practice COVID-related procedures.
The district has not said how many teachers will not return to the classroom, but the OCAE survey showed about 11% of 417 teachers reported receiving an exemption to stay remote because of health or family issues. The district is providing free childcare to teachers who have elementary school-age children.
Reese said he has been told he can stay home until Jan. 12 to care for his son. Another teacher said she was told that she could stay home until Jan. 25, when her request and others would be re-evaluated.
However, Reese said, he remains concerned about teachers who did not get an exemption. He reached out to the administration and the school board and got “sympathetic” and supportive responses, but they were “very noncommittal,” he said.
Stowe said in Monday’s news release that the district is concerned about students, at least 60% of who are planning to return to a mix of in-person and remote learning next semester.
“Due to the pandemic, learning loss has been a serious concern across the state and here at home in Orange County,” she said. “We have found that while some students thrive in a remote learning environment, data indicates that remote learning does not work well for far too many of our students.”
School board meets, district responds
School board Chairwoman Hillary MacKenzie posted a letter to district employees Sunday on her Facebook page.
The district sought information from other districts that already reopened before deciding teachers should return, she said. A slow transition is planned so teachers “become genuinely comfortable in schools so that your comfort is palpable to our students, who will also be nervous,” she said. Staff also can’t wait until January to make alternative plans for those who won’t be returning, she added.
While acknowledging the risk of having teachers return to shared buildings, MacKenzie also mentioned the “calculated risks” of getting restaurant takeout or groceries. The school board also will return to in-person meetings on Monday, she added.
“We simply will not ask you to do anything that we aren’t willing to also do ourselves,” she said.
Orange County Schools staff has been working with the Orange County Health Department and the ABC Science Collaborative, a group of scientists and physicians, to plan for reopening schools.
Several factors are being considered, including the number of cases and hospitalizations, and the percentage of positive tests, county health Director Quintana Stewart has said.
Despite a steep climb in positive cases statewide over the last week, Orange County remains under a yellow alert — the lowest rating in the state’s color-coded system — signifying “significant community spread” of the virus.
On Monday, Orange County reported 4,163 cases and 62 deaths. The percentage of positive COVID tests was 3.1% — under the state’s 5% goal.
The county’s COVID-19 data does not appear to meet the school district goals for returning to school, including a four-week decline in COVID-like illnesses, percentage of positive tests, number of confirmed case counts and a stable or declining hospitalization rate.
However, Stewart said in the letter that based on her department’s review of the data and “the careful planning of our school district, we believe schools can reopen in a hybrid learning model.”
The district and the health department created a COVID-19 dashboard in November to track student and staff cases, starting Dec. 11.
The dashboard does not provide separate numbers for students and staff and does not appear to indicate individual schools with cases, so that privacy rights are protected, it states. However, in its safety protocol, the district states everyone at a school would get a call or email if someone tests positive for COVID-19, and the Health Department would follow up with those who had close contact.
This story was originally published December 7, 2020 at 5:03 PM.
