A Wake teaching assistant: Cooper must not give in to Trump’s push to reopen schools

Reopening schools

We’re scared. President Trump is threatening to cut school funding if we don’t reopen fully. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is demanding we reopen fully. I work for WCPSS and so do my son-in-law and daughter. I’m terrified to go back under the present conditions. Our health will be in danger. I may infect my disabled son. My grandchildren (ages 2 and 10 months) will have to be put in daycare. The 10-month-old has already had respiratory infections.

We need to know that Gov. Roy Cooper won’t give in to Trump’s threats. We need to remain in remote learning until at least 2021.

Laura Biegel, Clayton

WCPSS teaching assistant

CDC and schools

It seems President Trump wants to reopen schools regardless of the consequences. His expertise in science leaves a lot to be desired. He has no idea of the repercussions of opening too early. Look at the virus surge after his Tulsa rally.

The N.C. opening should be determined by Gov. Cooper, superintendents, and medical advisors in each county. These are our children, not Trump’s, and we should wait at least until September to determine an opening date. I know it is a hardship on parents , but we must wait.

When school does open, there should be a nurse in every school to take the burden off teachers and assure student health.

The CDC regulations for school openings should not be relaxed to placate the president. They must be strict and reasonable.

Thomas Oriel, Garner

A flexible NC plan

Everyone, including President Trump, Gov. Cooper, and many parents, teachers and administrators desire that primary and secondary students return to in-person school this fall (Plan A). But key COVID-19 trends do not support operating schools in this manner, and the logistics required to implement the blended approach (Plan B) are far too complex.

So why not stick with the original guidance which requires remote learning (Plan C) to start the year, but with more flexibility to switch between plans?

Flexibility can be gained by splitting each 9-week grading period in two and including a week-long break in the middle of and between grading periods. If key metrics are trending in the desired direction prior to a break, schools can switch to Plan A. If not, they stay in Plan C.

If the start of school is moved up to the first week in August, the fall semester can be completed by the start of the winter break.

Hank Stroup, Raleigh

Sen. Thom Tillis

Sen. Thom Tillis is running campaign ads telling us what he is going to do for voters and that he is looking out for our benefit and will improve the economy and make life better for all citizens.

What I want my senator to do is uphold the Constitution and believe no one is above the law. President Trump’s pardon of Roger Stone, a convicted felon, as a political favor for keeping quiet is not what I want from my senator. I want my senator to be outraged at this behavior and to speak out against another obstruction of justice by this president, not be a silent co-conspirator.

Both Tillis and our president must be held accountable in November.

Stephen Berg, Chapel Hill

Northeast’s response

For four months we’ve dealt with this pandemic. Things are worse in many states and not improving in North Carolina. Yet New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are doing better.

How’d they do that? Well, the Northeast was shocked by an early, rapidly rising caseload with growing severity. Governors and health/science leaders responded aggressively, leading by example. They galvanized their people who agreed the pandemic was catastrophic and signed on to actions needed. Few griped about wearing masks; it was essential, not political. With metrics improving, these states reopened slowly and smartly.

Meanwhile, the president and many states’ leaders and populations reacted with disdain and irritation, citing inconvenience and infringement of personal rights. There is/was no embracing what needed to be done with a “can do” attitude, as in the Northeast. Now, these states are paying the price for their impatience, greed and selfishness.

Dr. Robert Harris, Raleigh

US can do this

As far as our current situation is concerned, competent government matters. Science matters. The rule of law matters. Truth matters. Leadership matters. We cannot accept anything less.

We are one of the few advanced nations on earth that has not gotten a handle on this virus. We cannot restart our economy, we cannot open our schools, we cannot open our businesses without controlling the virus. Wear a mask. Stop infecting each other. Wash your hands.

These are not difficult concepts to understand. The sooner we do this, the sooner we recover from the virus. Other countries have done this. Certainly America can do it too.

Michael Medina, Cary