Hi friends,
Yesterday, the Central Library of Brooklyn Public closed at 5 because of “Covid-related staff shortages.” Libraries are essentials services AND this was sensible. [Note that due to the weather today, all branches of BPL will open at noon.]
The situation in Chicago public schools (CPS) is not sensible:
The CTU resolution, endorsed by 73% of voting members, seeks to have classes remain remote until Jan. 18 unless a safety agreement with CPS is reached or the omicron-fueled COVID-19 surge subsides. Lightfoot has denounced the union’s actions as an “unlawful, unilateral strike.” The union has countered that their actions don’t amount to a work stoppage because they are willing to teach remotely.
Chaos now reigns in Chicago, not because of teacher demands, but because of intransigence on the part of district and city leaders. Principals were told that schools would be closed through today unless there was a satisfactory resolution with the union. Then, last night, the school district tweeted that principals will decide to either open or close our schools on Friday.
epidemiologist Michael Siegel urged a [Boston-area] school district to delay in-person classes for a couple of weeks to let the coronavirus surge pass. As omicron cases continue to spike, the Tufts researcher warned that students returning to school would be “disastrous” for the community and already packed hospitals.
By midweek, Boston had more than 450 teachers out sick. The hospitals are already swamped and testing from water treatment plants indicate rates of infection that are substantially higher than conventional Covid testing suggests. Today’s snowstorm looks like a blessing. Boston schools are closed.
“They’re making it work and they’re putting on their best face for their staff, their students, for their parents, for everybody, but the truth is they’re not okay,” he said. “The thing that concerns me is it’s not sustainable.”
A Manhattan principal distributes rapid test kits to high school students
Kudos to my new city councilmember, Rita Joseph, for her team’s thoughtful, substantive response to my email about a short-term plan for remote schooling:
The Councilmember has already called every school in Council District 40 to get feedback on the school reopening process since her first day of service on Monday. Additionally, she is meeting with the Chancellor of the DOE next week to discuss public education broadly, and school COVID safety more specifically. Two weeks of remote learning is a subject that the Councilmember plans to discuss with the Chancellor.
As a public school teacher who only left her job at PS6 right before winter break and as a mother, the health and safety of students, staff, and teachers are top of mind for the Councilmember in any discussion regarding COVID and public schools. As you already know, she has been an outspoken advocate for increased testing at schools, and has already brought more test sites to CD40 since she's been elected in order to alleviate waiting times. She is continuing to fight for the wide distribution of free, at-home tests (including for students), because she recognizes 1) it is unacceptable for people to have to wait for hours in the cold and 2) no person should be too poor to get tested. Additionally, our team is in the process of getting mobile testing vans to the District as well.
Lastly, the Councilmember supports a robust temporary remote option (at an absolute minimum). Recent attendance rates show that many parents are not comfortable sending their children to school, and students who are not able to attend in-person must have a viable option to have their learning needs met.
Contact the mayor and your city council rep to let them know what you think about a short-term remote option for the public schools. Here’s what I wrote.
A group of city and state lawmakers delivered a letter to Mayor Adams last night to demand a temporary shift to remote learning, through the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. This is sensible. In New York City, more than 550 people died of Covid in the last two weeks. Hospitalizations have spiked.
The schools are our object lesson this morning. We cannot continue to treat people as if their health — mental and physical — does not matter. Or rather, we can, AND it’s a terrible mistake. We see this playing out among health care workers, baristas who are told they must serve unmasked customers when they have not been provided with N95 masks themselves, and workers being told to go back to the office.
Read Ed Yong’s piece in the Atlantic, “Omicron isn’t mild for the health care system.”
To be better prepared for inevitable outbreaks — including from new coronavirus variants — they suggested that the administration lay out goals and specific benchmarks, including what number of hospitalizations and deaths from respiratory viruses, including influenza and Covid-19, should prompt emergency mitigation and other measures.
This is the moment for emergency mitigation. Or am I missing something?
with love,
L