SALT LAKE CITY – While teachers are happy to see students again after a long Thanksgiving week, there are “complaints” about the potential rise in Covid-19 cases, according to Utah Education Association officials.
“We want to be in schools with our students with face-to-face education but we also want to be safe,” said UAE President Heidi Matthews. “And what’s happening right now isn’t working.”
Matthew said the teachers union is trying to be proactive with its failed request that Governor Gary Herbert move secondary schools in high-broadcast areas to inst online notification at least by early January.
“Because when we react to this virus people get sick and people die and that’s what we’re trying to avoid,” he said.
Following a survey of member teachers, the UAE reported a similar divide between urban and rural teachers in Utah over whether schools should temporarily relocate to online learning.
5% of teachers said all school buildings across the state should be temporarily closed, while another 5% said those decisions should be made locally and the UAE should not focus on statewide solutions.
One option of the survey asked whether the UAE should organize a “statewide job action (such as‘ sick out ’or other action that stops working for a day or more)), urging state leaders to draw immediate attention to education concerns. Schools. “
The UAE has told KSL that, overall, only 16% of teachers support the job action. However, in some urban districts, about 30% of teachers said they would support a work stoppage. While only 8% of teachers in rural districts said they would support such action.
Matthew said she was reading more than 300 pages of comments from Utah teachers and 88% responded that they were overwhelmed and stressed by the extra workload.
“I can’t even tell you the level of frustration,” Matthew said. “The workload is just inadvisable.”
Believing teachers are under stress this year, Ben Horsley, the district spokesman for Granite School, said the spread of the virus in the classroom is very low.
“Last June and July when we were planning for this school year and thought we would have a transmission rate of less than 2% or 3% on school property we would have been very excited about that statistic.” “So it’s extraordinary that this kind of data comes on our contact tracing.”
Horsley said it is important to study individually because families facing poverty do not have the resources to support home education. In addition, the district has found that students are becoming social when there is no school session.
I can’t even tell you the level of frustration. (Teachers’) workload is simply inadvisable.
–UEA President Heidi Matthews
“It is very painfully clear that children, when they are on this dismissal, not only have less learning, but also less safety,” Horsley said.
It is hoped that the new, statewide testing requirements for secondary students will help keep track of how the virus is spreading among students.
“With increased testing, we can keep sick children at home and keep negative children in an effective learning environment,” Horsley said.
From Monday, any student or employee outside of the regular school day will be tested once every two weeks for engaging in outside activities.
Tom Hudacho, communications director for health, said: “What we’ve learned from the high school football test is the kind of thing we have to do for people – to wear their masks, to maintain their physical distance – department.” We’ll start looking at other extracurriculars in the next two weeks. “
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