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'Covid has magnified every existing inequality' – Melinda Gates
"You sort of have to redo all of the curriculum so you can teach it online, because a lot of it was dependent on you being there and leading the students through certain things.
science teacher and sustainability director at The Pike School in
Finishing a school year online has not been much of a challenge, because the students know us so well and we know them so well—we can communicate and make it work, but to start a new school year remotely would be very challenging.
science professor at Farmington High School in Utah"
'Covid has magnified every existing inequality' – Melinda Gates
Updates Added Frequently
PORTLAND PARENT UNION
SAYS: WE ARE AGAINST OUR CHILDREN GOING BACK TO SCHOOL. UNTIL 100% THOROUGH TESTING OF EVERYONE
100% SAFETY
100% CONTROL
100% VACCINATIONS (Update Dec 2020)
(Updated December 8, 2021)
Coronavirus and Schools
The coronavirus pandemic has upended America's K-12 education system, as most schools in every state close their doors for extended periods to combat the spread of the virus November 17, 2020
A Highly Effective Vaccine Is Likely on the Way. What Does That Mean for Schools and Kids? November 12, 2020
Excerpt from the Position Statement "Black families are taking matters in their own hands and starting their own virtual/ homeschool hubs." We speak against reopening of schools as well as virtual learning because both actions are premature, selective and discriminatory. Plans did not include the input of teachers and families as well as students. Programs can be good when involving the most impacted in the decision making. This means in this case the teachers and the families/students. Virtual learning could be good when carefully thought out. Teachers are the ones that can do this! Trust them when they say yes or no?
Oregon governor issues
executive order to
reopen schools
BY JORDAN WILLIAMS - 03/12/21 12:06 PM EST
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THE LETTER
The Letter to the Principal
sheila warren <simplysheilas@gmail.com
Sat, Sep 4, 7:41 PM (12 days ago)
to paris, sharwarren, ronton1, Matt
Good Evening Principal Matt Soule
Welcome aboard. You are new, so are we.
Let me Introduce myself and my family. My name is Sheila Warren, The child who is supposed to attend your school this year is Kimo Dallas Warren-Brookins. He is four years old, bd Dec. 5th. He is enrolled in preschool special education. His mother is Paris Warren and his Father is James Brookins.
We, my husband and I are the caregivers as well as when COVID hit the homeschool teachers. Last year Kimo did not have a chance to come into the building for school. He was invited to attend virtual school the last few months before school closed. He was excited to come into the classroom this year.
We along with his Mother and Grandmother do have some concerns about the safety of our Great Grand and have chosen to keep him home this year. We do know that all are trying to make it as safe as possible for our children but we are nervous. Our experiences and instincts tell us safety measures are impossible to be %100 when the system is made up of all kinds of misguided instructions and people. Plus those that are anti everything will show up.
Our children will be the experiments and some will fall through the cracks? Teachers will be the experiments used as the frontliners similar to nurses and doctors sacrificing their bodies, depending on help and support with very little coming or arriving to late! It is our belief that our teachers, families, and children will be forced into a "burning building".
We must follow the rules that will make us the safest. Kimo must be safe, we must be safe because we are all part of the high risk population. You are dealing with a population, the younger children, who do not have shots! https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2021/08/10/1026375608/nearly-94-000-kids-got-covid-19-last-week-they-were-15-of-all-new-infections
Please what are the next steps to make sure he gets credit. We also have questions about his special ed. support?
Should we register him with the homeschool association?
So sorry to make it difficult because we are supporters of public schools. Regards The Warren Family
Matt Soule <matt_soule@ddsd40.org>
Sep 7, 2021, 12:07 PM (10 days ago)
to me
Hello Sheila,
I appreciate you reaching out. I fully understand and empathize with where you are coming from. Please know I fully support you doing what you feel is best for your family. Unfortunately, we do not currently have an online option for our preschoolers. I have reached out to Multnomah Early Childhood Program for guidance. I will let you know when I hear back from them.
Thanks,
Matt
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Teacher Statement
January 8 2022
Check in on your teacher friends. We are not ok. Students are not ok. How much longer can we operate in total crisis, like the band still playing, while the ship goes down?
Covid rates in our schools and community are at an all time high, more than three times the rate of when we were previously engaged in comprehensive distance learning, last school year. Oregon had 7,619 new cases yesterday. School buildings are not some magical place exempt from Covid spread. It’s impossible for schools to truly socially distance, air circulation is poor in most PPS buildings, and Omicron is spreading rampantly. County and school officials can not keep up with contact tracing. Hospitals are filling up. It’s challenging to even get a test appointment for days. I tried to get tested yesterday, and the first site I went to had completely ran out of tests.
I’ve been out sick the past couple of days. Waking up feeling exhausted, soar throat, headache, body aches. I’m currently waiting on test results. Still, I feel guilty for not being at school, to be there to support our students and to help substitute and cover for others who are out and sick. I know that’s not right, and that I need to care for myself, so I can care for others. I’ve told dozens of teachers the same thing this year.
As a school climate specialist, substituting for teachers who are out has been one of my responsibilities all school year. I’m a team player & I believe in doing what’s best for kids, so I’ve willingly pitched in. On any given Friday all school year our school district has been 100-150 substitutes short, meaning there are that many classes without a teacher. There were over 500 teachers out multiple days this week. This leads to unsafe schools, especially with increased mental health crises exacerbated by the pandemic along with increased violence in some schools. Multiple bus routes are being cancelled daily because there are not enough drivers.
These are not new problems, we’ve been dealing with them all school year, and advocating for something better for our students. They are only getting worse. We’ve been shouting this is not sustainable, not safe and begging PPS for the time teachers need to do their jobs well. Something’s got to give. We’ve got to do better for our students, our families, our educators and communities.
Teacher Statement
Yo!! People. Schools are in God damn crisis right now and our district is all about business as usual. We have crazy high covid rates right now... everybody knows that. But yall don't think that affects schools? People are closing down restaurants and bars due to not having enough staff, but schools are still running. Buses are being cancelled. Teachers are subbing during their planning time for other teachers (so when do teachers get to-do their own planning and grading???), the district is sending out staff from the central office to cover classes, and cover lunch duties. The testing at school can't keep up. We notified them Monday of our positive tests last week and still have not got return to school dates. They cannot even keep up right now with notifications of exposure.
Even if your student is currently in school and not out due to exposure or a positive case, what kind of learning do you think is happening at school? Not only that, DISTANCING IS NOT HAPPENING AT SCHOOLS! (At the very least I know this true for middle schools). I know a lot of parents are like "get my kid back to school" but as an educator in the trenches (I've been out all week due to covid and no sub for my job), I'm asking yall to think about what teachers are telling you, use your own common sense, and reach out to the district and ask for them to move to distant learning for a few weeks while this current strain moves through the community.
Teacher Statement
Jan 6 10:07 PM ·
No. Your teachers are not ok. Every single day we put in the time, the efforts and tenacity to serve children. To literally open up pathways for learning. This is nationally.
Tonight, hearing that three local schools have closed and are returning to online is sobering. And might I add infuriating? You once again want teachers to create a format within a day's time and will expect it to be flawless! What actual teachers, who have been in the classroom, in let's say five years, are at the helm of these decisions? I can tell you. NONE!!
Who listened to educators when we questioned returning with no contingency plans? Who paid attention when we showed up despite what we know about culturally and historically responsive teaching that is really trauma informed? What tools, time or planning was provided to ready us for some of the needs we are seeing emerge?
Subbing today, the students shared how worried they are; how on the brink of their sanity they are because people in positions of power and influence keep marching along with the same whack ass demands like--- finals week, AP Testing and College Admission deadlines. Ask yourself, what specific students are centered with these constructs? Who is left out?
Are we really only pawns propping up the economy? Or do you recognize that Public Education as we have known it is imploding? Don't get me wrong--- the foundation and its historical origins are faulty and despicable--- BUT what we do every day-- how we inspire and create, educate and uplift is not only necessary but heroic.
And for all that have counted on us, our labor (so much of it free) and our time--- it is time to have OUR backs!
The children are not okay if their teachers are not okay. And folks, we ain't okay.
Teachers are stressed, burned out and leaving the profession
Posted Dec 10,2021
Posted December 9th 2021.
by KGW
A teacher for more than a decade and made the difficult decision to resign in October from George Middle School in North Portland. Emily Shultz, a teacher who resigned this school year has a lot of stigma surrounding the resignation. Some may see it as no longer caring about students, but I cared too much to continue on – I knew I didn’t have the tools to succeed,” said Shultz. In addition, during the pandemic, she said students are having a hard time coping.
Shultz said the pandemic was the tipping point, specifically when she was exposed to a COVID-positive person on the third day of school and had to quarantine at home. Shultz stated, “If I did test positive, at least I would have 10 days to rest. I’d have 10 days to lesson plan. I’d have 10 days to catch up and get a break. And really, at that point, I realized it wasn’t healthy for me to continue on in the profession.”
And to add on, Shultz says safety isn’t guaranteed and there’s just not enough time in the day to do a good job. She said she struggled to differentiate instruction for students, come up with a game plan for behaviors that were preventing learning and in general struggled to keep up despite her more than 10 years of experience. So, teachers often sacrifice their personal time and mental health just to keep up.
Shultz added, “Class sizes have continued to grow. When you’re teaching, you’re often teaching with inadequate supplies, inadequate facilities. “Curriculums change constantly. Resources are taken away from us. We’re given more and more to do with less.”
“I really felt that I was letting them down by leaving. But I also felt on a daily basis that I was letting them down by what I was able to produce,” said Shultz. Shultz states but she hopes her story helps advocate for teachers whose voices aren’t being heard.
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Video
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Posted Dec. 8, 2021
Teacher {update}
Portland friends, yes we teachers are struggling. An old colleague is on leave, considering making it permanent. A new colleague just stopped showing up to school. And our district is trying to pit parents against teachers as we try to be mindful, and trauma-informed about making a small shift in how our antiquated institution operates. Many of our students are asking for something less stressful at the moment. Our union is asking members for more feedback as we move forward in this bargaining session. Please listen to teachers and students. Thank you
Review This Article: Portland Teachers Negotiations with Portland Public Schools. Second picture says "PPS to teachers: Union proposal is wrong answer."
Teacher (update)
11:45 PM September 16, 2021
As a public school teacher, I am having a rough time. Week 3. I cried on my drive home. It was tech frustrations that put me over the edge, but other stresses eroded my ability to tolerate frustration. Students are generally being great with masking. But many of them are not ok. Some are hiding behind their hair. Some can't tolerate 90 minute classes right now. ("I feel like my face is peeling off" one student told me. "I'm losing my mind right now" another student told me.) Some are really shy and can't talk to peers. 10 of 30 were too shy to turn to the kid next to them and introduce themselves. Some are giggling and having fun. Teachers are stressed out. Some are so anxious about getting infected. Some get calls in the middle of the day about their kid having symptoms or the daycare closing tomorrow due to cases. Some who are normally great at self care and setting boundaries report they hate this job right now. There are not enough subs. We're pressured every day to cover for missing colleagues, and the woman who pressures us is stressed out by that part of her job. Education and school should be a place of HEALING as well as learning. But we're acting like we're just back to normal...??? We are doing harm; and we are ignoring the trauma that so many youth and teachers have experienced. Reminder: teachers are not trained in counseling. A couple of workshops in trauma-informed teaching does not make us into counselors. We need help. We need so much help.
Teacher is also a PPU Teacher advisor.
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Sept 21,2021
Teacher
My district has a mandatory mask mandate and purifiers in classrooms, but that’s about it for COVID safety. Kids are still catching and spreading it. Communication about positive cases to the community is delayed by days or non-existent all together. Wonder why parents are pulling kids and school employees quitting? Teacher is also a PPU Teacher Advisor.
Sept 21, 2021
Teacher
No Bus Drivers, Custodians, or Subs. What’s Really Behind Schools’ Staffing Shortages?
The public school system is imploding in front of our eyes.
“Wide-ranging data on staff shortages in schools are hard to come by remain elusive. The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly tracking of job openings in public education offers a clue, though: More than 446,000 jobs were open in June, and 460,000 in July, compared with less than half those figures at the same point last year. (The data include both K-12 and higher education jobs, but K-12 typically makes up roughly three-quarters of the overall numbers.)
Interviews with economists, administrators, and employees reveal a complex array of factors causing the school hiring headaches: Fears over health and safety, frustrations over longstanding pay gaps and inequities, and political disagreements over masks and vaccines. Some of these shortages are far more severe than usual.”
Teacher
Sep 24, 2021, 3:40 PM (20 hours ago)
Hello Ms. Sheila,
PPS is literally falling apart with a shortage of 100 subs just today, as an example. No press has written about that yet, but a group of us are about to suggest this topic to a journalist. Meanwhile, BESC administrators are trying very hard to put on the facade that things in the district are under control. As we know, not so. And even the press is catching on.
My youngest kid was just put into quarantine as a close contact of someone infected with COVID in his class. So, naturally I have to take time off from work to be with him and, not because the school requires us to, but out of abundance of caution, arrange a COVID test for the whole family.
A bunch of us educators did a die-in for COVID safety in front of the Governor’s house, and then again at the last School Board meeting. Yet, leaders persist with business as usual.
What a stressful mess!
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