Every 90 minutes a person in this country is diagnosed with ALS and every 90 minutes another person will lose their battle against this disease. ALS occurs throughout the world with no racial, ethnic, or socioeconomic boundaries. 

Please consider supporting former colleague and BTA member Dave Bloom as he and his team participate on October 16, 2022 in the Walk to Defeat ALS Hudson Valley

ALBANY, N.Y. Nov. 9, 2020 — New York State United Teachers today launched NYSUTCovidTracker.org, a new website designed to help track coronavirus-related health and safety concerns in schools across the state.  
As COVID-19 cases rise across the country and in some parts of New York, the website is intended to crowdsource reports of health and safety violations and concerns identified by school staff members, parents and community members. It includes a mapping tool that shows district-by-district information reported to NYSUT to help community members easily identify the issues in their region. 
“A consistent flow of information about the safety of our schools is critical for educators, students and families, and this website is designed to help us all stay vigilant as the school year rolls on,” NYSUT President Andy Pallotta said. “Though we know some districts are working closely with their staffs to put health and safety first, problems still exist around the state. By empowering educators and community members to report their concerns, it’s our hope that we can elevate the voices of those who otherwise may go unheard.” 
As the winter months near, capturing the concerns of union members across New York about issues like insufficient ventilation, mask policies, and cleaning and disinfecting protocols is critical. With some districts shifting reopening strategies and others dealing with outbreaks in their communities, NYSUT believes these issues must be brought to the fore so more informed decisions can be made through public input. 
“Communities should receive not only real-time COVID-19 infection data, but also a fuller picture of the issues educators are raising with their administrators,” Pallotta said. “We must continue to err on the side of caution. Identifying hot spots can help us do so.” 
-NYSUT.ORG

An open letter to the school communities in Westchester, Putnam, Orange and Rockland Counties from the leadership of teacher and staff unions: 

We feel compelled to write to you in a shared voice, as there are universal elements to our concerns about re-entry into the schools this September.  It is important to note that this is a discussion about re-entry, not reopening.  The education of children is, and has always been, our top concern.  One truth that cannot be ignored as a necessary precursor to any successful model of instruction is a safe learning space.  Though we will open this September for instruction, the only question is the modality of that instruction.

All districts in New York were required to create a re-entry plan that addressed three options: full virtual, hybrid, and full in-person instruction.  The hybrid model is the most popular one for re-entry this September, but it poses significant risks.  The hybrid model requirement gained traction in the state early on, but unfortunately, most of what we have recently learned about Covid-19 and children calls the safety of this model into question. These risks are not a reflection of inadequate efforts by any one district or administrative team in protecting the children and staff in their schools.  Rather, they are inherent inadequacies when a system designed around instructing students is tasked with creating learning environments that will protect children and teachers during a viral pandemic.  Additionally, there has been a failure in state and federal governments to ensure that adequate testing, PPE, and HVAC filtration systems are readily available. The requirements for the district plans were provided by the Governor’s office and the State Education Department in the middle of July and they were to be completed by July 31.  The Governor even added new testing and contact tracing requirements in the first week of August.  

To create truly safe reentry plans districts would require more time, direction, and resources. It is telling that neither the state nor federal governments have provided additional resources to help ensure a safe re-entry.  Districts have been on their own.  

Educators approach every task with a “can do” attitude.  Throughout the months of July and August, teams in each district leaned in and got the job done.  The plans were made and it is truly impressive work.  The problem, however, is that they are plans to meet government requirements for safety; they are not necessarily plans to make the schools as safe as they can be.  The limits of these plans could be seen close to home this summer when the Greenburgh-North Castle school experienced an outbreak of Covid 19, despite meeting or exceeding all Department of Health guidelines and having a very small student population. As anyone with any experience planning school events can attest, even the best plans on paper never match what happens once actual students are brought in.  Every plan assumes a well-behaved student body that will follow all directives and maintain masks and social distancing, even during hall passing.  Plans assume we will be able to hire enough leave replacements, substitutes, and monitors to supervise students in the next three weeks.  This will not occur.  When schools reopen with the potential of being understaffed, it will make an already unsafe situation even worse.  

In every survey conducted about reentry, the most important condition people have is that the schools be safe.  The phrase “Maslow before Bloom” is never more applicable than the current situation.  It is irrational to expect students will be able to learn in any reasonable manner, when their teachers and classrooms are constantly conveying the need for vigilance in mask- wearing and social distancing.  The constant need for vigilance cannot help but be internalized as fear and anxiety.  At best, schools will be more similar to a well-meaning prison than an actual rich learning environment where thoughts can be shared and joy can be expressed. 

Before we can return to schools we must be sure that every reasonable precaution has been met in order for schools to be safe.  The goal cannot be to just mitigate risk, but to create the safest possible learning environment.  Many of these requirements go well beyond the capability of an individual school district and require action at the state or federal level.  We may feel powerless to secure what is necessary; that, however, does not change the reality of its necessity. 

To ensure that in-person instruction begins safely, every school district should be putting into place the following measures that create the highest health and safety standards for our students, teachers and staff:

• All building-wide HVAC systems must be upgraded to a minimum of MERV-13 filtration, and if existing systems cannot be upgraded, portable units with HEPA filtration must be available for all indoor spaces.
  
• There must be uniform standards for COVID testing that help monitor asymptomatic spread. COVID testing must provide accurate and reliable results within 24 hours in order to monitor asymptomatic spread. The current wait time can be as high as 12 days, which is not adequate to help prevent the spread of COVID by asymptomatic individuals infected with COVID in our schools.
  
• Supply lines for PPE must be prioritized to deliver all necessary PPE to schools in a timely fashion. All schools must have an adequate supply of PPE at all times, including enhanced PPE for students and employees who require it.
  
• School districts must be able to guarantee that there is sufficient staff to supervise students, and provide instruction, even as individual staff members are absent for illness or quarantine, child-care, or personal leaves.
  
• There must be a 100% virtual option for teachers and students that are medically compromised.
  
• Plans should require a minimum 14-day shutdown once closed for Covid 19 issues.
  
  
  

Last year was the most challenging instructional year any teacher experienced.  There is no teacher who looks forward to beginning the year using remote instruction. Everything about teaching virtually is more complicated.  For educators, their classroom is their space.  It is where they conjure children’s dreams and give them the tools to fulfill them.  Computers are sterile imposters that rob the experience of the richness of our relationships with our students.  Educators and students need to not only feel safe, but must actually be safe in their working and learning environments.  Districts need to strive to meet these expectations.  There is too much at stake to fall short of the safest possible model. 


Additional Resources:
Hybrid Model Risks
https://www.wired.com/story/hybrid-schooling-is-the-most-dangerous-option-of-all/

Testing: https://covidstates.net/COVID19%20CONSORTIUM%20REPORT%208%20TEST%20JULY%202020.pdf

HVAC: 
https://www.ashrae.org/file%20library/technical%20resources/covid-19/ashrae-reopening-schools.pdf
​
New Information on Children and Covid 19
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/what-scientists-know-about-how-children-spread-covid-19-180975396/
https://www.lohud.com/story/opinion/2020/08/12/westchester-doctor-school-chronic-illness/3331348001/
https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/12/health/covid-kids-school-gupta-essay/index.html
https://www.lohud.com/story/news/education/2020/07/29/greenburgh-north-castle-summer-school-coronavirus/5530181002/
Cosigning Presidents   

Marcia Heffler                    Dobbs Ferry United Teachers
          
Edward Caperna                    USWOM

Michael Lillis                          Lakeland Federation of Teachers

Nate Morgan                          Hastings Teachers Association

Vanessa Vaccaro                   Ossining Teachers Association 

Tom McMahon                       Mahopac Teachers’ Association

Jennifer Maldonado             Hendrick Hudson Education Association

Elisa Rosen                             Hendrick Hudson Education Association

David Wixted                         Scarsdale Teachers Association

Anthony Nicodemo             Greenburgh North Castle United Teachers

Mary Claire Breslin               New Rochelle Federation of United School Employees

Samantha Rosado-Ciriello    Yonkers Federation of Teachers

Brenda O’Shea                          Somers Faculty Association

Andrea McCue                         Haldane Faculty Association 

James Groven                           Irvington Faculty Association

Judith A. Kelly                        Teachers’ Association of the Tarrytowns 

Chris Tyler                              Harrison Association of Teachers

Jeanne Whelan                      Tuckahoe Teachers’ Association

Roseanna Cutietta                Hawthorne Cedar Knolls Federation of Teachers

Rick Tivnan                            Brewster Teachers' Association 

Carene Domato                     Mt. Vernon Federation of Teachers

Melissa Barreto                   BOCES Teachers’ Association

Jeff Yonkers                         NYSUT ED 16 Director

Sean Kennedy                    Yorktown Congress of Teachers

Lisa Jackson                         Carmel Teachers’ Association

Janet Knight                       Mamaroneck Teachers’ Association

José Fernandez                  Peekskill Faculty Association

Amy Geiger                         Katonah-Lewisboro District Teachers’ Association

Kathleen Fox                     Edgemont Teachers’ Association

Miriam Longobardi           Chappaqua Congress of Teachers

Jennifer Cole                       Greenburgh Eleven Federation of Teachers

Jim Nolan                             Mount Pleasant Cottage School Teachers Association

Kara McCormick-Lyons    White Plains Teachers’ Association

Alyson Tina                           Ardsley Congress of Teachers

Ryan Odell                             Putnam Valley Federation of Teachers

Catherine Armisto                United Staff Association (PNW BOCES)

Vincent Kennedy                  Katonah-Lewisboro Support Staff Association

Jennifer Moore                    Croton Teachers’ Association

Melinda Merkel                   Rye Neck Teachers’ Association

Jim Agnello                          Bronxville Teachers’ Association

Kevin Budzynski                 Elmsford Teachers Association

Clare Delongchamp           Eastchester Teachers’ Association

Vanessa Van Deusen          Graham School Federation of Teachers 

Brenda Wright                    Cornwall Teachers' Association

Virginia Campbell               Mount Pleasant Teachers Association

Michael Groarke                  Bedford Teachers’ Association

Sparrow Tobin                    Board of Directors NYSUT ED14

Laura Beck                          Orange-Ulster BOCES Teachers Association 

Ray Hodges                        Monroe-Woodbury Teachers Association

Theresa Uhelsky              Minisink Valley Teachers Association

Jon Wedvik                          Clarkstown Teachers Association