Educators On the Front Line Of COVID-19 by Susan DuFresne

#COVID19 is a local, state and national union safety issue. We are #EducatorsOnTheFrontline.

I am a kindergarten teacher in the the Renton School District. Washington State is ground zero for the U.S. #COVID19 outbreak. We have experienced the first deaths in our state and rapid spreading of this virus. The first school closing in the U.S. was Hazen HS in my district. Hazen remains closed today and more schools across the state have closed, but policies are inconsistent and communication is creating cognitive dissonance as educators are being tasked with caring for the community while not necessarily being part of the decision making process or being considered for their own health needs. [link Wall Street Journal article https://www.google.com/…/coronavirus-spreads-world-wide-con… ]

So what is the plan and how do these plans reach educators and families? Is there an over-reaction? Is talking about it causing panic and fear mongering? Is the morbidity rate really that much higher than the flu? Are we testing students and educators? Do we have “an abundance of caution” for children and educators? Insert Link: https://www.google.com/…/an-abundance-of-caution-a…/%3famp=1

I think fear mongering comes more often from a lack of information than from transparency and almost what I would call “over-communication”.

Also, while I definitely am concerned about parents who have to work and children needing child care and food, I don’t believe educators should be dehumanized and set up as expected to take care of the community without the community taking care of us.

We have educators in the high risk factor groups, but the community is expecting us to take more risks than much of the rest of the community because “not having school would be disruptive”.

One custodian said, “We’re like sacrificial lambs out here. Keep pushing!”

I believe we can have both with a clear plan. They [Dept of Health, admin, state, union] need to involve educators and nurses in coming up with that plan - not just telling us to show up to work regardless of our own health risks.

And I don’t believe we should have to dip into our sick leave to do it.

If we get real scientific communication and are involved in creating a plan for and with the community, we can ease much of the anxiety.

And kids need counselors coming in now... they have anxiety about this. As do educators... five year olds are talking about the death toll of #COVID19.

We had a Q & A with our school nurse and our principal Thursday, 3-5-20. The section under Background Information below explains the rationale from the King Cty Health Dept on school closures [not recommended] and re: schools not being included in the category of “large groups”. My point at the meeting was clear: Educators are people first - not merely a “public service”.

🦠 King County Health places pregnant women in the high risk category. [Pregnant educators are pregnant women.]

🦠 And people over 60. [ I make the point again - that educators are people too. ]

🦠 And those with certain health conditions, etc. [You get the idea.]

I am going to say this out loud. It is a huge assumption that kids will go to the mall, hang out in public places, etc. [see background information] We don’t need to infantilize those of us as students and educators while we give Amazon and Microsoft the advice to stay home, assuming THEY aren’t hanging out at the mall. If the Health Dept asks us to stay home unless going out is absolutely necessary, and WHY - I believe many would listen to protect our community.

I also feel that educators are in some ways being asked to provide yet another unsafe layer of service to the public... somewhat like gun law safety issues.

Examples:

🦠 Firefighters were isolated when they were exposed to the virus. Educators at Hazen HS were not.

🦠 It is recommended that people over 60 are to stay home, but educators are to report to school to “serve the community”?

We also asked for daily communication and updates for staff and parents/families from the district to ease anxiety.

Background Information from Washington State - King County Health Department:

March 5 Press Release on #COVID19 - excerpt from King County Health Officials:

“Public Health urges residents to follow these recommendations:

People at higher risk of severe illness should stay home and away from large groups of people as much as possible, including public places with lots of people and large gatherings where there will be close contact with others.

People at higher risk include:
🦠 People 60 and older
🦠 People with underlying health conditions including heart disease, lung disease, or diabetes
🦠 People who have weakened immune systems
🦠 People who are pregnant

Workplaces should enact measures that allow people who can work from home to do so. Taking these measures can help reduce the number of workers who come into contact with people with COVID-19 and help minimize absenteeism due to illness.

Some people need to be at work to provide essential services of great benefit to the community. They can also take steps in their workplaces to minimize risk.

If you can feasibly avoid bringing large groups of people together, consider postponing events and gatherings.

Public Health is not recommending closing schools at this time unless there has been a confirmed case in the school.

All people should not go out when they are sick.

Avoid visiting hospitals, long term care facilities, or nursing homes to the extent possible.

If you need to go, limit your time there and keep six feet away from patients.

More detail on these measures will be available at www.kingcounty.gov/covid

Additional information about school recommendations:

Public Health is not currently recommending that schools proactively close unless they have a confirmed case of COVID-19 in a staff member or student.

This guidance may have been confusing for some families and schools because schools bring together large groups of children. School closures have significant negative impacts on our community.

We will be providing additional information to schools about how to stay open safely. The considerations we have taken in our decision not to currently recommend routine closure at schools include:

Children are not known to get seriously ill from COVID-19

Closing schools may not be effective because some children may congregate anyway, at other locations.

Many parents, such as healthcare workers, need to be at work. If these critical workers stay home with children it causes significant impacts on the healthcare system and other institutions that are essential for our community to function.

If schools close, some children might have to stay home with alternative caregivers, such as elders, who are more vulnerable.

We don't know how effective children are in spreading this disease.

Some children and staff may be at higher risk for severe illness because of underlying health conditions or a weakened immune system.

Public Health advises that those people consult with their healthcare provider to decide the best course of action.

Public Health also respects each individual school's decisions about closures, postponement of activities, or other social distancing measures – as each school knows the needs of their community best.

Public Health is continually assessing our decision not to require the widespread closure of schools. We are continually evaluating information as it becomes available to better inform our decisions about proactive schools closure.”

We are the union. We need to demand several seats at the table discussing how to deal with any pandemic-type issues without top-down dehumanizing decisions being made for us, without us being a part of these decisions that impact our own health and safety.

This is a local, state and national union issue and I encourage our union leaders to reach out to rank and file members to protect our safety as well as the safety of our students, families and community.

We need action to protect educators who are at risk on the frontline now.

KINGCOUNTY.GOV

COVID-19 update from Public Health – Seattle & King County - King County

COVID-19 update from Public Health – Seattle & King County March 5, 2020 Summary This is a critical moment in the growing outbreak of COVID-19 in King County. All King County residents should follow Public…

https://www.rentonreporter.com/news/covid-19-in-renton-what-you-need-to-know/?fbclid=IwAR1IdOHjSvWzQuEw670ZkhysB4TvkOdAk8WuQc2n85zf5kIH5jlxezZYMJM

Michael FlanaganMarch 6, 2020