On Friday,
February
5, VEA President Dr.
James J. Fedderman issued the following s t
a t e m e n t a f t e r
Governor
Northam’s
briefing:
D u r i n g a g l ob a l
pandemic
that
has cost
more than 450,000
American lives, hugely damaged our economy, and forever changed life as we know it, public school educators have been nothing short of astounding. Whether suddenly thrust into v i r t u a l t e a c h i n g , delivering meals, using mobile hotspots to expand internet access, or just maintaining contact with students and families, educators have kept learning alive and our young people moving forward under c h a l l e n g i n g circumstances. Our schools never closed — o n l y o u r s c h o o l buildings did.
No one wants to be back in those buildings more than
we
do. We know that in-person
instruction
is the goal, and we believe
that
we are getting closer to being able
to do that
every day. However, the
best way to move ahead
is not to set
an arbitrary date.
Instead, we must
keep our focus on
ensuring that all school
staff members
have the opportunity to be
vaccinated and that
all n e c
e s s a r y s a f e t y p r
e c a u t i o n s
a n d mitigation measures
are in place, along with the
resources
to sustain
them.
Rushing the process and
exposing
our educators and students
to risks
we’ve
been warned against even for Super Bowl parties is not our
best
strategy.
Our schools have always offered summer learning options to reinforce and enrich i n s t r u c t i o n . A n e xp an ded summ e r program, staffed by educators who choose to participate and are paid for their work, will help students and f a m i l i e s c o u n t e r p ot e n t i a l l e a r n i n g losses. And those losses, along with the ways to address them, are best d e t e r m i n e d b y e d u c a t o r s w i t h instructional goals, not politicians with political ones.
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