3 Million Strong The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest labor union and professional interest group in the United States and says âNo One Should Listen to Trump, DeVos on Reopening Schoolsâ! with Mary Kusler, Senior Director for Advocacy of the NEA
Trump let loose with a another of his flurry of hysterical tweets condemning CDC guidance on reopening schools and threatened to withhold funding to schools that donât reopen for fall, creating more panic for stressed families seeking leadership and assurances that their children can return to school safely during a deadly pandemic.
After Trump tweeted, âSCHOOLS MUST OPEN IN THE FALL!!!,â Eskelsen GarcÃa, president of NEA fired back, âYou forgot to add the word âSAFELY.ââ NEAâs president Lily Eskelsen GarcÃa says whatâs good for students and school staff has nothing to do with politics and the safety and well-being of the student and parents is exactly what is at stake.
Safety does not appear to be a top concern of the Trump administration, who claimed the CDC guidance was too ârestrictiveâ and too âexpensive.â The CDC refused to modify what its health experts recommend, and education organizations like NEA are committed to following the science behind their advice.
âThereâs no one that wants our kids back more than teachers ⦠but we want to open it safely,â Eskelsen GarcÃa said on CNNâs âNew Day.â âI had 39 sixth graders one year in my class. I double-dog dare Donald Trump to sit in a class of 39 sixth graders and breathe that air without any preparation for how weâre going to bring our kids back safely.â
But the real false choice, Eskelsen GarcÃa says, is what the Trump administration is pressuring parents to make. Choosing to prioritize the health of students and school staff is not a choice to prolong mental and economic distress, as the administration suggests. âNone of us should accept the false choice,â Eskelsen GarcÃa said. âThere are ways to mitigate the risk. It will be costly but itâs worth every dime. We will not open an unsafe school. Nothing else is acceptable.â
Also missing from the Trump administrationâs demand for reopening is any mention of the longstanding, vast inequities COVID-19 exposed. Black and Latino families are three times more likely to be affected by the virus and two times more likely to die. There is also a disparate economic impact with more people of color losing their jobs or housing due to the pandemic. And then there is the educational impact. Lower-income kids canât participate in distance learning if they canât access the internet or have no device. Even if they do, many have working parents who were unavailable to support them during online learning.
To address inequities as well as safety concerns Eskelsen GarcÃa says, we need a robust response, which is included in the HEROES Act (Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions), passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, and now sits in the U.S. Senate. Money from the roughly $3 trillion House coronavirus bill must go directly to local and state governments and school districts.
produced by Mimi Rosenberg and Ken Nash
please notify us if you plan to broadcast this radio program - knash@igc.org
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