Print this article
In a surprise move, the head of the American Federation of Teachers will call on public schools that were closed during the pandemic to be open in the fall.
“There is no doubt: Schools must be open. In person. Five days a week, AFT President Randi Weingarten will say in a speech on Thursday, according to the
New York Times.
Currently, about half of the public schools in the United States do not offer in-person learning five days a week.
“The United States will not be fully back until we are fully back in school. And my union is all in,” Weingarten is expected to say. She is also expected to acknowledge that long-term isolation is harmful for students and that online instruction hurts learning.
American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., November 1, 2017.
(Aaron P. Bernstein/Reuters)
American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten abandoned her opposition to full school reopening on Thursday, delivering a speech in which she called for schools nation-wide to return to the pre-pandemic education model.
“Schools must be open. In person. Five days a week” this fall, said Weingarten, whose teacher’s union influenced language used in the CDC’s February guidelines on reopening schools to allow more room for teachers to choose to stay home.
Advertisement
“The United States will not be fully back until we are fully back in school. And my union is all in,” Weingarten said in speech, adding that the AFT would commit $5 million for a confidence-boosting campaign to help get families to commit to a return to school.
CDC Eases Mask Rules; NYC Offers Burgers for Shots: Virus Update
Bloomberg 1 hr ago Bloomberg News
(Bloomberg) President Joe Biden’s administration took its biggest step yet toward declaring victory over the coronavirus pandemic announcing that fully vaccinated Americans can ditch their masks in most settings, even indoors or in large groups. Masks are still required on buses, trains and other forms of public transportation, as well as airports.
Popular Searches
To drive vaccinations, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio is offering vouchers for a Shake Shack burger or sandwich for residents who got their shots, while Six Flags Entertainment Corp. will give away 50,000 tickets to its Illinois theme parks to newly vaccinated residents in the state.
Will the last man or woman at the CDC please turn out the lights? This is just getting embarrassing. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky defended the agency’s Covid-19 mask guidance policies amid widespread criticism from lawmakers and health officials. “These issues are complex, the science is evolving, the science is moving, and we are following the science each and every day and our guidance is evolving as the science evolves,” said Walensky during a Wednesday interview on CNBC’s “The News with Shepard Smith.” The science seems to be evolving every 5 minutes. Walensky knows better. She s not following the science because a method of testing hypotheses is not something you follow around. The CDC is following assorted special interest groups, from the American Federation of Teachers to whoever lobbied Biden on this last. And she s following whatever the CDC considers a public safety agenda
Teachers union president calls for full reopening of schools in fall By Grace Segers Expert weighs in on wearing masks outdoors
Washington The president of the the second largest teachers union in the country called for a fully reopening of schools in the fall, saying in a speech on Thursday that the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) is all in on returning to full in-person learning.
The remarks by Randi Weingarten come as some school districts remain hesitant to reopen, despite guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicating that it is safe to do so. The United States will not be fully back, until we are fully back in school. And my union is all in, Weingarten said in a virtual address, announcing that the AFT would dedicate $5 million in a campaign to support reopening. She said that the pandemic had not only shown that in-person learning is how kids learn best and that prolonged isolation is harmful, but also u