LOS ANGELES – Saving the Los Angeles school year has become a race against the clock as campuses are unlikely to reopen until teachers are vaccinated against Covid-19 and infection rates decline at least three-fold, officials said Monday.
The urgency to salvage the semester in L.A. and throughout
27 Jan 2021
In a piece published at education site The 74 on the day of Biden’s inauguration, Mike Antonucci observed while teachers’ unions were continuing the narrative that “no one wants to reopen schools more than educators,” they “keep moving the goalposts.”
No one wants to reopen schools more than educators.
We love our students, our schools, our communities, and that is why the health and safety of our students, families and educators must be the primary driver of when it is safe for in-person instruction. https://t.co/iQVsACaYR2
“[F]or something that they say they want more than anyone, unions seem very committed to stalling for as long as possible,” he wrote. “’Not until it’s safe’ makes a good hashtag, but what do the unions consider to be safe? That’s where things get complicated and vague.”
Biden is aggressively pursuing school reopenings in coordination with Democratic politicians and the teachers unions, as opposition among rank-and-file educators mounts to this homicidal policy.
Saving the Los Angeles school year has become a race against the clock as campuses are unlikely to reopen until teachers are vaccinated against COVID-19 and infection rates decline at least three-fold, officials said Monday.
The urgency to salvage the semester in L.A. and throughout the state was underscored by new research showing the depth of student learning loss and by frustrated parents who organized statewide to pressure officials to bring back in-person instruction.
A rapid series of developments Monday involving the governor, L.A. Unified School District, the teachers union and the county health department foreshadowed the uncertainties that will play out in the high-stakes weeks ahead for millions of California students.
Reopening Los Angeles campuses for students in kindergarten through 12th grade will require the vaccination of teachers and other staff, says L.A. schools Supt. Austin Beutner. The teachers union is going a step further, saying vaccinations alone would not be enough to operate schools safely until the community spread of COVID-19 is brought down.
Their stances throw into question whether schools will be able to reopen this academic year as there is currently no firm date for inoculating teachers. In parts of the state, including Los Angeles, dissatisfied parents are ramping up efforts to pressure campuses to reopen more quickly.