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A window fan in a classroom at Nebinger elementary school. Such fans are being used for ventilation in 32 Philadelphia schools. (Dale Mezzacappa/Chalkbeat)
This story originally appeared on Chalkbeat Philadelphia.
Big cities across the nation, from Boston to New York to Chicago, have managed to hammer out differences between their school districts and teachers’ unions over the gradual reopening of schools.
In Philadelphia, not so much.
Here, school buildings have been closed for nearly a year. A mediation process between the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers and the district has dragged for weeks, delaying the district’s planned opening of schools for some prekindergarten through second grade students until March 1. Teachers refused to re-enter buildings on Feb. 8 to prepare, choosing to protest outside their schools instead.
Divides in parent opinion complicate school reopening push | News, Sports, Jobs
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Philadelphia postpones public school reopenings to March 1
The Pennsylvania Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee is holding a meeting at 7:30pm EST Thursday night, Feb. 18, to discuss the unfolding struggle in Philadelphia and mobilize opposition to the deadly reopening of schools. Register now and share this link with your coworkers to build the committee!
The School District of Philadelphia (SDP) announced yesterday it was pushing back its reopening of schools for in-person instruction from February 22 to March 1. The district had originally planned for a phased reopening to begin next Monday, beginning with 9,000 kindergarten through second grade students.
District Superintendent William Hite told a press conference, “I believe we all agree on reopening schools. The dispute has been how can we do that safely, and the district needs to address that.” Feigning concern for the mental and educational well-being of children, he continued, “our youngest students are falling