Today our Board of Education approved the district reopening plan. Despite many, many concerns brought forth by faculty and staff, we will be opening on a hybrid schedule. Teachers, those most vulnerable to COVID-19, will be exposed to their normal student load.

This is before any additional duties (schedule changes, like additional lunch periods, will result in more teacher duties) that could expose us to additional students not on our rosters.

I am lucky to work in a small school, but that still means interacting with (minimum) 100 kids. We will also be responsible for teaching the students in-person, those who are at home that day, and those who choose the remote-only option. Simultaneously. Each day.

Instead of buying new books for my classroom library, I am going to spend the next few weeks buying face masks, face shields, and a new wardrobe. Teachers across the country have been told we should probably wear scrub-like clothing, so my dry-clean-only work outfits are no good

My colleagues and I are also researching buying/building our own plexiglass barriers because districts can't afford to buy them.

I don't envy any administrator right now, because the state has made it very hard to stand up and be a leader in keeping school buildings closed. However, it's so disheartening to realize how expendable teachers are.

School districts have been told they must offer in-person learning while @GovMurphy and @NewJerseyDOE continue to ignore questions from teachers.

I can't eat inside a restaurant. @GovMurphy says people who throw parties are "knuckleheads". But for some reason, he's ok with schools reopening at full capacity in just a few weeks.

Sadly, some of the amazing teachers I know will be forced to leave teaching. I don't think the public realizes that the schools and teachers they left in March will look drastically different in September. In many cases, that difference will mean losing incredible teachers.

It will be nearly impossible to replace them, especially in the weeks before school starts. We already have a teacher shortage! But too many teachers live with high-risk individuals and can't risk bringing home the novel coronavirus.

All of the Facebook warriors who keep saying, "Quit if you don't want to go back into buildings!" are about to see what happens when some teachers listen.

What abt the teachers who don't have a choice + have to re-enter buildings? The stress/anxiety of monitoring mask usage,taking temps,arguing w/symptomatic students who refuse to see the nurse,monitoring social distancing, + cleaning will mean it's nearly impossible to teach well

Again, schools will look nothing like parents imagine. No group work, no science labs, no long conversations, no one-on-one conferences - we will be performing remote learning while sharing the same air space.

I love my job, my students, my school, + my district. But today is a hard day. I feel like teachers are being asked to enter a school after being told "There's a good chance a shooting will occur in your building today. We tried to stop it, but who knows if it worked."

Back to to add this: reopening in full/hybrid is asking BIPOC families and staff to take on a huge risk. This virus disproportionately impacts communities of color. https://mobile.twitter.com/triciaebarvia/status/1288844456871858176 https://twitter.com/triciaebarvia/status/1288844456871858176