@MOREcaucusUFT Here’s yet another THREAD about how @NYCSchools reopening plan is UNSAFE and DANGEROUS. I tested + for COVID and I most likely got it inside of my school building. 1/21

On 1/12 I received my 1st dose of the COVID vaccine. It felt so surreal to be among some of the 1st people in New York to be eligible. Knowing that I work in person with students 3-4x a week, there was a sense of relief that I could be immune within the next 6-8 weeks. 2/21

I felt a sense of hope that I hadn’t felt since before COVID. This hope carried me through the past month as + rates soared, but, was sadly short lived. 3/21

Friday I taught in person and hours later my throat felt sore. A window was open, as it is every day to maintain "proper ventilation", so my first thought was the cold was drying out my throat. 4/21

But, I didn’t waste time. I told my principal and left school right away to get a COVID test. Low and behold, I received a + result at 9:45pm the next day. 5/21

I immediately let my students’ families know of my results. Next steps were for my principal and AP to call the situation room, which didn't open until 11am on Sunday, and wait for Test & Trace to call me. 6/21

I JUST received a call from Test & Trace 37 HOURS AFTER I learned of my + result. I made sure to let all close contacts know right away, not Test & Trace. There are too many cases for them to keep up with! This is NOT OKAY! 7/21

With this reopening plan, it has become normalized that staff and students will inevitably get sick, with no regard for our lives or the lives of our families. 8/21

The city’s plan was set up to fail from the very beginning. Since March I have been advocating to keep schools fully remote until: 9/21

1. ALL students and staff are tested weekly, not a “random sample” of 20%. COVID lived in my classroom undetected because of this plan. 10/21

2. #TaxTheRich and #DefundThePolice, use those funds to fully fund schools with counselors, social workers, and teachers. 11/21

3. AND allocate funds for long overdue ventilation upgrades. School members have been plagued by these faulty systems way before COVID. 12/21

4. All school staff has had the opportunity to be fully vaccinated before returning to in person learning. 13/21

The city continues to send school staff and students into unsafe conditions as rates rise rapidly. I’ve followed every safety guideline and still managed to contract COVID. No matter what protocols are put in place, it is still NOT SAFE! 14/21

The PPE provided by @NYCSchools is INADEQUATE. Just last week, I posted a video about ineffective PPE that schools are provided by the DOE. I had to change my surgical mask 3 times throughout the day because the 1st two broke! HOW IS THIS SAFE?! 15/21

How can we protect our students, staff, and communities when the DOE has forced us into such unsafe working conditions? 16/21

We need to #TaxTheRich. PERIOD. We need to #KeepSchoolsFullyRemote. PERIOD. We need to pay people to stay home. PERIOD. This is the only way to ensure schools have the resources they need while keeping EVERYONE safe. 17/21

It is unsafe to sit indoors with students who eat multiple times a day, no matter what protocols are followed. PERIOD. 18/21

This is completely unacceptable! All our time, money, and resources are being shoveled into the fire of this reopening plan all to appease affluent white families. Meanwhile 75% of students are fully remote! 19/21

This reopening plan was never meant to protect us, it was never meant to be safe. @UFT has failed us. @NYCMayor has failed us. @GovCuomo has failed us. 20/21

Our capitalist society has continued to demand profits over people. The system has failed us. 21/21