On Monday, September 15, the Ithaca City School District communicated to all teachers that they are required to return to school to teach in-person on October 5th, allowing exemptions only to those who have (or are living with someone who has) a verifiable underlying medical condition that puts them at greater risk of harm from COVID-19. Those with childcare issues, and other exemptions will be decided on a case-by-case basis. This decision was made in tandem with the decision to transition the middle and high schools to a hybrid system starting on October 5th, abandoning the full in-person plan that the district had been formulating during the summer.
This decision by the Board of Education and the superintendent is a betrayal of trust for teachers, students, and their families. In the summer, the district provided teachers and students with the choice of returning to school either in-person or online. In August, only 32% of teachers district-wide chose to return to in-person teaching, while 56% of students chose to return, creating a large disparity in supply and demand for in-person learning that likely factored into the board’s decision to postpone the start of the school year and begin the school year online. Clearly, the district has not stayed true to their word on this matter, potentially putting hundreds of teachers and their families in danger that they would have chosen to avoid. Many fear that this move will push teachers crucial to the education of dozens of students to leave and, as a result, teachers will have to be replaced with underqualified substitutes for the remainder of this already challenging school year.
The district’s new move to a hybrid system is an astute one, as it reduces exposure to COVID-19 for both students and teachers. Nevertheless, until the risk of COVID-19 is shown to be minimal, the Tattler editorial board believes that all teachers should be afforded the choice of teaching in-person or online.