This article is one of a series of articles produced by Word in Black through support provided by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Word In Black is a collaborative of 10 Black-owned media outlets across the country.
By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium
The 2022-23 school year is on the verge of being underway and due to the ongoing health concerns of COVID-19, Monkeypox and other safety concerns, many parents are bracing themselves for what could be another unpredictable school year.
While Seattle Public Schools (SPS) and other surrounding school districts assure parents that they are utilizing all available resources to keep children safe, many parents have concerns about classroom sizes, teacher shortages and how classes will be taught going into a third year under the auspice of COVID.
Jamila Smith Merritt, whose daughter is eagerly anticipating school this fall, is hopeful that her daughter will do all that she can to protect herself as students return to school next week.
“I am more worried about the things that I can control on my end,” says Smith Merritt. “So, making sure she is good about wearing her mask indoors and outdoors. But I am confident her school is prepared, but of course as a parent worry is a part of the job. Her school does do testing every so often.”
According to data from the SPS COVID dashboard, as of March 31, 2022, 83 percent of SPS students have had at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 79 percent of students have had two. The highest vaccination rate in schools is 95 percent, while the lowest is 25 percent. Of 106 schools, 93 have greater than 50 percent vaccination rate and 13 schools have less than 50 percent.”
SPS says that it will continue to monitor confirmed cases and case counts and will make decisions about schools on an ongoing basis.
To that end, SPS has implemented a continuity of operations plan which identifies several interrelated factors that inform the decision to move a classroom or a school building to remote instruction.
These indicators, according to school district officials, are student absenteeism due to COVID, staff absences, substitute teacher availability, school leader coverage and operations support in transportation, custodial and culinary services.
Smith Merritt says that her daughter’s school has taken some unique solutions and applied them to their learning system such as outdoor classes.
“When it comes to classes, they don’t do virtual classes any longer, but they have both outdoor and indoor classes and the classes are relatively small to help mitigate [the spread of COVID],” says Smith Merritt.
Many parents have also raised questions about how decisions are made about in-person or remote learning, and how school closures made.
According to SPS officials, when there is significant community transmission the superintendent’s senior staff will meet and review the data, they will then engage with school leaders, and develop recommendations to share with the parents and the community. In the event SPS does close a school(s), the district will provide a letter to families with information about schedules, lunch pick up and any related activities. The letter will also give parents clear information about how to connect to the learning platform your child’s classroom is using.
Christine Young, an educator and parent, has concerns about the mental health of teachers and its affect on the classroom, given the enormous burden that has been placed on them to not only protect students during another school year dealing with COVID, but to also continue educating students at a high level.
“I have concerns about the mental health of the educators that are teaching our children,” says Young. “I have gone to the school district and had meetings with administrators about my complaints, about teachers who have verbally abused students and quite frankly nothing has been addressed.”
“I really don’t know which way to go,” says Young. “When I meet someone on a professional level, they may be having problems in their own lives. So, my concerns have been falling on deaf ears, they are just not listening.”
The new school year is upon us, and parents are preparing as best they can with the resources available to them. Most believe that in relations to when the pandemic began in 2020, most school districts have adapted adequately and doing all that they can to make sure students are safe and well cared for while under the tutelage of teachers.
“No, this is not easy,” says Young. “As an educator I recognize the challenges and as a parent I must be prepared and patient when it comes to expectations of a school system and diligent when it comes to keeping my child safe in this environment, we find ourselves in.”
