LITTLE ROCK EDUCATION ASSOCIATION LREA EDUCATORS REQUIRE SAFE SCHOOLS OR NO SCHOOL FOR EDUCATORS AND STUDENTS. The Little Rock Education Association (LREA) educators, both certified and classified, of the Little Rock ‘School District (LRSO) refuse to be complicit with the Governor and Education Secretary (LRSD School Board) in putting our students and ourselves in danger of the harmful effects to our health and/or possible death from the global COVID-19 pandemic. Although the Governor and Education Secretary (LRSD Schoo! Board) repeatedly state that these are local decisions, evidence supports the fact that directives are coming from the state leadership and restrictions on decision-making are being placed on local Superintendents. Specifically, in the case of the Little Rock School District, the Secretary serves as ‘our de facto Schoo! Board and our Superintendent is appointed by him. Mounting evidence indicates that Arkansas is a “red zone” and that the potential for exposure has increased exponentially within our state. Scientists do not yet know the long term implications of contraction of this virus for our students, but we do know that adults are dying from it (357 deaths in ‘AR, 143,537 deaths in US). Our student population in Little Rock is at high risk for contraction of the virus and for harmful and even deadly complications due to higher incidences of asthma, sickle cell disease, and other immune-compromising illnesses. Our student population is at high risk for not having ‘access to immediate medical care due to high poverty, immigration status, and other restrictive issues. ‘Our educators are at high risk for contraction of the virus due to the age of our educators and the number of educators in our district with other health conditions that make them more susceptible to contraction of the virus due to being immune-compromised. We, the educators, must ensure that our students and our educators are not put into harmful situations which may compromise their health and ‘well-being. Itis our duty to protect our students, our educators, our communities, and our public schools and we commit to that responsibility. We fully expect that the governing powers will reconsider their previous decision and make a responsible and thoughtful decision based on scientific evidence to move to a phased-in approach for a return to learning for the 2020-2021 school year. Other states have already moved to a phased-in approach which includes returning to school in a virtual learning environment and phasing-in to a face- to-face environment slowly based upon the scientific data on COVID-19 that is available. We offer the following as a baseline for a phased-in return to learning. ‘The educators of the Little Rock Education Association suggest the following phases for a safe return to instruction: + Phase 1-Full Remote Learning-Virtual Professional Development for all educators in the new. delivery system for online instruction, safety protocols for a return to in-person instruction, and requirements for online delivery of instruction in the first two weeks of the school calender. Students will be issued remote learning equipment. All educators-certified and classified will receive training in the following: job responsibilities during this phase, cultural responsiveness, social emotional support, disinfection protocol, protocol for reporting positive cases, health and safety plans, and the correct use of provided Professional Protection Equipment (PPE). Meal delivery will continue to students. All teaching and learning will be conducted virtually with no students in buildings. All meetings will be conducted virtually to minimize risk of exposure. Phase 2-Hybrid Learning-Modified Schedule for students with social distancing protocols and PPE in place in every setting in which students and educators will be located. All requirements * 708 West Second Street + Suite 110 + Little Rock, AR 72201 + 501-372-3519 AEA/NEA Affiliate <=.for disinfection shall be in place. This Phase will only be implemented once the total number of COVID-19 cases, in Arkansas and specifically in Pulaski County, has been in a decline for 14 consecutive days and Arkansas is no longer classified as a “red zone” state. Students will attend in school instruction two days per week and the other three days will be virtual instruction. Educators will return to classrooms and conduct in person learning on a rotating schedule. Students learning remotely will participate in learning via webcam on Zoom or another platform simultaneously with the students on campus. Students and educators, especially overcrowded schools and elementary schools, may be temporarily housed in vacated district buildings or buildings with underutilized space to facilitate social distancing requirements. Phase 3-In Person Instruction-All students will return to learning on campus. This phase will be implemented only when the total number of COVID-19 cases has dropped to below 50 cases per day statewide. Social distancing protocols and PPE will stil be required based on recommendations from the CDC and the Arkansas Department of Health. A virtual option will still be offered for students with compromised immune systems and/or at the parent’s request. Numerous large, urban districts have already issued directives to move to this phased-in approach to the 2020-2021 school year. As of this writing, they include: Los Angeles, CA; San Francisco, CA; San Diego, CA; Oakland, CA; Philadelphia, PA; Nashville, TN; Miami, FL; Houston, TX; San Antonio, TX; Atlanta, GA; New York City, NY; Arlington, VA; Richmond, VA; and Milwaukee, WI, Each city has fully developed plans for a phased-in return to learning that puts their students and their educators first and that could be easily adapted for use in Little Rock and throughout Arkansas. We ask that Arkansas leadership make ‘the morally correct choice for our students and educators. Our educators stand ready and willing to assist with the full development of a phased-in plan for learning and look forward to a response from the Governor and the Education Secretary (LRSD School Board) Sincerely, ‘Teresa Knapp Gordon, President Little Rock Education Association