Union Says Opening Plan 'Chaotic Nightmare' As APS Stays Course

ARLINGTON, MA — The Arlington School Committee voted 5-2 Monday to stay the course and reopen with a hybrid plan. School Committee member Bill Hayner, who originally voted for the hybrid model in August, joined Paul Schlichtman in voting for remote learning this time around.

Meanwhile, the union representing Arlington teachers blasted the hybrid plan as a "chaotic nightmare."

"If a schedule is wrong, we can't just move a student to another class – there are hard limits on class size," Arlington Education Association President Julianna Keyes told the School Committee Monday. "If there's no one to cover a prep period, you can't just ask someone to step in without breaking the cohort. We can't combine classes with a substitute when teachers are out sick. We simply can't fix systematic failures this year the way we have in the past."

The union said it surveyed members and found that over 80 percent of the approximately 420 responses were against returning to school with the current hybrid schedule, and felt that the schedule was not conducive to providing a high quality education. About 90 percent of the people surveyed said they would support starting the year remotely while the district worked improved its hybrid plan.

"I hope you can see how strong the opposition is to the hybrid plans among staff," Keyes said. "If you move forward with these schedules and plans, you are doing so without the support of the educators in the district."

The union has long been vocal in its opposition to starting the year with a hybrid model. Keyes blasted school officials as "not listening" and putting the priority on reopening buildings instead of providing the best education.

"We are telling you, as loudly and clearly as possible, that the educational and emotional cost of these hybrid plans is too high for our students," Keyes said.

Teachers reported for their first professional development day Wednesday. Read Keyes's full statement here.