'Disposable Babysitters': Teaching In The Time Of A Pandemic
IREDELL COUNTY, NC — The coronavirus pandemic has forced a lot of changes recently, including new thoughts of ending a long career for one local teacher.
"The current situation has me looking for the door. If I could afford to retire now, I would," said a teacher at an Iredell-Statesville school with more than 20 years of experience. The teacher spoke to Patch on condition of anonymity in order to speak freely about conditions in their school.
"I feel that we are being put at risk and no one cares."
Decisions to reopen schools have left teachers in the dark about pivotal information about the spread of coronavirus in their schools, and their proximity to risk — including whether their students test positive or are in quarantine, the teacher said.
"I have two major preconditions (diabetes and hypertension) and both members of my immediate family are elderly or immunocompromised," said the teacher, "If my 80-year-old mother gets even a whiff of COVID, it will kill her."
Balancing The Risk
School districts around the country continue to grapple with the pressures of balancing the need for child development alongside the risk of potential community spread of coronavirus. In North Carolina, school districts have options, including remote and hybrid instruction. Earlier this month, the state opened the door for full in-person class instruction for K-5 grades with protocols in place, such as face coverings, social distancing and symptom screening.
Just how pivotal school reopenings are when it comes to community spread of the virus remains a topic of debate.
Three recent studies, one of which conducted in the U.S., show no consistent link between in-person school instruction and coronavirus spread in a community, NPR reported Wednesday. A study in Utah, where systematic data collection at the school level is underway, found that schools aren't becoming super-spreader sites.
"Where you see cases on the rise in a neighborhood, in a county, we see that tend to be reflected in a school," Utah's State Superintendent of Public Instruction Sydnee Dickson told NPR. "[But] we're not seeing spread by virtue of being in school together."
North Carolina public health officials contend the risk of spread is reduced around younger children, however cases continue to emerge in schools across the state. In North Carolina, information about COVID-19 positivity in K-12 schools is largely reported piecemeal until the number of cases reaches the critical mass of becoming a "cluster," which triggers tracking by state officials on the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services' Dashboard.
DHHS defines a cluster as five or more lab-confirmed cases that are linked. As of Oct. 22, there were 23 COVID-19 clusters reported in K-12 schools in North Carolina involving at least 295 positive cases.
In Iredell County, where there are officially no K-12 school clusters, positive COVID-19 cases have had a major impact on students and teachers in the first nine weeks of this school year.
Disruptions began on the first day of school for Iredell-Statesville Schools, when all seventh-grade students at a Statesville middle school began the new school year Aug. 17 with a two-week quarantine and remote learning following a positive case at the school. Since then, the school district's tally of COVID-19 cases has grown to at least 59 known cases and counting.
Last week, nine ISS schools reported 10 positive COVID-19 cases, the school district announced. At least 227 employees of the school district — or about 9 percent — have been quarantined for COVID-19 since Aug. 10, and about 2 percent of the school district's employees have tested positive, it said Oct. 16.
SEE ALSO: Iredell COVID-19 Update: 204 New Cases In A Week, 10 In Schools
Iredell-Statesville Schools reports weekly the number of COVID-19 cases present in its schools, however, does not indicate if the cases are of students, teachers or staff.
Details aren't even provided to teachers who might be potentially at risk, and can lead to ramifications that aren't publicly reported, the teacher told Patch.
Recent positive COVID-19 cases reported in two Iredell middle schools in mid October, for example, forced their front offices' administrative staff, including principals, to quarantine for two weeks. At least one school's custodial staff was also out of commission due to "COVID-related reasons," the teacher said.
"We are not informed if anyone is sent home, or if any students test positive. I know there are privacy concerns, but I feel it sends the message that teachers and students don't matter," the teacher said.
The lack of transparency promotes a rumor mill.
The only way to get information is if someone is willing to "talk off the record," the teacher said.
'Disposable Babysitters'
Compounding the issue is the potential risk forced upon teachers by parents, the teacher said.
"Parents undercut us at every turn," they said. "They give their sick kids Advil (or some other NSAID) so they won't show a fever at temperature check in the morning and then send them to school. When the meds wear off about lunchtime, they get feverish and sick. Sometimes parents don't get kids tested when the nurse tells them to, and send them back to school."
Teachers aren't told if a student in their class has tested positive, even if they were in their class the previous day, they said.
"Parents treat us like we are just disposable babysitters," the Iredell teacher said.
When it comes to sharing details the teacher feels is pivotal, such as if they've been in contact with someone who has tested positive, the school district says its hands are tied.
"I am unable to share any information about specific individuals who have tested positive for COVID or who are currently under quarantine, as it is a breach of medical confidentiality," Boen Nutting, spokesperson for Iredell-Statesville Schools, told Patch in an email.
The school district does share basic detail, such as when a person associated with a school tests positive.
"I am not at liberty to share any information about specific individuals. I assure you that it is our desire to be as transparent as possible as it relates to COVID," she said. "Transparency and protocols are what will allow us to continue with face-to-face instruction in Iredell-Statesville Schools."
Coronavirus Protocols
Also central to North Carolina's plan to reopen schools are protocols aimed at curbing the spread of the virus, such as mask mandates and the frequent cleaning of high-traffic surfaces. Teachers wipe down all desks between classes followed up by a more rigorous cleaning by custodians during their daily cleanings.
Teachers are having to provide some of their own supplies, according to the Iredell teacher. "We are not provided [personal protective equipment]," the teacher said.
According to the school district official who oversees supplies, ISS teachers are not expected to provide any cleaning or disinfecting supplies.
"We actually would prefer they not bring their own supplies," said Kenny Miller, assistant superintendent for facilities and planning for the school district. "This is because the products we use are EPA approved for use against the Covid 19 (Coronavirus 2 family). Our custodial staff has been trained in the mixing of our product in a diluted form and all teachers have a spray bottle to lightly mist the surface areas between classes or when needed," Miller said.
The school district, which has a central warehouse "with plenty of supplies in stock," also provides gloves, wipes, soap, paper towels and any other supplies they may request, Miller said. Requests filter up through school administrators and the custodial staff.
"The key is for them to request what they need if it is something outside the list mentioned," Miller said.
'Nothing About This Is Normal'
Despite complaints about transparency from school officials, the Iredell teacher said their fellow colleagues are stepping up to the moment. Teachers and staff who may not believe masks are necessary may grumble, but they're complying.
"We are doing the best we can with what we have," the teacher said. "The country is going through a once in a lifetime event. Nothing about this is normal.
"Teachers want to teach your children," the teacher added. "We love kids. If we didn't, we wouldn't be in this job. But having schools open now, when a huge section of our population doesn't take the pandemic seriously, is putting them at risk. And us at risk. Our families and loved ones, too."
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This article originally appeared on the Mooresville Patch
