Rockford teachers will report to empty classrooms starting next week

ROCKFORD — The city's teachers union asked the Rockford School Board to intervene this week and let them to work from home between Thanksgiving and winter breaks, but the board took no action.

This means Rockford Public Schools teachers, a group of about 1,900 educational professionals, will report to classrooms or other assigned spaces in the school district on Monday to teach students who will not be there.

The students will be at home, a move the district decided on Nov. 20 as "a necessary step to try to stop the spread of COVID-19."

Starting on Monday, all Rockford public school students will temporarily shift to remote learning with many of them using electronic devices and online technologies to communicate with their teachers who will all shift to remote teaching.

The "adaptive pause" — as they call it — will end on Dec. 18.

"We'd like to have our members have a choice to work from the building or remotely, not just because of the infection rate but for several other reasons," Rockford teachers union President Mel Gilfillan told board members Tuesday night. "Gov. Pritzker has asked us, as good citizens of Illinois, that if we can work remotely, we should be. This is a direct way we can help flatten the curve and slow the spread of COVID."

More:Rockford Public Schools to go all remote Nov. 30 to Dec. 18

The state's Tier 3 mitigation strategy, which launched Nov. 20, directs employers to have employees work from home as the virus continues to pose a serious threat to public health, but it lets local school districts make their own decisions related to in-person and remote teaching and learning.

In an email to teachers Monday, Rockford Public Schools informed teachers that they will be required to work from their classrooms in the coming weeks.

"When teachers work in schools or RPS 205 administrative sites, they have access to resources – like quality internet, printers and copy machines – plus any staff support or coaching resources they might need," Rockford Superintendent Ehren Jarrett said.

The district said it also needs to ensure that staff put students first during the school day.

"We know that it’s difficult to balance the needs of a family and household and also prioritize a full classroom," Jarrett said.

The Harlem School District also is moving all students to remote learning on Monday.

Unlike Rockford, Harlem is letting its teachers choose between teaching from their classroom or home during its adaptive pause.

According to Harlem Federation of Teachers co-president Brad Sweet, Harlem teachers and district leaders have agreed to let teachers decide where they can best remotely teach during the three weeks between Thanksgiving and winter break.

"If people feel safer at home to teach, then they can," Sweet said. "If they feel safe enough to come in to work and use the materials at school, they can do that as well. ... I think the solution that was thought up by the board was thoughtful and appropriate for the staff and the safety of all of us."

Gilfillan's hopes to get a similar agreement with Rockford Public Schools was dashed Tuesday night when his request went unacknowledged.

This year's coronavirus pandemic has sickened more than 17,000 people in Winnebago County and killed more than 200 people.

The county announced its first COVID-19 outbreak in a school last week — a 5-  to-10-case outbreak among staff at Spring Creek Elementary School, one of the city's public schools.

According to a news release from the Illinois Education Association, Mike Padron, a 38-year-old teacher at the regional office of education’s Summit Academy, died last week from COVID-19. Padron's wife, Nikki, is a teacher at Rockford’s Spring Creek Elementary School, where at least 12 staff members have tested positive for the disease, including Padron’s wife, the release states.

More:Rockford teacher, 38, dies after COVID-19 diagnosis

Rockford School Board member David Seigel and Jarrett expressed their condolences to the Padron family during Tuesday night's meeting.

"I can't pass up the time to express my condolences to the family of Mike Padron and Nicole Padron," Seigel said. "This a very difficult time, crushing grief. And you are very much certainly on our minds."

IEA President Kathi Griffin said the REA has the full support of the IEA on its request.

“We have said all along that we support safe learning," Griffin said in the release. "The metrics in Winnebago County right now are very high, meaning community spread is a real threat. ... Our members are professionals and deserve to be treated as such.”

Corina Curry: ccurry@rrstar.com; @corinacurry