Group Discussion 2

During the second meeting, educators recounted their teaching experiences since the winter break with a focus on connecting with students and families, classroom protocols and safety, and vaccines. We continued to break out into groups established during the first meetings (Transparency in Decision-Making and Equity in Education), but the increasing variance in experience across grade level, teacher specialization, tenure, and region made the large group discussion quite rich. President Biden had recently announced his support of standardized testing during this academic year, and the educators were asked their opinions on that.

Educators Teaching In-Person (Fall-Present)

Many educators from our study who are teaching in person are in private schools, but there are some public school educators that have been in person as well throughout the year.  These educators noted the greatest concerns around protocol maintenance and testing/tracing transparency.  Many felt that over the year, both schools and families became more lax with reporting, isolating, and following safety protocols. For some educators who were careful to distance, there were concerns that other colleagues were not as carefully following protocols, thereby sending mixed-messages to students.  Finally, educators expressed concerns about how dashboards (standard websites that show the number of cases, infections, tests, and other public health data administered by the school, city, or county) were reset or showing selective data. 

Educators Teaching Hybrid (Fall-Present)

Educators in our study who have been teaching in hybrid are experiencing significant burnout. While the first two grading terms were manageable, changes in student attendance (reduced) and district guidance (increasing classroom sizes and truancy) has made the third grading term more difficult. 

Some states have mandated that students with truancies in the virtual classroom need to report for in-person instruction or risk expulsion or some other severe penalty. This has forced greater numbers of students into classrooms that were not reconfigured to handle this additional capacity. Overflow of students, and the lack of substitute instructors, have created instructional spaces in gymnasiums and auditoriums, with students logged onto devices, and getting instruction from other educators. 

Educators Teaching Virtually (Fall-Present)

The majority of the educators in our study who have been teaching virtually this year have heard that they are expected back into the classroom in the coming weeks (or days, for some).  The news of the vaccine has spurred renewed interest in reopening school buildings, but many educators felt the reopening plans had not changed since the summer.  There was not a great deal of clarity for some educators  (e.g., lunch, restrooms, emergency procedures) who were returning to classrooms that week, with students who would be in the classroom and online. 

Educators were primarily concerned with having “three classes” (one in-person on a hybrid schedule, another online on a hybrid schedule, and another completely virtual) that would disrupt classroom cohesion and reduce educational quality.  There were also concerns about the preparedness of classroom facilities for students (from condition of the buildings to adequate quantities of educational materials in the classroom to comply with COVID protocols).

For educators who will remain virtual, student attendance and technology issues continue to frustrate the classroom experience.  First year educators in particular are having a hard time with observations and building relationships with families. 

Working Groups

Transparency in Decision-Making

A small group met to discuss whether there had been any changes – particularly progress – by decision makers to do a better job of incorporating educators into the process.  Two educators felt that while they had been included into stakeholder groups by principals and superintendents, they were there only to “check boxes” and did not feel heard.  One educator felt empowered to become a union representative for their school, and has felt there have been tangible changes made to policy concerning less-represented educators and their experiences. 

There was definite concern around the reputation of teachers – from the national debates around reopenings to the local discussion around grades, test scores, and learning loss, educators expressed concern that there was not enough media/press documenting their perspectives and issues. Some educators did not feel that their union was adequately representing the concerns of the rank and file. Some educators did not think their school board and district leadership were incorporating their perspective into new policies. 

Equity in Education

The teachers in this group expressed concerns about the exhaustion of students, particularly high school students, who are mentally exhausted with either online learning and learning from teachers who are trying to balance in-person and remote learning at the same time. Teachers said that these challenges are compounded by English language learning, special education, and youth who are trying to support their families financially while they attend school.  One teacher said that she feels like the new standards and expectations, both academic and behavioral expectations, make them feel as if they are pushing their most vulnerable students “out of existence so that we don’t see them anymore.” 

The question many teachers seem to be struggling with is how can we be equitable considering these circumstances in this pandemic. They feel that they are constantly redirecting their students, trying to differentiate the work for diverse learners, and balance in-person and remote learning all at the same time. Teachers also expressed differences in the ways that school district officials reached out to students and families. These differences are tied to resources. One teacher, who works in an urban school district that primarily serves poor, Black and Latinx youth, said that the school has effectively engaged or reached out to students.  Instead, the school district has implemented punitive disciplinary policies that have made the situation even more difficult.  Another teacher, who works in an affluent school district that serves primarily white youth, said that their school district officials have routinely reached out to families and youth to check-in with their progress and attendance.  

New Themes

During the large group and working group discussions, a number of new themes emerged now that educators are approaching the one-year anniversary of the first set of school shutdowns:

More Data

Educators were interested to understand what data was available around online learning and hybrid approaches. If there are benefits to these flexible approaches, it would be good to see data collected to implement in the upcoming year. 

Ongoing Protocol Updates

Many educators express concern that there was not clarity around testing/quarantine/contact tracing protocols on behalf of families or educators.  

More humane scheduling

Both educators who have been in-person or hybrid this academic year expressed concern that the sheer number of classes, emails, and tests that are expected of the educator has increased work loads and hours in the workday. One educator in particular noted difficulty with random COVID testing that removed them from the classroom during educational times. 

Less Politics

The ongoing tensions between caregivers, school districts, city, state, and federal elected officials have made this year more difficult for educators. Many expressed concern that politics, not science or policy, were driving the decisions and actions of districts, creating more harmful educational outcomes.