Arizona Governor Doug Ducey—a zealot for charters and vouchers whose election was funded by Charles Koch and Betsy DeVos—has ordered the state’s public schools to reopen on August 17 as the disease rages out of control in his state. School leaders are not so sure this is a good idea.
Common sense suggests it is a very bad idea.
The Arizona Republic reports:
The school year hasn’t begun, but an Arizona teacher has already died from COVID-19, according to a school superintendent.
As President Donald Trump’s administration pushes for schools to reopen on time, a small community in eastern Arizona is reeling from the death of a teacher who contracted COVID-19 after she taught summer school virtually while in the same room as two other teachers.
The school district’s superintendent, Jeff Gregorich, said three teachers went above and beyond in taking precautions against the spread of the virus while teaching in the same room, but all three contracted COVID-19.
Kim Byrd, who started teaching the Hayden-Winkelman Unified School District in 1982, died.
Gregorich does not believe Arizona schools are ready to open and said Trump does not understand the magnitude of recent remarks insisting on reopening schools.
“The learning can be made up, but the lives will never be brought back,” he said.
On Wednesday, Arizona school and public health leaders were still processing a flurry of comments made by Trump, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and Vice President Mike Pence leaning on state leaders to reopen schools.
The administration’s push comes as a record 2,008 suspected and confirmed COVID-19 patients visited Arizona emergency rooms on Tuesday, according to data released by the Arizona Department of Health Services. The data showed the state reached a new high for hospitalizations related to the coronavirus that same day.
Many Arizona schools are preparing to open for in-person classes by Aug. 17, a target date set by Gov. Doug Ducey. Five weeks away, it’s unclear if Arizona is ready for that step.
Maricopa County’s leading health official on Wednesday said that data currently shows the county’s schools should not open.
“With community-wide transmission at such high levels in Maricopa County right now, it would not be a good idea to put school back in session,” said Dr. Rebecca Sunenshine, medical director of disease control for the Maricopa County Department of Public Health.
Kathy Hoffman, Arizona’s schools superintendent, has pushed back against the Trump effort to reopen schools. In an interview with The Arizona Republic on Wednesday, she called the messaging from the White House “confusing.”
“It’s out of touch with the reality here in Arizona with the severity and magnitude of COVID-19 cases,” she said.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
From the article:
“[School district superintendent Gregorich] said Byrd, a first-grade teacher, was teaching summer school virtually in a team of three in the same room when she and the other teachers got sick. The team used their own computers, disinfected their equipment, sat apart from each other and wore masks, he said. But all three contracted COVID-19, and Byrd died. Byrd, he said, was a master teacher.”
Thank you for your comment, bethree5.
Your comment is an OMG and needs to be heeded.
Diane I know the following is not about opening public schools but the information is about education. Higher education.
ICE has come out with a new rule that goes into effect this coming semester. It deals with the number of courses an international student attending US Universities/Colleges.
Please read the following URL. If Universities/Colleges continue to rely on on-line courses this international students could be forced out because they are not taking the required courses to stay in the US.
https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/sevp-modifies-temporary-exemptions-nonimmigrant-students-taking-online-courses-during
I hope school districts will stand up to the bully that is trump! Here in Nashville, Tennessee, where cases are on the rise, our superintendent and School Board are protecting students, families, and teachers by opening 100% virtually on August 4th. We will not reopen in-person until it is safe. The goal is to open in-person on September 8th, but the superintendent and board will re-evaluate the situation 2 weeks in advance. I am so glad they are considering the 11,000 adults in our schools as well as the 80,000 students. They are not letting schools be super-spreaders.
https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/education/2020/07/09/metro-schools-academic-year-start-online-nashville-students/5383315002/
What a sad story about those Arizona teachers. How many of us are going to die? And no one, except our families, and maybe our students, will care.
But hey! The economy will be “open” and Trump will get reelected.