Immediate Release: August 4, 2020
Contact: President Dina Esquinance: tangitft@gmail.com
The Tangipahoa Federation of Teachers and School Employees has been working with our members, as well as parents and other community members, to consider the impact of reopening schools in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. All stakeholders want students to be able to safely return to school, but the ramifications of an unsafe reopening could be catastrophic. To better evaluate the opinions of Tangipahoa’s teachers and school employees, we have conducted a survey of our over 900 members on the reopening of schools in our parish.
The general concerns revealed in the survey are as follows:
- Many are afraid that they will bring the virus home to vulnerable family members.
- 46% of the respondents identified themselves as in the high-risk category for severe illness due to COVID-19.
- 59% identified people in their home as being at high-risk for sever illness due to COVID-19.
- Class size and the number of students in the buildings themselves is a great concern.
- 71% would like to see staggered times to limit the number of students in school at any given time.
- 81% think class sizes should be smaller to be able to properly socially distance.
The survey, along with our top 12 questions and concerns, that were gathered from a list of over 300 questions and comments, were presented to the superintendent and the School Board.
Our members’ responses demonstrate that they do not feel that the measures being implemented in the TPSS Return to School Plan are sufficient for students to return face to face at this time.
The fact that the State of Louisiana and Tangipahoa Parish are in the Red Zone is very concerning. Tangipahoa Parish has had 1,164 new COVID-19 cases reported since July 13. BESE set the minimum guidelines that school districts should follow; we believe that our students, employees, and Tangipahoa families deserve the maximum guidelines so that our school system does not contribute the spread of the virus. To protect the safety and health of our students, employees, families, and communities, face to face instruction should be delayed until the current rise in cases is on the decline.
The Federation will continue to appeal for a delay of students on campuses so that our school system does not contribute to the current community spread in Tangipahoa parish.
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