08/04/2020
In every neighborhood of Arizona, educators, students and families have begun, or are preparing to begin, distance learning until it is safe to return to return to physical school buildings for in-person classes or hybrid instruction.
Later this week, the Arizona Department of Health Services will release public health metrics meant to guide school leaders in their decisions of how and when to reopen brick and mortar classrooms for in-person instruction. Every school community should use these metrics as the foundation of their decision-making.
I want to make clear that Arizona is not currently in a place to resume traditional in-person instruction or hybrid learning models. Every indicator shows that there is high community spread across the state. As school leaders, we should prepare our families and teachers for the reality that it is unlikely that any school community will be able to reopen safely for traditional in-person or hybrid instruction by August 17th. Our state is simply not ready to have all our students and educators congregate in school facilities. If we want to return to in-person instruction, every Arizonan must make it their mission to slow the spread of this virus.
While there is a need to provide some students with certain critical services that cannot be provided at a distance -- such as special education therapies and nutrition services -- we should not expect or ask the majority of Arizona’s students and teachers to make a return to school facilities until the spread of COVID-19 is under control. Once available, our school leaders should follow the metrics when making the decision to resume in-person instruction. While these metrics are not currently mandated, schools should be prepared to be held accountable by teachers, parents, and families to make evidence-based decisions.
