AFT Massachusetts Responds to DESE Guidelines Calling For Educators To Teach From Unsafe Classrooms

Like so many others across America, AFT Massachusetts teachers and school support staff are putting aside their own fears during the COVID-19 pandemic to help maintain a sense of normalcy for their students. One big area of focus for AFT Massachusetts members is food security.
“For many of our students, school is the one place where they can count on a full meal every day. With schools closed, AFT Massachusetts members across the state are working hard to make sure that our students, their families, and the whole community have the food they need,” said AFT Massachusetts President Beth Kontos. “I’m incredibly proud of the work AFT Massachusetts members are doing to support all our students during this challenging time.”
Like so many others across America, AFT Massachusetts teachers and school support staff are putting aside their own fears during the COVID-19 pandemic to help maintain a sense of normalcy for their students. One big area of focus for AFT Massachusetts members is food security. Educators across the Commonwealth are working hard to ensure that students and their families have food during this crisis.
In Lowell, educators have focused on supporting the Merrimack Valley Food Bank (MVFB), which distributes food to 64,000 people each month through food pantries, shelters, schools, and senior centers.
United Teachers of Lowell President Paul Georges reiterated to all, “Many of our citizens have relied on food banks and the generosity and consideration of others in getting through this extremely difficult time. The neighbors at this event and all the Union volunteers are addressing a real need in our community to help alleviate some of the anxiety people deal with on a daily basis. I never cease to be amazed at the generosity of our members.”
The big takeaway from the April 24 guidance is that DESE is now asking districts to go beyond reinforcing previously taught content to also cover new content that is focused “on those standards that are the most critical prerequisites for student success in the next grade." DESE has compiled guides to these prerequisite content standards for math, English language arts, science, and history/social studies - elementary guide and secondary guide.
The focus on teaching DESE-selected prerequisite standards—or what some are calling “essential” or “power” standards—in a remote learning environment is a shift in DESE policy, and it has significant implications. As remote learning continues, perhaps even into parts of next year, this was an inevitable development. Many districts are already teaching new content, and expectations are mounting to advance the curriculum so that students don’t fall further behind in their academic learning.
Students, educators, and parents are working hard every day to respond to the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak, and AFT Massachusetts is focused on ensuring the safety of students, school staff, and our communities, while making sure that equity is prioritized in every decision. Amid the life-altering changes we’ve dealt with over the past weeks, we are grateful that DESE collaborated closely with AFT Massachusetts, our colleagues in the Massachusetts Teachers Association, and other education stakeholders to develop new guidelines for remote learning during the COVID-19 school closures.
As educators, we are glad that DESE’s guidelines share our main principles: that safety and physical/mental health must be our top priorities, and that equity needs to be a top consideration in local decision-making. The students who were most vulnerable before this crisis, including low-income students, students with disabilities, and English language learners – and especially students experiencing homelessness and food insecurity – are the most vulnerable during this time, and every decision at the local and state level needs to be made with them in mind.