Inside one DPSCD teacher's virtual classroom: her bedroom closet

DETROIT (FOX 2) - More than 50,000 Detroit public school students had their first day of school Tuesday. Well, sort of. 

After an unusual summer, everyone is adjusting now to new learning environments. DPSCD families had a choice for virtual or in-person learning, and we're told about 80% opted for virtual learning. 

Some teachers have options, too, when making "virtual" classrooms. It looks like a bedroom but as you walk through and turn left -  it's room 116, the annex to Carver STEM Academy on Detroit's west side. Or, rather known as - Mrs. Marshall's bedroom closet. 

Or, rather, her husband's closet but she commandeered that. 

"I gave him the boot," she says. The 26-year veteran teacher says teaching her preschoolers is more important than a closet.  

"Just so I can have a safe place where I can reach my students, be not distracted, and just focus on what I need and just focus on what I need to hear. Close the door and I'm in my zone," says LaWanda Marshall. 

And forget the extra hazard pay for face-to-face teaching. Her choice to stay at home is for her husband.

"We've lived through COVID-19. My husband is still suffering from the repercussions of COVID-19. No dollar amount can make up for that," she says. 

Sean Marshall was diagnosed with COVID-19 in March. He spent a total of four weeks in the hospital. He's COVID-free now but needs oxygen.  

"There's no sacrifice great enough for her and her children because those are my kids," he says. 

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Online learning will be reevaluated every nine weeks, but if the city's 2% COVID infection rate goes up, say to 6 or 7%, Mrs. Marshall might be teaching in the closet for a while.