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Teachers caravan across metro Detroit to share concerns over reopening schools

Updated  July 29, 2020 12:26am EDT
Education
FOX 2 Detroit

(FOX 2) - The new school year is about a month away but most districts in Michigan have not yet released their plans. 

On Tuesday, a rally was held by the Refuse to Return Coalition. Teachers from all over metro Detroit came to caravan, driving to schools all over the area. Cars were painted or passengers held out signs sharing their concerns. 

Refuse to Return Coalition protest schools reopening across metro Detroit

Teachers from all over metro Detroit caravanned across the area Tuesday to raise awareness about their concerns over reopening schools.

"You can't negotiate with a deadly virus," said Paul Sandy, a teacher at Pontiac Public Schools.

"We don't think that it is safe to reopen schools under the current conditions with the virus," said Joe Liebson, a teacher at Birmingham Public Schools. "Our main demand out here is that we not open schools until there have been 14 days of no new cases in a given county or area, which obviously is very far from the reality currently."

While kids' health is top priority, these teachers are nervous about their own well-being too. 

"I'm older, I have severe asthma. So far my school dist hasn't offered the online option for teaches that are high-risk," said Heidi West, who's a teacher at Detroit public schools. She points to the recent positive cases in summer school there as a warning.

"There were already three students exposed in Detroit Public Schools' summer school, which just shows it's not time. We're not ready to go back," she said. 

These teachers say online learning only is the only option here. 

But what about kids who don't have access to computers or the internet? That's a real concern for some districts contemplating only online learning. 

"In Detroit public schools we need to bridge the technology gap. We need to give laptops to every single student. We're starting that process," West said.

Others in the group called for state and even federal aid to get students the tools they need for online learning.

Each school district is deciding its own fate for now, another criticism of these teachers who are hoping for a streamlined approach from Lansing.  

"We all want to be in the classroom. We all feel that's the best for kids but right now there's no, really, good option and for the only option that will for sure keep people safe and protected would be to be online," Liebson said.