SC top educator seeks to ease teacher anxiety about returning to class amid COVID 19

S.C. Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman sought to ease teacher fears about returning to in-person classes amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“Our students really need you. We need you,” Spearman said during an audio-only virtual town hall with roughly 3,000 teacher. “I want to do everything I can to help build your confidence that we can go back if possible.”

The town hall was held by phone Thursday by the S.C. Education Association and the Palmetto State Teachers Association.

During the event, teachers whom were identified by their first name and sometimes region, asked Spearman questions about the upcoming return to school.

One attendee, Dennis, said he had an underlying health condition that put him at risk for COVID 19 exposure. Dennis asked Spearman what recourse he has because his district is requiring him to teach from his classroom and he would rather teach at home.

“It’s being treated differently in different districts,” Spearman said, noting the state has not issued formal guidance on whether virtual-only teachers should be allowed to teach from home.

Spearman said she understood the district’s reasoning for requiring teachers to teach from a school building and said it could help elevate teachers’ quality of work and help them connect with students, some of whom are not reached by the school district.

“I think we all agree, the expectations for all of us, whether its students, teachers principals, the expectations for learning that is going on... is much higher than it was in March,” Spearman said.

Another teacher asked what to do if a school district is not following safety protocols. Spearman said the department would be able to help with that.

“You can let me know. You can give us a call at the department,” Spearman said.

The department has already responded to a complaint at an unspecified school where a principal who was not wearing a mask was standing in the doorway greeting students, Spearman said.

“We all need to follow these protocols and set a good example,” Spearman said.

Ashley from the Midlands, said she had multiple middle school science classes with more than 40 students.

Spearman seemed surprised at the number and encouraged her to talk to her principal about that.

“Class sizes, if there’s ever a time they need to be small it’s now,” Spearman said.

Carmen from Upstate asked if students would be expected to take standardized tests this year. Spearman said she hopes the U.S. Department of Education will grant a waiver so S.C. students don’t have to take tests, but noted that two other, unspecified states that applied for the waiver did not get it.

The town hall comes as many schools prepare to return students to in-person classes. In some districts, students have already returned to schools for LEAP days, five, state-funded days of class where teachers diagnose students’ academic status and schools test safety procedures.

While South Carolina has struggled in recent months to contain the coronavirus pandemic, the number of new cases has fallen recently. In the last four days, there have been fewer than 1,000 new coronavirus cases per day, according to a previous article from The State.