As students return to school from winter break, many schools in the Birmingham City School District have been left without teachers. As COVID-19 cases were increasing, numerous employees staged a “sickout” to avoid returning to in-person learning.
An emergency Zoom meeting was held, during which more than 900 members of the community were able to voice their concerns. At the meeting, teachers proposed switching to a hybrid learning model and adding more virtual learning days, which they hope will give sick students more time to recover from COVID-19 and limit their exposure. There was also talk of placing air purifiers around the school and providing more access to PPE.
Many educators have expressed concerns about constantly being exposed to COVID-19 as well as the growing number of students and staff testing positive for it. During the last week of January, more than 450 students and 100 employees tested positive for the disease.
As a result of low staff, some schools have gone uncleaned because custodians have also been out sick. Additionally, George W. Carver High School and Woodlawn High School have had students assemble in the gym at times when there was not enough staff.
Regardless of the sickout and present safety concerns, the superintendent of Birmingham City Schools, Mark Sullivan, refuses to shut down schools. Sullivan has emphasized that he is trying to prevent students from falling behind in class. Regarding safety concerns, he said the district has been enforcing the mask mandate, providing vaccination clinics and giving out PPE in order to limit the spread of COVID-19.
In recent weeks, the board of education has approved of schools being sprayed weekly and additional custodial staff, more access to PPE, an advisory committee of students and parents, and staff to regularly assess COVID response, reinforcing the mask policy, etc.
As of now, all of Birmingham City Schools are holding in-person learning.
