DETROIT (WWJ) A Detroit high school has joined the growing list of schools shutting their doors due to COVID-19 outbreaks.
Mumford High School is going virtual for at least this week due to the school’s coronavirus outbreak status.
According to a document updated on October 31, Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) stated Mumford had 22 reported cases of COVID-19 through the week of October 25-29. This number increased from one reported case during the week of October 18-22.
The latest data from the State of Michigan reports there are nearly 500 active outbreaks and clusters in K-12 schools and every day more than 450 children under the age of 12 become infected with the coronavirus.
In a statement released by the organization By Any Means Necessary (BAMN), Mumford Spanish teacher Nicole Stuckey is demanding an end to the “endangerment of Michigan’s Youth and Families.”
Stuckey applied for an accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act to teach virtually from home, due to health conditions that put her at greater risk at being infected with COVID-19. According to the BAMN statement, DPSCD refused to assign Stuckey a virtual teaching position, despite the fact she submitted a timely request to teach from home when school first went into session.
Stucky said COVID outbreaks are predictable and preventable.
“I am angry that the district has exposed my students to this virus that is making more children sick every day,” said Stucky. “All the schools need to be shut down and return to virtual learning now.”
BAMN’s leader and teacher, Ben Royal, is hosting a press conference Monday at 4:30 p.m. at Mumford High School to address COVID-19 outbreaks in schools following the closure.
In the BAMN statement, Royal said it is clear schools cannot be open safely during the pandemic and that it was always a “lie that they could."
“These outbreaks endanger the lives of students, teachers, and the whole community,” Royal said. “Schools must be closed now to save lives.”
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