PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The head of the Philadelphia teachers union is telling his members not to report to classrooms on Monday, saying it’s not safe to reopen schools amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Pre-K through second-grade teachers are due to report to classrooms on Monday to begin preparing for a hybrid return for students on Feb. 22. But Philadelphia Federation of Teachers President Jerry Jordan, in a letter to members, is telling them not to go to schools and to continue teaching remotely.
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The union is concerned about adequate ventilation in school buildings and has called for a third party to decide whether the district has done enough to limit the spread of the coronavirus in schools. But without that evaluation in hand, the union is telling 2,000 teachers not to report.
Superintendent William Hite said Thursday that even if a classroom falls below ventilation standards, teachers would be alone in the room and not sharing air with anyone else.
The district has spent $4 million to improve ventilation in school buildings, but its purchase of window fans to circulate fresh air has been roundly ridiculed on social media.
Hite has said his hybrid return is not dependent on staff being vaccinated, but more than 100 school nurses have sent the city a letter demanding that teachers get the vaccine before any return to school.
An email to PFT members from the district’s chief talent officer Larisa Shambaugh obtained by KYW Newsradio said teachers who don’t report to buildings Monday are subject to disciplinary action.