Friend,

I wrote a letter for the Action Network letter campaign: Reopening Our School Buildings Safely.

It's become clear in the last few weeks that an in-person return to schools would unacceptably put the health and safety of our students, their families, and educators at risk. On August 31, the AFT Massachusetts Executive Board, made up of elected representatives of the 23,000 AFT members statewide, voted to call for a remote start to school this fall, citing the rising levels of COVID-19 transmission in Massachusetts, lengthy delays in obtaining test results, and the lack of hot water, adequate ventilation, and space for social distancing in school buildings. Join us in telling Governor Baker that we need to start the year with remote learning until districts and the state can meet our health and safety criteria! Community transmission of COVID-19 is on the rise again in Massachusetts, and lengthy delays in testing mean we won't know whether a sick student has the common cold or the deadly virus. Years of chronic underfunding have left us with unsafe schools facilities: windows that don’t open, bathrooms that lack hot water and soap, ventilation systems that need upgrading, and nurses that treat sick students in converted closets with no room for social distancing. AFT Massachusetts has outlined several public health and safety criteria that districts and the state must meet before it is safe for students and educators to return to the classroom, and it's clear that a period of remote learning will be necessary before those criteria are met. Read the full statement here, and fill out the form below to tell Governor Baker to prioritize the health and safety of students, their families, and educators by starting school remotely this fall.

Can you join me and write a letter? Click here: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/reopening-our-school-buildings-safely?source=email&

Thanks!

KImberly Barry

President, Lawrence Teachers Union