:format(png)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gfrmedia/IP3I4A7OV5FETB7JK3PSNIKSS4.jpg "Teachers and parents ask for more information about the start of classes")
Several of the organizations that bring together teachers and parents of students cautiously praised the government’s decision to offer distance education during the first month of the school year, at a time when a dramatic increase in the number of infections has been reported. coronavirus on the island.
“In these moments where cases have skyrocketed, the most sensible thing is that in the first months work is done combining instructional modules and technological resources so that the emergency situation is normalizing,” said the president of the Teachers Association, Elba Aponte Santos.
Then, depending on how the pandemic is flowing, the decision can be made to include face-to-face classes so that students return to schools in a staggered and coordinated manner, in small groups and alternate schedules, because certainly that teacher-student contact is necessary “Added the president of the Association, the union representative of the teachers.
Government officials announced today that classes in public and private schools may only be offered remotely during the month of August. In public schools, the secretary of Education, Eligio Hernández Pérez, reported that distance classes will begin on August 17 and it is expected that the transition to a hybrid modality -which combines distance education with face-to-face classes some days a week- can be done by September 17.
However, the president of the Federation of TeachersMercedes Martínez questioned how the access of all students to distance education will be guaranteed when Hernández has recognized, on multiple occasions, that the agency will not be able to deliver laptops and tablets, nor guarantee Internet access, to all students for August.
“Neither the modules nor WIPR replace direct contact with teachers. It is a mistake, again, to discriminate against hundreds of students who do not have internet access. When 56% of public school students live below the poverty level, and that same number may have problems accessing technological equipment, they are once again denied the right to education and are left behind again, ”said Martínez.
The laggard students include those who are enrolled in Special education, whose educational services and therapies were affected after the interruption of face-to-face classes due to the pandemic, stressed the spokesperson of the Steering Committee of Parents of Children with Disabilities, Carmen Warren, who maintained that the announcement by the Department of Education left many questions without answer.
“What the ad has created is a lot of disgust, a lot more uncertainty and concern,” Warren said, questioning what educational strategies will be used with students with severe conditions that require constant and direct support from a teacher in order to learn.
“We have a very complicated situation, we do not have all the answers, but we think that if you use good sense and sensitivity, we would have other ideas in this crisis. Just as the government insists on saying that this crisis belongs to everyone, in the same way it is everyone’s obligation to participate in the way in which we are going to solve it, ”Warren said, requesting that the recommendations of groups of parents be taken into account. and teachers.
The president of the Federation of Teachers stressed that the Broad Front in Defense of Public Education (Fadep) gave the agency in May a series of recommendations that were accepted, such as the use of educational programs transmitted through the Puerto Corporation Rico for Public Outreach (WIPR) to complement teaching, hiring school psychologists and promoting distance education. However, Martínez questioned the decision not to reduce the number of students per group, given the challenges of serving more than 25 minors, at the same time, remotely.
The Secretary of Education pointed out that once the hybrid modality begins, the groups will be divided in half, so that there are not possibly more than 15 students in a classroom.
“The secretary talked about hiring nurses, hiring psychologists, good, but they said nothing about hiring more teachers. Not that. If they hire more teachers, then the small groups that are needed can be guaranteed and the lags that the students will have can be addressed, ”said the president of the National Union of Educators and Education Workers (Join), Liza. Fournier.
Fournier warned that the necessary measures have not been taken to guarantee the safety of teaching and non-teaching personnel who must work from schools. For example, Martínez highlighted that the possibility of testing teachers and non-teaching staff in schools to diagnose COVID-19 has not been mentioned.
“Within the bad, this is the least bad, but we still have to ensure the health and safety of everyone. Right now, there are no conditions in schools for teachers to return, “said Fournier.
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