According to experts, science and data — it’s safe for kids to be in the classroom.
We know, though, that despite the evidence surrounding student populations, teachers remain understandably concerned about their own health and safety.
We also know that Michigan’s code red education crisis gets worse every day that passes with classroom doors padlocked, and our kids may spend the rest of their lives paying the price.
With vaccines for COVID-19 coming online, GLEP is leading a public charge to move teachers towards the front of the line with other essential workers and to get them the vaccine as soon as humanly possible.
We believe teachers are essential workers. They pour their hearts and their minds into Michigan students every day they’re able. The work they do pays dividends today, tomorrow, and for years to come. Our kids are counting on them.
The stakes couldn’t be higher.
Beth DeShone
Executive Director, Great Lakes Education Project
Michigan’s Big Show: Beth DeShone talks Schools with Michael Patrick Shiels
“Enrollment numbers from count days are coming in. Parents have determined enough is enough and they’re taking their kids’ education into their own hands.”
Oakland Press: DeShone: Offer teachers vaccine to stem Michigan education crisis
“Let’s treat teachers with an extra measure of respect, move them toward the front of the line, and offer them the COVID-19 vaccine. It’s an investment in their health, in schools’ safety, and in our children’s future.”
Enrollment down 53,000.
Almost a third of Detroit students who are still enrolled described as “missing.”
Rates of failure on first-quarter report cards doubled since last year.
Hundreds of days of “lost learning” amidst statewide school closures and executive orders locking kids out of the classroom.
Michigan students are facing a full-blown education crisis, and some of them may never recover.
Those learning losses were exacerbated this fall when the Governor demanded high schools lock the doors to keep students away. Across the state, over 100 other school districts opted on their own to close their buildings — including K-8 schools–– to stop kids from entering the classroom.
School shutdowns are exacerbating racial and socio-economic inequalities, too. Students from families without the means to pay to send their students to a private school with open doors are falling farther and faster behind than their counterparts in families with the bank account to do something about it.
Our kids deserve better.
